Day 8 – Nuremberg Tour: An Emotional and Moving Morning.

23 Wednesday Oct 2013

Posted by KidazzleInk.com in Amsterdam to Budapest, Germany, Nuremberg, Peace, River Cruising, Uncategorized

Tags

Colosseum, Germany, Jimi Hendrix, Nazi Germany, Nazi party rally grounds, Nuremberg, Nuremberg Trials, One earth, One flag for Earth, one solar system, Peace, World War II

Peace Quote by Jimi Hendrix

Maybe when people truly understand that we are all citizens of the same beautiful planet, sharing the same vaporous atmosphere within the same radiant solar system, perhaps then….they may at last realize, it is not their country that they need to protect but rather our entire living breathing Earth, along with its place among the stars in our shimmering Milky Way.

After all the destruction, the atrocities of World War II, and all of the other major wars that came long before that, it’s quite confounding to find that there are still people on our wonderful planet that believe terror and violence constitute an appropriate means of resolving conflict!

Hitler’s Colosseum, Nuremberg, Germany.

Ah well….. that’s enough of my soap box for now other than to say please….we must all advocate peace whenever we can.

Well it was Day 8 of our European River Cruise. We’d docked early in Nuremberg that morning.

2nd World War, Nuremberg Museum, Germany.

To start the day, Dearly Beloved (D.B.) and I had chosen to visit several of the more solemn areas within this historical city called Nuremberg, Germany (population about 510,000); areas and places that, for us, had become so much a part of our own modern-day history, as we’d grown up in Australia just after all of the catastrophic destruction of World War 2. Indeed, during our childhoods, other wars still raged close by in Vietnam and Korea.

We therefore felt it important that we pay our respects and honour our fallen. We also hoped that the day’s sightseeing choices would allow us to gain a greater…much deeper….understanding.

The Colesseum, Exhibit in Nurenberg Museum

The Colosseum, Exhibit in Nuremberg Museum, Germany.

We would be heading off to visit Hitler’s uncompleted Colosseum, along with the the Zeppelinfeld and the Courts of the Nuremberg War Trials.

Hitler had wanted to build a Colosseum of truly grand proportions. It was never completed. Today it is a museum housing many documents and newsreels (very old movies) from the 2^nd World War. It stands solidly as a macabre reminder of past atrocities and as a fervent symbol of caution to our current and future generations.

Arial view of Colesseum, Nuremberg, Germany.

Money Exhibit, Nuremberg Museum, Germany.

Historical photographs, Nuremberg Museum, Germany.

Historical faces, Nuremberg Museum, Germany

After passing the Colosseum we travelled on to the Zeppelinfeld, originally known as the Nazi Party Rally grounds. It was enormous; far bigger than one would think. It evidently catered for some 200,000 spectators and many more thousands of participants during the early rally years. Just to be there… to actually see where this person once stood rallying a nation actually filled me with the most eerie and unpleasant feeling.

The Zepplinfeld, Nuremberg, Germany.

Since the war, the Zepplinfeld has become a vacant and unused area of the city. It is mainly a sightseeing venue for tourists. On occasion, it has also been used as a venue for school football events and as a race track. It was also been used infrequently for rock festivals.

Today the Zeppelinfeld is crumbling; much in need of repair. The Government is quite controversially talking about spending money to maintain its structure. This is believed by some to be a scandalous project. But if repairs were to take place, it is envisaged that the area would continue to be used mainly as a tourist destination. It may house another museum…..I myself believe it is important for us to see the reminders…….lest we forget!

We then travelled on to the Nuremberg Palace of Justice; the actual court location of the Nuremberg War Trials. This is where the Allied Forces of World War 2 tried a large number of the most notable Nazi war criminals; mostly the more prominent members of the old political, military, and economic leadership of Nazi Germany.

Palace of Justice, Nuremberg, Germany.

I would have to say that the morning’s visits were thought provoking, unsettling, emotional and moving.

Would I have wanted to miss the experiences? No not at all….I don’t think so.

Some things in life still need to be experienced even when they prove difficult.

Afterall such experiences still enlighten us and thereby contribute to our awareness…..our unique understandings and central core of inner beliefs.

But I’m told we’re now living in the 21st century…Time now I believe to have a united flag for our earth and our solar system….. rather than just our country!

We need a flag symbolising Earth and our Solar System for all nations and people to raise high.

We need one flag symbolising our Earth and our Solar System for all nations and all people to raise high! The sooner the better.

