The Nazi Castle (Wewelsburg, Germany)

Nazi Castle (Wewelsburg)

Less than an hour from where we live in Germany is a rather infamous castle. Originally built as a residence for the region's prince-bishop in 1603, in 1934, the Nazi's and specifically the SS acquired the castle. The castle was to serve as a school for leaders of the German 3rd Reich and the ideological center of the SS. The castle was the pet project of Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS. Nearby the castle, a concentration camp was erected to house the slave labor that was used to redesign and rebuild the castle. The castle was only partially finished when the Allies invaded Germany. As the Allies were closing in, Himmler gave the order to burn the castle. However, not all of the castle was destroyed, and the damaged sections have since been rebuilt. The main rooms used by the SS are still intact.

Patty and I went on a daytrip to the castle hosted by the international office at the university. There we had English tours of the castle and learned about its history. Click the picture above for more pictures.

Dusseldorf, Germany

Dusseldorf, Germany

We took a trip with a group of other people from the University to Dusseldorf, which is the capital of the German state of North Rhine Westphalia (also the state we live in). The trip was organized by the university's international office. We stayed in a youth hostel, which was much nicer than we expected!
While we were there, we went on several guided tours...one of the history of the city and it's architecture, and another in the state parliament. At the parliament, we got to sit in on a session and watch the politicians debate. It was kind of ridiculous actually...one would be giving a speech and everyone else would be reading a newspaper, laughing with their friends, talking on their cell phone...anything but listening to the person speaking. I'm sure some things are common all over the world.
Dusseldorf is right on the Rhine river, which is really nice. There was a line of houses facing the river that were amazing...no telling how much it would cost to live there.
Another can't miss part of Dusseldorf was königsallee (The king's alley). There you can find some of the most high-end shopping in Germany, complete with a man playing classical violin in the street. The jewelery stores had bodyguards at the entrance! We saw one necklace that was 91,000 euros. We got a kick out of just looking at the outrageous prices of things, especially the clothing. I have a theory that high-end clothing designers have a secret competition going on, to see who can make the worst looking clothing and charge the most for it. People sure will pay big money for a big name....
Dusseldorf was a really nice place. It had everything that a large city has, while still being unique and quaint like a town.