And despite it’s well-trodden tourist trail, Europe is also scattered with unique, odd, and extremely obscure sites and attractions that visitors often overlook. Museums dedicated to currywurst in Germany or phallic objects in Iceland; odd sculptures and street art installations in Sarajevo, Prague, and Paris; and the uniqueness of Antoni Gaudi’s works in Barcelona offer visitors respite from admiring yet another baroque church or breathtaking vista.

While the Eiffel Tower or Colosseum are at little risk of losing their prestige to many these lesser-known sites, visitors seeking offbeat attractions will find plenty to marvel at in Europe. During our time exploring this continent we stumbled onto our fair share of unique, obscure, and sometimes plain weird sites. Here are a few of our favorites.

Gnome Sculptures – Wroclaw, Poland

Hundreds of small bronze gnome sculpture, about a foot in height, are scattered through the historic core of Wroclaw, Poland and surrounding neighbourhoods. “Cool” gnomes riding motorcycles, wizard gnomes in tall pointy hats, and environmentally conscious gnomes pushing recycling bins are tucked into corners, suspended form lampposts, and hidden in plain sight for those that know where to look. Anyone want to play I spy?

Comic Strip Murals – Brussels, Belgium

“Yoko Tsuno” – You can really see the size

Much like Gdansk’s gnomes, the city of Brussels is dotted with epic murals depicting a range of famous and obscure comic book characters. Tintin (and his little dog Snowy) is likely the most famous characters to appear in these murals, however even non-comic book reading visitors are sure to spot a few other familiar faces while exploring the city. They murals even have a Wikipedia page.

Pregnant Lady Street Art Installation – Prague, Czech Republic

image via

A contender for the strangest piece of public art we’ve seen to date, this sculpture depicts a pregnant lady, kneeling on the ground with her legs spread and her hands firmly clasped behind her head. Still not obscure enough for Prague, the sculpture is created out of shiny aluminum and is very reminiscent of a lego sculpture.  Overtly sexual, somehow the sculpture works in Prague, even if passing school children look up at it with puzzled expressions.

Carmo Convent – Lisbon, Portugal

Rows of large arches

Ruined by earthquake in 1755, today all that remains of Carmo Convent are the beautiful Gothic pillars of the former church and a small museum. These exterior elements of Carmo Convent are quite stunning, especially on a sunny day, and the site’s museum houses two Peruvian mummies from the 16th century – an off-putting display that only gets creepier upon closer inspection. A real contender for oldest human hair we’ve ever seen in person.

Pere Lachaise Cemetery – Paris, France

The presence of graffiti shows we are in the right place

As far as cemeteries go, Pere Lachaise is far from the strangest we’ve had the chance to explore. What makes Pere Lachaise so unique is that it is the final resting place for The Doors frontman Jim Morrison, whose headstone has grown into something of a shrine. Forty plus years since his death, fans still leave flowers, graffiti, and the odd joint in tribute to Morrison, while a security guard watches to ensure no one jumps the guard rails surrounding his headstone.

Museum of Broken Relationships – Zagreb, Croatia

Rage and Fury Room (via)

It’s always a good sign when you first hear about a quirky museum like this while washing your laundry in an equally quirky laundromat in Dubrovnik, Croatia, and as promised, the Museum of Broken Relationships did not disappoint. The museum’s premise is quite simple – helping people emotionally overcome a failed relationship by contributing to their collection. In under an hour we browsed the personal belongings of hundreds of contributors from around the world. Some of these displays were funny, others angering, touching, or the equivalent of emotional napalm, but all were wonderfully quirky.

Abandoned Beelitz Sanitorium – Berlin, Germany

Delving deeper into Berlin and it’s tumultuous history, I signed up for a tour of the abandoned Beelitz Sanitorium just outside the city limits. A short walk from the primitive train station, in a small clearing, three buildings sit in a horseshoe shape. Constructed in 1902, these buildings first served as a tuberculosis clinic before becoming a hospital during both World Wars, even treating then soldier Adolf Hitler during the first World War. During the Cold War, this site was the largest Soviet hospital outside of Russia before being deserted in the early nineties. Many a rave have been held here since, and while the crumbling buildings are beginning to show their age, their original beauty is still evident.

