I slept alright last night but woke up drenched in sweat this morning (not sure why). I did not get up when I should have and somewhat had to rush to get myself together. Thankfully, I packed for the most part last night so it was just putting little things away that I needed to do. I check-out today but thankfully the hotel will hold my things until after the tour. As much as I would’ve liked taking public transportation to the meeting point this morning I just didn’t have time and didn’t want to ruin my feet/ankles before the tour so I took an Uber.

     When I arrived at the meeting location it took me a few minutes to find the exact spot and if I’d shown up 3 minutes later I would’ve missed them as Pete was just finishing the count and getting ready to escort everyone to the bus (which was at another location). The ride would take about 40 minutes before we atrived at Sachenhausen. The ride was nice and once we arrived I let Pete know about my ankle and told him I’d keep up as much as I could but truth be told I was always in the back of the group.

     The Sachenhausen Memorial is interesting in a lot of ways as apparently it was built in 1936 and was the closest one to Berlin that housed VIP prisoners. We saw areas in which guards trained as well as places prisoners were led to be dehumanized. Taking in the full essence was a bit tough as I was in pain myself with my ankle and all the walking but people here were literally tortured.

     There was a boot testing area where guards would give the prisoners boots and have them run around for hours straight on different types of terrain. Afterwards they’d order them to take them off and would drain the blood from them…that’s crazy and evil! We saw gas and execution chambers were prisoners thought they were being led to get medically checked out (guards would have the white coat and telescope, the whole nine) and as they checked them they were either shot from behind or thrust into a gas chamber (just sad).

     Pete told us the story of a German guy named Georg Elser who tried to assasinate Hitler but due to a travel delay and change the bomb went off after he finished his speech and had left (it was placed ahead of time). Many Germans see Georg as a hero and had his attempt been successful there may have never been a Holocaust, who knows.

     We saw an area that had a barbed wire fence and things were so bad here some people would fling themselves into it to pit themselves out of misery. Camp vans would also come everyday and collect dead bodies and take them to the crematory. It was a lot to see and take in and by the time we were done my feet were hurting. I just paced myself as best as I could because these cobble stoned sidewalks are no joke and they are so long. I was reminded to pace myself after seeing an older lady ahead of me trip and fall face first on the ground. Myself and a few others nearby that saw it went over to ask if she was ok but she had her husband and grand-daughter with her and they signaled they’d handle it. I felt bad walking by as she was sprawled out on the ground but I defintely made sure to pay attention to where I’m walking.

     I was so happy to get back on the bus and sit down. Pete asked me about my ankle and said that Potsdam will involve more walking for a bit longer so I told him I would skip that and stay on the bus. Knowing that I needed to commute to Hamburg right after this I needed to save some strength because I’d also be taking all my things with me which is extra weight (best decision).

     So I sat on the bus an extra hour and 45 minutes and I went through my itinerary and canceled all of my walking tours that I had scheduled coming up because why would I constantly do that to myself given my situation now. I’m able to get refunds on them all and instead of a walking tour I booked the big bus tours for the remaining cities so at least I can sit down and still see all of the important sites. Whew, this took some time to do and by the time I was done I wanted to put my phone down.

     Though I didn’t do the Postdam tour I did take some photos of interesting things I saw around town as the bus drove to the settling spot. Once everyone was back on board after the tour we headed back to Berlin. A fun fact Pete shared is that if you see tram tracks in the street then you are in east Berlin as west Berlin doesn’t have a tram. Back at our meeting spot we parted ways and maybe resting my feet helped because I had a little pep in my step and was able to take the train and bus back to the hotel.

     Before heading to get my things from the front desk I stopped by a kebap place next door (I had told them the other day I would come back). I got a steak sandwich to go but ate a portion of it while there. I gathered my bags from the front desk and ordered an Uber to Berlin Central Station where I’d catch the train from Berlin to Hamburg. It would be a nice hour and 45 minute trip with Hamburg being the next stop so I was looking forward to boarding and relaxing.

     On board there weren’t many people and I ended up with a whole quarter (4 chairs and a table to myself). Thankfully outlets were in between the seats so I could charge my phone. It was indeed a relaxing ride where I took a moment to rest and write most of my experience for today. As we inched closer to Hamburg it was drizzling out. Once at the station I Ubered to my Airbnb.

     It took me a minute to figure out where to go to get in and how to use the key to get in. An Indian looking lady up on the 1st floor popped out and asked, “Can you just leave?” I looked at her and told her, “No I’m staying here on the 2nd floor” to which she replied, “Oh” (that’s what I thought go back to minding your business). I finally figured out how to get in and was so happy to get in the room because I’m tired. It was about 9:40pm by now so I stripped and put on lounge clothes and propped on the bed for a moment. I caught up with my mom to let her know I’m in and now I’m done with today’s write-up.