For Day 11, we visited Sachsenhausen Memorial and Museum which used to be a concentration camp for Jews during WWII, it has now been converted into a memorial to educate people on the horrors of what happened to the prisoners during the war. The place was pretty far out from the city centre but still accessible by their local train network. We took the S-bahn to Oranienburg station followed by another 15-20 minute walk with numerous signs guiding the way; if you don’t fancy the long walk, there are also buses that take you there from the station but they only arrive in an hourly interval.
Entry to the memorial is free and we paid 3€ for the audio commentary guides to help us understand the exhibits a little bit better. The amount of information provided by the audio guides was extensive; each exhibit have at least four sections to listen to and almost all of the sections included sub-sections such as interviews of the actual inmates describing the conditions of the camp during their internment. It was heart-breaking to hear how the prisoners were treated, and we got really cold because of the strong winds so we couldn’t imagine how bad it must have been. The memorial now is mainly open space with only a few buildings preserved to show the cramped and inhumane living conditions of that time. We spent about 3 hours and we only managed to listen to about 60% of the guide; we went away humbled but very impressed by the efforts to dedicate this site to mourn and remember of those who have suffered.
After the rather somber day, we made a visit to the Panaromapunkt. It was one of Berlin’s best lookout point to get a bird’s eye view of the rest of the city and our WelcomeCard gave us a small discount off the admission prices. We went up at a good timing as we caught a magnificent sunset together with the rest of the city view.
Finally, on a more joyful note, we visited Ritter Sport Colorful Chocoworld! Conveniently located near Brandenburg Tor, it was a Ritter Sport themed shop where we could custom make our own very own Ritter Sport chocolate bar. The chocolates here are slightly more expensive than the ones in Stuttgart and have lesser variety but it is a good alternative if you have lesser time in Germany.
absolute honesty 