Museum of Art Fakes – Vienna, Austria

Small space, big art (fakes)

Incorrectly reading the hours of operation for this tiny museum, Travis and I returned three times before we finally got our timing right, however all this back and forth was completely worth it to delve into the world of art fakes. In addition to learning about the immense level of effort that goes into creating an art fake, from the aged paper used to specific hardening processes, brush strokes, and in one case egg yolk washes, we were able to come face to face with fakes so good that they were verified as authentic and sold for millions of dollars.

Europe offers visitors so many different types of attractions, it really is a mixed bag of so many wonderful things. Have you had a chance to visit Europe? What’s the most off-beat or quirky attraction you’ve seen there?

The post Offbeat Europe – 8 Unique and Lesser Known Attractions appeared first on Have Blog Will Travel.

However in many ways our Berlin of only ten months ago isn’t a full representation of this lively city, and with that in mind we sought out new neighbourhoods and sights to explore, unearthing even more ways to love this beautifully worn city. We stayed in Charlottenburg, the home of the Prussian palace of the same name and one of the main reasons that Berlin even exists, we went to Kreuzberg in search of good street food, we ventured to sunny Potsdam with its parks and palaces, and we criss-crossed all over the city with Dennis during our journey through the Third Reich. These new finds assured us that, like Paris, Rome, and London, there will always be something new to discover in this wonderful city.

Hopefully a few more photos will encourage you to add Berlin to your next trip to Europe.

The Reichstag Building

Travis by a remaining section of the wall

“Soldiers” at Checkpoint Charlie…there haven’t been real soldiers here for a while.

The Gendarmenmarkt, one of the most important squares in Berlin

The Berliner Dom

The post Berlin in Review appeared first on Have Blog Will Travel.

The Olympic Bell, a tradition that didn’t catch on, shot down by the Soviet Army

As luck would have it, we were the only participants to show, although there was a large Italian speaking group we could have joined; however, the day became even better when Dennis appeared as our guide for the day. The icing on the cake?  As no one else would be joining us, we were able to personalize the tour, focusing on the areas we found most interesting! Everything was really too good to be true, and being the polite, courteous people we are, Travis and I felt a little bad taking up so much of Dennis’ time by ourselves.

The Olympic Pool, still in use today.

Needless to say, the tour was fantastic – informative, well paced, and extremely interesting. We crisscrossed the city making great use of our full day transit passes and visiting sites like Track 17 where the Jewish population of Berlin was deported to concentration camps, the Bavarian quarter where Albert Einstein once lived, and the Olympic Stadium where Jesse Owens won Olympic Gold before Hitler and Nazi Germany in 1936. Along the way, Dennis shared his wealth of knowledge regarding all things Berlin, from the history of particular neighbourhoods to interesting tidbits about the train stations we stopped in and his own take on current day affairs in Berlin. And, as always, Dennis’ tour incorporated the stories of various Berliners, making all the much more real and personal.

The memorial at Track 17

Although we can’t share all of Dennis’ secrets with you, we will try to tempt you into joining your own Vive Berlin tour group next time you find yourself in the city. Here are a few of the amazing things we learned during our six hour tour.

• The Olympic Torch Relay was started at the 1936 Olympics – and the idea came form the office of none other than Joseph Goebbels.
• Soviet Military Leaders in East Berlin didn’t have to go without the delicacies of the West; their wives made weekly trips to the luxurious KaDeWe department store in West Berlin for caviar and champagne – oh the irony!
• The expensive red marble floor from Hitler’s Chancellery Office now lines the walls of a local U-Bahn Station

A marker denotes every train that left from Track 17 with Jewish people on board.

We have now attended two of Vive Berlin’s tours and cannot recommend their company highly enough, and it appears Trip Advisor agrees. For an insider’s view of Berlin, a guided tour with Vive Berlin is the way to go – and no, they did not pay us to say any of this, as always our opinions are as free as they are plentiful!

The Logistics: For information on any of Vive Berlin’s tours visit http://www.viveberlintours.de Prices vary by tour and private guides are also available; the Third Reich tour cost us 17 Euro per person for a six hour tour, a great value as far as we’re concerned (It would cost you 7 Euro just to visit the Olympiastadion…but it’s included in the price here!).

