I was going through the pictures from my trip to Germany back in 06, and came accross some pictures I took of the Kehlsteinhaus (also known as the Eagle's Nest). I thought it would be interesting idea to start a thread were we can post pictures of the various historical places we have visited. I'll start us off with, of course, the Kehlsteinhaus.





Not of the Haus itself, but of the Königssee. This was taken from the same spot where I took the pictures of the Kehlsteinhaus

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Success is measured in blood; yours or your enemy's.

An absolutely beautiful part of Germany. It's amazing how much forest is standing in Germany, after all these centuries of human occupation. It's a grand testimonial to how much they love their country.

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"The real question of life after death isn't whether or not it exists, but even if it does, what problems this really solves." - Ludwig Wittgenstein

"A day without sunshine is, you know, night."- Shannon

I see your mountains and raise you... mountains!




(And a little ruin called Machu Picchu. )

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"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God."
Matthew 5:9

The Eagle's Nest is definitely situated in a gorgeous place with an incredible view. Funny enough, Hitler only went into it a few times because he was afraid of heights and instead made the Burghof further down the mountain (badly damaged by bombings late in the war and afterwards demolished) his primary mountain retreat.

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Around 200,000 Irish immigrants served in the Union and Confederate armies in the American Civil War, often forming their own regiments and, at times, fought each other. At Fredericksburg, the Union’s Irish Brigade faced the Irish McMillan's Guards of Cobb's 24th Georgia entrenched in a sunken road behind a stone wall. Ordered to make a suicidal charge, it became one of the most famous events of the Civil War. The re-enactment portrayed in the movie Gods and Generals:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qVCxEupPag

He he, I've been there too. Amazing!

I really like Thorhammer’s thread about historic places and I’m somewhat surprised that so few of us have posted pictures/reports until now.

I mean, the USPO community doesn’t seem to be a hang out place for never-leaving- their- trailer- park “trash” and that’s why I’m really hoping to read far more reports in here in the future!

Anyway Wednesday (05/21/08) I “had” a day to fill with activities in Tokyo before my flight back home and so I decided to visit the Yasukuni-shrine.

It was founded 1879 as the “nation’s peace shrine” and it’s the place, where Japan remembers its 2.5 million soldiers fallen since the Meiji restoration.
It’s the shrine, whose visits by Japanese politicians use to provoke harsh reactions from their fellow Asian neighbors.

At first those harsh reactions seem rather “irrational” to me, especially giving the shrine’s “small” size and the rather peaceful architecture/atmosphere of the building/site, especially when compared to some “Western” war memorial sites.

Somehow I also don’t buy the argument, that those reactions are based on the fact that among the 2.5 million dead soldiers remembered/buried there, some few have been war criminals.

I mean, what are a few war criminal’s “souls” compared to the millions of “poor”, regular “drafties”/soldiers, who are buried/remembered there?

Nothing! Anyway the museum called Yushukan, attached right next to the Yasukuni-shrine, offers a rather clear explanation for those harsh Asian reactions.

It’s officially the museum to “remember Japanese soldiers killed in action” and I really liked the aspect of the museum focused on honoring Nippon’s fallen soldiers and their sacrifices/bravery (an aspect which I desperately miss in Germany and really hope we Germans could do one day as well)

Well at the same time the museum’s core message seems to be unbelievable political incorrect and also pure history rewriting (at least) for most foreigners.

For example, Japan’s war with China is just called the “Chinese incident”, the Nanking massacre isn’t mentioned at all and the war with America is being presented as highly justified. The museum tour ends with explanations/examples of how Nippons war efforts motivated/encouraged other Asian nations to seek their own independence.

Well apart from that, especially the high respect/emphasize for occurred and/or planned kamikaze-tactics, illustrations of kamikaze methods (kamikaze airplanes/pilots, coastal kamikaze anti landing boat divers, kamikaze submarines or kamikaze human tank “killers”) is somewhat “disturbing/confusing”.

Even as the museum’s message is in parts “confusing/disturbing” it’s still very good at explaining Nippons actions/motivations back then and by changing/readjusting the emphasis/focus of the museum by e.g. adding a section like “how/why Japanese actions/politics “lost”the war” the museum could be so much more/better.

My view is influenced by my personal opinion that for example German museums/sites totally fail to explain/show how the views, values and social realities have been in Germany(and in the rest of the world) before/during the time of WWII and how/why they have affected events/policies.
This lack of explanation/perspective causes mainly younger visitors to be totally unable to really understand historical events and to appreciate all the lessons, changes and the social obstacles which had to be overcome to finally reach the point were we are now.

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"bellum omnium contra omnes; atque in eo bello jus esse omnibus in omnia."
Thomas Hobbes

"Homo Homini Lupus"
Thomas Hobbes

Bad Bentheim, a German town in the state of Lower-Saxony, near Dutch border

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Forum for Germans & German descendents:

http://teutonica.freeforums.org/

Forum for Germanic preservation:

http://germanic-worlds.forumotion.com

So what about the only completely preserved roman city gate left north of the Alps, standing in Trier/Germany



http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...om_outside.jpg

my famous old places that awe....

baths of Caracalla...

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Obama-e fungis nati homines....

Trier is for sure worth a visit and one can breath European history at every second corner.

Just as a side note, at least imho the amphitheater/gladiators arena in Trier is not worth a visit. Maybe it's okay to go there, if there's a concert/theather play in there, but as a historical side it's boring, nothing special and not worth the entrence fee.

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"bellum omnium contra omnes; atque in eo bello jus esse omnibus in omnia."
Thomas Hobbes

"Homo Homini Lupus"
Thomas Hobbes

Opinions may differ whether or not the roman amphitheater ( where gladiator games were held by the Romans for centuries´) is an architectonic highlight and worth a visit

Google-Ergebnis für http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/TrierAmphitheaterMay1999.jpg


but fact is that the entire Moselle region from the Vosges mountains in France down to the Deutsches Eck in Koblenz is an area with remarkable natural beauty and more than two thousand years of european history.

And not to forget its most tasty product :

Mosel-Saar-Ruwer - Die Riesling-Spezialisten · wein-wg.de · Deutschlands großes Winzerverzeichnis

Neuschwanstein, from my trip to Germany

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Success is measured in blood; yours or your enemy's.

Deutsches Eck, again from my trip

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Success is measured in blood; yours or your enemy's.

Burg Eltz. From, you guessed it, my trip to Germany. Probably my favorite castle.

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Success is measured in blood; yours or your enemy's.

Brandenburger Tor

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Success is measured in blood; yours or your enemy's.