: I believe we need to unite under just one flag as we see our allegiance for planet earth and all of its life forms interconnected through our solar system.

http://onenessofhumanity.wordpress.com/2013/10/06/world-peace-forever/

Day 3 – Cologne and its Grand Gothic Cathedral

27 Friday Sep 2013

Posted by KidazzleInk.com in Amsterdam to Budapest, Cologne, Uncategorized, Viking River Cruise

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

Cologne, Cologne Cathedral, Germany, Green Sightseeing Train, History, Prussians, Rhine, Robert Louis Stevenson, World War II

I never weary of great churches. They are my favourite kind of mountain scenery. Mankind was never so happily inspired as when it created a great cathedral. – so said Robert Louis Stevenson 1850 – 1894

On reflection, there must have been inspiration aplenty surrounding the building of the gorgeous Cologne Dom.

One of the enjoyable things about our recent Viking holiday was the informative sightseeing walks. We would usually explore a little of each day’s new territory on foot learning about the culture and history as we went.

There were always cities, villages, castles or other historical landmarks to acquaint ourselves with ……..and walking actually seemed to allow us more time to really get to know an area as we burnt off some of those extra kilojoules we’d been consuming (mind you this was probably deemed more important by those of us with the weakest willpower; unfortunately that would have to include me I’m afraid!)

Stained Glass-Cologne Cathedra

Well for today’s walk we’d soon be visiting the enormous Cologne Cathedral. We would then view and discuss the surrounding old-town areas of the Cologne city centre, with its cobble-stoned streets and its many centuries of German and early Roman history.

Interior of Cologne Cathedral

Cologne is currently Germany’s 4^th largest city. Built right on the banks of the Rhine, it is said to have been established by the Romans back in the 1^st Centrury A.D.

Tragically, it suffered major damage during World War II. This necessitated a painstaking and costly rebuild in the post war era. The Cologne Cathedral or DOM took many hits from bombers during the war years. However, it actually remained standing despite much of Cologne being flattened around it.

Small Side Altar Cologne Cathedra

Today, Cologne DOM is ranked up there as one of the tallest gothic cathedrals in the world. It is graced with much elaborate detail and quality craftsmanship. You really have to stop to contemplate how difficult it must have been to build a structure such as this…and especially way back then. Without access to any modern day technology it would have been an enormous challenge for the early artisans. Today it is protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

You can actually choose to go right on up to the top of the structure if you wish. You need considerable perseverance though, as I believe there are some 500 steps to be negotiated in all.

Earlier that morning, and prior to our scheduled daily walk, dearly beloved (D.B.) and I had actually contemplated this climb (rather enthusiastically I recall at the time). Unfortunately we’d then run out of puff……. After the informative morning walk, we’d decided to head right on back to the Longship for one of those delicious Viking lunches. Sadly, I have to report that by the mid afternoon we’d totally lost our earlier resolve. However…. I believe others did manage to climb to the very top. Those that did were justly rewarded for their efforts with the most splendid views out over the city and river.

My D.B. was quite taken with some of the DOM’s early building history. I noted he was showing greater than usual levels of interest….actually paying attention – especially in relation to the fact that the cathedral build was said to have been finally completed by a team of Prussians in around the mid 19^th century.

Well…… being of (possible) Prussian heritage himself, D. B. truly enjoyed this minor detail (even today he continues to put much more emphasis on it than one would expect). He still holds his head rather high as he states with considerable (possibly) Prussian pride “well you know it was actually my mob that finally got this whole job finished!”

Afterall, the cathedral had been “under construction” for a total of some 650 or so years in all. I guess that does seem like a mighty long time to be building anything. It is truly an amazing structure with unbelievable architectural detail. As is often said….. they just don’t build them like this anymore!

And we certainly don’t have any of them in Australia…AKA God’s own Country! (Now explain that!)

Later the same afternoon (with free time to explore Cologne on our own), we’d headed back into town. By now, we were feeling somewhat weary after having walked in the morning and eaten yet another delicious Viking lunch back onboard the ship (soup, salad, savoury dish and sweets).

Spring Pansies Cologne

For the rest of the afternoon we simply opted for a relatively relaxing way to see a little more of this lovely German city. We boarded one of those rather charming, but I must also say….. rather extremely bumpy, little sightseeing trains. This allowed us to explore a little further out from the main cobble-stoned old-town areas which we’d meandered through earlier in the day.

Then it was back to our longship for cocktails and another lovely dinner before sailing away.