The most romantic city in the world.
@jeffery_7614203 (214)
September 4, 2007 1:47pm CST
i travelled extensively during the 1939 - 1945 campaign and had the good fortune to pass through the 'eternal city'.
Even in war time this was a truely touching city and i took my wife on honeymoon there after the end of the war.
What place has touched you most or left a memory in your heart?
2 responses
@sephrenia (567)
•
4 Sep 07
There are two that caught my heart to be honest with you.
The first is Berlin itself. I visited there two years ago and the people there are trying so very hard to lift themselves up again. Their eceonmy was pretty much shot from what my friend who i stayed with told me and jobs were very scarce so anyone visiting was a help. I loved seeing the History of the place, both the good and the bad.
The people in Berlin want so badly to be free of that shadow and they try their very best to be welcoming and friendly and, from what I can see, they succeeded. I stayed in a place the generator on storkower strasse which is like 10 minutes tram ride from the city centre which was cool and I got to see quite a lot of the city including the historic nikolaiverten which i thought was so brilliant! The people, although not many spoke english, managed to tell me what things were in german so i would remember in future and to show me how much things were (at one point one poor guy was tracing the numbers out on his counters and windows when i pointed to something!)
When I went with the uni a second time, well, that's when I saw the bad side of history. I visited sachsenhausen concentration camp and the stasi prison and, unlike my university brethren, took the time to lay flowers at the memorial in sachsenhausen. That is one place that demands quiet and respect and remembrance. That will stay in my heart for a very very long time so while it was terrible, I wont forget and I wont let my kids either.
The other place that captured my heart was Los Angeles. I visited their with my mum last year and I had so much fun! We visited museums, beaches, tourist places, shopping malls, everywhere! I also got to see things that most tourists dont get to see. Like my friend owns a part share in a tourmaline mine in the Grande Mesa and I spent a day up a mountain by his mine, sifting for gem fragments. I couldnt go in the mine itself because his friend is the only one qualified to lead parties in there but I loved it nonethless. I saw views that most people will never see because the mine is invite only and I got to do something that i never thought I would do.
I got sunburnt, dirty, thirsty and had run ins with bugs as well as a wooden shack they laughingly called a toilet and i have to say, i would do it again in an instant! that place was so peaceful, just the sound of your own breahing couterbalanced by the sounds of your shovel as you dig out the piles of rock to get to the stones. I swear, if i could show you i would but I can only tell you. If I had to describe it in one word..... peace.
@jeffery_7614203 (214)
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4 Sep 07
yes, i 'visited' germany. It is very difficult to overcome my thoughts on this country. i visited Hamburg in 1976 and this was a very emotional occassion, full of release and forgiveness on both sides.
I think what is harder is the forgiveness of the atrocities of the japanese. needless and uncalled for treatment of human beings. yet a proud history that could not of fortold what they were perpared to inflict on fellow beings.
I have never had the pleasure of visiting America but i am so glad that we formed a perfect alliance to protect liberty and freedom.
@sephrenia (567)
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5 Sep 07
I can understand why you feel that way about Germany. It's very difficult to like somewhere that was an enemy for so long and caused so much strife and I'm sorry if i bought up any unpleasant memories for you.
I did have to voice my own opinion of modern germany though, i think it's right that we look at both then and now but that's only my own opinion. I would love, if it would be ok with you and not too upsetting for you, if sometime we could settle down and talk about your wartime experiences?
The whole era fascinates and digusts me and yet I am driven to learn more and more about what happened through those dark years. I want to capture peoples memories and keep them alive so that I can better help people know why we should never forget.
Oh, I nearly forgot to mention it, my husbands father, RSM Gilbertson (I forget which corps, i'll find out for you) was in charge of part of the Berlin Airlift after the war as well so I have marriage ties and Family ties too to that time in History.
@tigertang (1749)
• Singapore
8 Sep 07
Funnily enough, I think one of the most liveable cities in the world is Hamburg. The city is clean, well to do and most of the social services work like clock work. My mother is now remarried to a German doctor and lives in Hamburg. For me, whenever I go back to Europe to visit, Hamburg is the only city I really want to visit.
Although I lived in London for three years, I don't really have much centimental attachment to the place. I have about two good friends there and memories of the first girl I feel in love with. But other than that there's no reason for me to revisit the city again - unless I found a fabulous business opportunity there.
In the USA, the city I have the most feeling for is San Francisco. Of the city, I have this wild memory of running away for the weekend for an utterly crazy wedding that I never got to attend. However, the non attendence of the wedding allowed me to see a city that somehow managed to co-exist with nature in the most magnificent way.