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After admiring the architecture and snapping many photographs, we stumbled onto a small market where we just couldn’t turn down the opportunity to buy some delicious raspberries. We ate them in the small park next door, and with the sun filtering down through the trees it was a perfect travel moment.

After exploring the city for an hour or so, we made our way to the main reason that most people head to Potsdam – Sanssouci park. We wandered through the grounds built by Frederick the Great before finding our way to the highlight of the park, the Sanssouci Palace (the park is actually home to two palaces, the Sanssouci Palace and the “new” Palace). Although relatively small for a “Palace”, the Rococo masterpiece was built in the likeness of Versailles, complete with a sculpture garden, fountains, and a beautiful terraced vineyard.

The park itself has tons of other things to discover and explore other than the palaces if that’s not your thing. Beautiful gazebos, temples, churches, a large windmill, and even some fake “Roman ruins” can be explored over a nice easy afternoon. After finishing at the park we wandered through some more of the exquisite architecture, all the while finding it hard to believe that Potsdam was part of the GDR for so long.

Potsdam is also notable on an international scale as the home of the well known Potsdam Conference, the largest post-WWII meeting between the Allies (the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States), during which they decided how to administer punishment to the defeated Nazi Germany, as well as establish a post-war peace treaties and outline the terms of surrender for Japan.  After construction of the Berlin Wall, Potsdam lay just outside West Berlin, and completely isolated from the walled city.

Present day Potsdam is a university town and home to several UNESCO World Heritage sites, many of which are historic parks and palaces. It is also extremely easy to explore either by foot or bicycle, the later is available to rent at numerous places throughout town including just outside the train station.

The Logistics: 30 minute train trip on the RE-1 from Berlin, the city of Potsdam has two stops so pay attention to where you want to get off. An all day ABC transportation ticket may be a good idea as it also includes any transportation within the city of Potsdam (7.20 Euro/person).

The post A Sunny Day in Potsdam appeared first on Have Blog Will Travel.

Now this isn’t your average street food market, set along a nice street in tents. This was Berlin style, set in an old market building with whatever seating could be found. Every Thursday from 5-10pm a ton of great street food eateries from around Berlin congregate in Markthalle Neun in Kreuzberg for Street Food Thursdays.

We arrived just after 6 and there was no mistaking that this was the place to be. Thousands of people were snacking on delicious treats from around the globe along the street and in the market space on old picnic tables.

The options seemed endless and we spent a good 30 minutes walking around looking at all the different cultures and styles represented here. From spaetzle to kimchi tacos to american bbq to homemade cellar beer, the possibilities were endless. We sampled a little of the fare and Calli had a field day taking photos – all the time thinking how great it would be if places like this existed in Canada.

The logistics: Markthalle Neun Street Food Thursdays run from 5-10pm. The closest public transport is the Gorlitze U-Bahn Station. Prices are very reasonable (e.g. a serving of Spaetzle is 4 Euro, three Mexican tacos for 6 Euro, etc.).

The post Exploring Berlin’s Crazy Street Food Scene appeared first on Have Blog Will Travel.

Differently coloured patches covering bullet holes or artillery damage can be seen everywhere.

Fortunately, much of the famous collections housed within the museums were evacuated prior to the war, hidden away for safe keeping in basements, secret bunkers, and distant mine shafts, and as a result were relatively undamaged. However, in an interesting twist, when many of these collections were discovered by Allied or Soviet forces after the war, not all found their way back to their original homes. Perhaps the most famous of which is Priam’s Treasure (also called the gold of Troy), which disappeared from a protective bunker in the Berlin Zoo shortly after World War Two and reappeared in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow in 1993. Although the Soviet Union denied any knowledge of the treasure’s whereabouts during the Cold War, as of January 2010 Russia has stated that they are keeping the artifacts as compensation for the destruction of Russian cities and looting of Russian museums by Nazi Germany in World War II.

During our previous visit to Berlin, Travis had been fortunate to explore five of the city’s top museums, all on Museum Island, where as I was only able to admire their lovely exteriors (opting instead to attend a photography tour outside the city). Therefore, during our return visit this fall, an in-depth visit of these museums was at the top of my “to-do” list.

