Thank you amyb. Very very, interesting about the houses close to the camp.

On my very first visit many years ago there was a small wooden shack close to the main gate which served as a little bookshop. It was staffed by two elderly gentlemen who each wore little badges of the colours of the regiments they were each part off and which liberated the camp. My memory doesn’t serve me well here but both regiments came in from the east. I feel sure they said Czechoslovakian. Anyway, they explained to me that all locals were brought to the camp immediately after it was liberated to let them see what had happened there. There was a book available in their little shack about the reactions to the forced visit but there was no English translation.

Just a wee bit info about that first visit. I had an elderly neighbour, a wonderful Jewish friend, who, when finding out I was going to make my first trip to Berlin asked a special favour. He gave me a small item that belonged to his younger brother who perished at Sachenhausen, asked me to visit the camp and told me exactly where he wanted me to put it. I followed his instructions and know that it will never be found. Perhaps it was closure for my old neighbour. I hope so.

Bill

Bill...what you did for your neighbor was an outstanding "mitzvah" (Hebrew, for a good deed)...thank you.

AmyB..thorough, thoughtful, respectful and properly detailed. What more can Forum members ask, Thank you. Pics?
Stu

Photos. Hopefully the links work. Add http:// to the front of the link if not.

Berlin: share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8BZMWTZs3cMfc
Dresden: share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8BZMWTZs3cMf-
Berlin Zoo: share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8BZMWTZs3cMgO
Dresden Zoo: share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8BZMWTZs3cMgs

thanks for sharing your pictures and the review of the museums. we will be going to berlin next year but will be there for only 4-5 days so we will not see as much as you did. we need to prioritize our sightseeing, sp the museums. your report helps in deciding which ones we will visit.

amyb - Thanks for this report. How did you get from Berlin to Dresden? Train?

Yes, kenav, I took the train. It was very easy, fast and cheap.

amyb:
When you took the train from Berlin to Dresden did you go 1st or 2nd class and also were you carrying a large suitcase and if so where on the train did you store that?

Hi Bill, I don't remember exactly which class I took, but I know I reserved a seat, which I think you have to do on longer journeys. Going to Dresden, there was a luggage rack at the ends of the car, so I left my luggage there (22" upright luggage). Coming back to Berlin though, instead of the standard rows of train seats, there were compartments in the cars each with 6 seats (three and three facing each other) and no luggage racks to be found at the ends of the car. That left my too-large-to-put-overhead-luggage out in the hallway outside the compartment rolling about. Not ideal, but at the time I found no better way. A couple of locals told me not to worry about it, but the conductor wasn't pleased at it being out there. In any event, I survived and the luggage was fine.

Thanks Amby - we shall try for a train without compartments and go 1st class. One other question- for the Dresden to Berlin route I assume when the train pulled in the cars are labeled Berlin on the outside along with class ( 1 or 2). Do you remember at the Dresden station if there was a board on the track that indicated the position of the cars as it would arrive so that you knew where to stand on the platform so that your car would be in front of you?
Thanks

I can't remember that for sure, Bill. I'm sure others who go through more frequently would be able to say.

Ok lets see if someone who has traveled from Dresden to Berlin by train can answer my last question to amyb.

You might want to post a new thread on train travel specifically in the event that folks don't make their way back to an older trip report.

> a board on the track that indicated the position of the cars as it would arrive so that you knew where to stand on the platform so that your car would be in front of you?

Yes, it's on every platform where long-distance trains depart.

Thanks Ingo - you have given me a lot of good advice on this forum.