Halfway Mark

So we left Berlin for Prague, which turned out to be the most beautiful city I ever have had the good fortunate to visit. We took a walking tour of the city and visited old synagogues, came across old statues of former leaders and saints of czech descent, and saw the beauty that Prague had to offer. What made the tour extra memorable was that it was snowing the whole tome, which really added an extra aspect of beauty to the historic city. The one thing negative I have to say about Prague, as I sit here safely in a Starbucks in the quaint city of Nuremberg, Germany is that I lacked a sense of security in Prague. It was common for merchants to trick us into paying them more than what their product was worth. Take for example an experience I had at a really happening 5-story bar/club there. I ask the bartender for a beer, as is common behavior within a drinking environment, and the bartender opens a bottle of water for me (which by the way is more expensive than beer in Prague). Disappointed by this, I tell the bartender, "No I ordered a beer." So then he gets me a beer, and asks me to pay for the water. Of course, I am quick to reject this absurd proposition, and the bartender quickly turns ugly, and threatens to call the guards on me. The end result of this altercation was that I ended up bribing the guard to quell him and just get my beer, and I soon realize that I was hussled. Beautiful city it was, just can't say the same about the people.

We took a bus from Prague to Nuremberg, and ended up taking a walking tour of the city, which ended up being delayed, as our guide was stuck behind a train that had broken down during today's blizzard. As was the case in Prague, the white snow added beauty to the city, which ended up being ironic, as we went to the site of the former Nazi Rally Grounds. It wasn't as bone-chilling as walking past the apartments in Berlin that had been constructed over the site of Hitler's bunker, probably because of the snow, and the fact that the actual stone walkway in front of the WWI War Memorial that Hitler would stand on for these rallies of his, had been removed from its exact site.

So on the Nazi Rally Grounds, there was this building that was designed to hold thousands of people to hear der Führer. It had many peculiar realities about it. First, it was built with a lake covering most of the outside of it, which would help heighten its beauty (propaganda), but it was really unpractical because that means that only one side of the building was really available for thousands of people to shuffle into. Secondly, it was partially constructed (missing a couple stories of the original design), as the war prohibited further construction of it in 1938. Thirdly, there is a museum of the Nazi regime in it now, but it only takes up a portion of the building. The problem is that the building is impractical for use today, as it would be frowned upon to renovate a former Nazi-designed building, and at the same time, it just wouldn't make sense to just tear the huge structure down, as it would be a huge waste of time, effort, and money.

And we're off to Frankfurt in due time after our stop here in Nuremberg, more to come soon.