The Alte Nationalgalerie

Of the Island’s five museums, we fully explored two with the time we had: the Neues Museum which was completely destroyed during in World War II, and the Pergamon Museum, home to the Pergamon Altar. Although many of the smaller artifacts on display are quite interesting, I found that the buildings themselves, especially the Neues Museum (designed by David Chipperfield) captured my attention, and found myself both enthralled and saddened when envisioning the museum’s original grandeur at the turn of the 20th century.

Some of the original wall decorations that survived the war in the Neues Museum

The famed Pergamon Altar from Turkey

The Ishtar Gate of Babylon with its blue-glazed tiles

Equally as impressive as the Neues Museum are the enormous reconstructed building elements housed within the Pergamon Museum. Transported to Berlin in pieces and then reassembled, the Pergamon Altar dates back to the 2nd century BC and is a whopping 35.64 meters wide and 33.4 meters deep – a truly impressive sight upon first entering the museum. The Pergamon is also home to the Market Gates of Miletus, Ishtar Gates of Babylon, and the Mshatta Facade, all in their original size and splendour.

Admission to all five museums on the island is 18 Euro and includes a complementary audio-guide at the entrance to each one.

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Why did you write that???

-Calli, Sept 13/13

The streak is over. Calli asked me why I jinxed our streak at the end of the Iceland Football Match post, but I had no response. Hertha BSC lost to Stuttgart and we have a blemish on our once-perfect record. But more on that later.

We were excited to have tickets to see a Hertha BSC match during our stay in Berlin this time around. Not only were we looking forward to another Bundesliga match (after our very enjoyable one in Wolfsburg last December), but we were also excited about the prospect of watching a match in the Berlin Olympic Stadium. Very rarely do you have the chance to see a sporting event in such a storied place. The stadium has survived a World War and hosted the Summer Olympics and 2 World Cups. It is the place where Jesse Owens won 4 gold medals in front of Adolf Hitler, the place where the Olympic torch relay was invented, and the place where Zidane’s infamous headbutt occurred.

With all that in mind we eagerly joined over 50,000 excited Berliners to watch Hertha BSC take on Stuttgart. Upon exiting the U-bahn, we were immediately taken aback by the sheer number of people. People laden in blue and white were drinking and singing as the marched on towards the stadium. A vendor selling scarves laughingly mocked some Stuttgart fans walking among us by pretending to burn some Stuttgart scarves he had for sale. Pretty standard stuff in Germany I’m sure.

We grabbed our tickets and found our gate. Then it was time for beer and pretzels. Obviously. Two half-litre beers and two pretzels cost us about $10 and we found our way to our seat. The massive section of fans in the ostkurve were already there making their presence known. Easily the largest stadium we’ve ever been to (capacity is around 76,500) it slowly began to fill. By kickoff, all but the sections surrounding the Stuttgart fans were full.

To be perfectly honest, the spectacle itself was more exciting than the game. Stuttgart scored early in the second half, and their keeper made save after save to squeak them out a 1-0 victory. This ended our undefeated streak of games dating back to last trip.

We are going to be headed back to the Olympiastadion as part of our tour with ViveBerlin, and are excited to hear (and then share with you) even more of the fascinating history of the building. In the meantime here are two videos to give you an idea of the size and the noise there!

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For more information on the incredible lineup of photo tours provided by Go2Know, check out their website (using Google translate).

More photos are available on our Flickr page, which you can always reach via the flickr button at the top of the page or the photos tab.

The post Photos from the Berlin Photo Tour (It’s About Time…) appeared first on Have Blog Will Travel.

Although not intended to be an extermination camp, as the war progressed gas chambers and ovens were constructed as a means to kill large numbers of prisoners. Due to intentional destruction and neglect during the camp’s time under Soviet control, the remains of Station Z (the only “way out” of Sachsenhausen for many prisoners) have only recently been uncovered.

Initially prisoners were shot by SS guards before the use of gas chambers

As we walked around the decrepit foundation, the only evidence remaining of Station Z‘s existence, Dennis explained the many different methods employed by the Nazi’s to kill prisoners. Although it was extremely upsetting to talk of the Nazi’s search for more efficient means of killing prisoners, always taking into consideration what was best for their soldiers doing the killing, it was even more dreadful to acknowledge the events that took place underfoot only sixty-ish years earlier. Estimates have put the total number of lives lost at Sachsenhausen at 30,000, however this number is difficult to determine as thousands of Soviet prisoners of war were killed immediately upon arrival at the camp without being registered, their bodies disposed of in mass graves.

The faces of six Russian civilians upon arrival at Station Z

The slumping foundation – all that remains

Four large ovens inside Station Z

In the Spring of 1945, with the Red Army advancing, the SS officers ordered the evacuation of Sachsenahusen and 33,000 inmates were sent on a forced “death” march towards the northeast. Unfortunately many of these prisoners were malnourished or physically exhausted and were shot by the SS after collapsing en route. As a result, only 3,000 inmates remained on April 22, 1945 when the Red Army and the Polish Army’s 2nd Infantry Division liberated the camp and surrounding area. After the liberation, Sachsenhausen came under Soviet control and was renamed Soviet Special Camp No. 1. The camp was used to house German officers convicted of war crimes, anti-communists, and Nazi collaborators. The use of forced labour, prisoner abuse, and poor conditions continued, and mortality rates during this time were no better than those under the previous Nazi regime.

Looming wall and guard tower

In 1950 the camp was officially closed, and the majority of the buildings on site were demolished, likely to hide any evidence of Soviet wrong-doing. In 1956 the site was established as national memorial with a strong focus on the suffering of political prisoners over the other minority groups detained. However, not until the fall of East Germany was it possible to complete excavations of the site. Holding back tears, it was obvious that everyone in our group had been moved by the visit. Today, the memorial at Sachsenhausen is open to the public 365 days of the year for family members and visitors to pay respect.

The post Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp – Part II appeared first on Have Blog Will Travel.

Guard Tower A flanked by two of the only buildings still standing

Gravel pads mark the location of the former barracks

 

As a labour camp, prisoners at Sachsenhausen worked long days in the nearby manufacturing plants, including a brickworks factory that was known in camp for it’s high mortality rates. Interestingly, the Concentration Camp was also home to the largest counterfeiting operation ever  which produced fake American and British currency as part of a plan to undermine the economies of these two countries by dumping them into the streets. Although this plan was never completed, millions of 5, 10, 20, and 50 pound notes were used to make purchases and and seamlessly made their way into circulation.

A single cell reserved for important political prisoners

A scratchy blue and white striped prison uniform

 

Although only two barracks are still standing, in addition to Guard Tower A (main gate) and the perimeter wall, it’s actually quite easy to get a good understanding of the camp’s layout.
As we sat in the small common area of one of the barracks, situated between the lavatory and sleeping area, Dennis explained that the barracks often housed upwards of two hundred and fifty prisoners each, with only eight toilets and two washing troughs fed with cold water. The prisoners were only allowed access to use the facilities for thirty minutes at the beginning and end of the day, making it impossible for everyone to all maintain a proper level of hygiene. As a result of these living conditions, and the harsh winters, disease, infection, and frostbite was prevalent throughout the camp.

Eight toilets in a row

Two wash bins (left) and small foot baths (right)

Survivor accounts have painted a gruesome depiction of both the horrific conditions within camp and the prevalence of prisoner abuse. Abuse from SS guards was a part of daily life in the camp, including brutal beatings, torture, and murder; however, I was surprised to learn that infighting amongst prisoners was also regular. Fueled by the camp’s practice of labeling the prisoners’ uniforms using coloured triangles to represent their alleged “crimes” (red for communists, green for convicted criminals, pink for homosexuals, a yellow Star of David for Jews, etc…), a hierarchy quickly developed within camp. Although the main minority group targeted by the Nazi’s was the Jewish community, it’s important not to lose sight of the many minority groups targeted by the Nazi’s, including Romani (gypsies), people with disabilities, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Soviet and Polish citizens, and Soviet prisoners of war.

This badge denotes a Jewish prisoner

Prisoners in this area were shot immediately

For more information about Sachsenhausen and our guided visit, you can read part two of this post here.

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