久久久无码人妻精品无码_6080YYY午夜理论片中无码_性无码专区_无码人妻品一区二区三区精99

USEUROPEAFRICAASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
Travel
Home / Travel / Travel

Beauty meets horror

By Yi-ling Liu | China Daily | Updated: 2012-01-05 10:25

Beauty meets horror

Intricate Gothic pre-12th century towers and houses with red-tiled roofs dominate the skyline of Prague. Photos provided to China Daily

Beauty meets horror

The entrance to the concentration camps of Auschwitz is designed to look like a train station.

Beauty meets horror
The Berlin Wall is one of the top attractions in Berlin.

A weeklong trip to the Eastern European cities of Prague in the Czech Republic and Krakow in Poland, ending in Berlin, was a revelation, Yi-ling Liu discovers.

My idea of European travel used to be strolling along the brightly lit Champs Elysees, frolicking on the French Riviera or sampling cheese in quaint Sicilian bistros, served by waiters named Mario or Michelangelo.

When I thought of Europe, it was Western Europe, possibly because the people are so outspoken and the sun is so vibrant. It was as if everything above Austria belonged to the duckling's ugly sibling.

It was time to check out the east of Europe and as such I decided to participate in a weeklong trip, starting with Prague, Czech Republic, and ending in Berlin, Germany.

Soon after stepping off the plane in Prague, I noticed some obvious differences between the east and the west of Europe. In the east, it seemed to me, the people are more reserved and stoic, the architecture more utilitarian, the speech more guttural, the food more starch-filled and the lifestyles more wallet-friendly.

But in no way did Eastern Europe shine less vibrantly.

On our first day in Prague, we took a walking tour of the city with a rotund woman who carried a pink umbrella as our guide. The city was like a page ripped out of an ornate, leather-bound storybook, full of intricate Gothic pre-12th century towers, small houses with red-tiled roofs and antique bookstores.

Even the McDonald's by St. Vitus Cathedral, where the coronations of Czech kings and queens took place, had a stone-carved storefront. The golden arches meticulously assimilated into the vintage atmosphere.

We spent the entire afternoon walking along the cobblestone Charles Bridge to Old Town Square, the indisputable heart of Prague, a vast open space flanked by a blend of Gothic and Baroque architecture and the fairytale-like Tyn Church.

The market we went to served a melange of Czech snacks - cinnamon rolls, fist-sized strawberries dipped in chocolate, sauerkraut frankfurters, crisp roadside pizzas. By nightfall, I had gained weight and Nutella stains were around the corners of my mouth.

By the time we arrived in Krakow, Poland, the sun and warmth had disappeared, and scarves and raincoats were necessary. It was beautiful, nonetheless, in an almost antiquarian way.

Beauty meets horror

Eastern Europeans are proud of Krakow - even the Soviets failed to leave their mark on the city center during 45 years of supervision.

Our guide, Tomacz, was sincere, witty and amicable. His friendliness was a welcome change from the hostile response we had received from hotel employees the night before.

From Tomacz, I learned the last pagan empire was in Lithuania, and Roman Polanski's film, The Pianist, was based on his own experiences in Krakow - so we retraced his steps.

We walked to the Jewish Quarter, an area of peeling facades, wooden shutters and dozens of cafes, all maintaining an air of pre-war timelessness.

We also had a lunch at the restaurant Steven Spielberg dined in when he was developing the Oscar-winning film Schindler's List.

Wieliczka Salt Mine, thrown together by the forces of nature around 15 million years ago, is massive. The mine features a 22,000-cubic-meter chapel, a salt lake that holds more than 300 grams of salt per liter and a hall big enough to fly a hot-air balloon in.

And everything was made out of salt - the mine guide explained to us that we could "lick everything except the tour guide and the statues".

Given this prompt, we excitedly ran our tongues across the salty walls like dogs lapping up buckets of water until we had to leave.

Our trip took a more somber turn when we visited the concentration camps of Auschwitz I and II, where an estimated 1.5 million people were brutally exterminated.

Beauty meets horror

Before the trip, I thought I was well informed about the Holocaust. But I wasn't.

There is no way to understand history's most horrific genocide other than setting foot in Auschwitz. The sheer scale of the camps is overwhelming.

Auschwitz II hosted 300 barracks and held up to 100,000 prisoners. It was stunning in a horrific way, so immense, so systematic, so much like an industrial plant - a blemish on the map of Poland.

I walked around in a scene I had only previously seen in textbooks - the entrance designed to look like a train station in order to coax prisoners into entering the camp and the mangled remains of the crematoria. It was surreal.

The Auschwitz museum provided more insight. Without being heavy-handed, the history of Auschwitz was presented with poignancy and professionalism.

We saw the blocks where prisoners were held and the "Death Wall" where they were shot. But what alarmed me the most was the seven tons of human hair displayed in a glass room. Only then could I better understand the complete depravity of the Nazi death machine.

We arrived in Berlin exhausted and moody after an overnight bus ride, with several nighttime stops at lonely gas stations to satiate the pangs of nocturnal hunger. After a long nap, however, we awoke at noon in Berlin, a city that possesses a beauty more cosmopolitan than fairytale Prague.

Berlin is a city of contrasts: a fusion of a utilitarian East and a romantic West. On one hand, there are remnants of the Soviet's rigid, straight-backed architecture. On the other hand, there is the Reichstag, a stunning piece of architecture with Norman Foster's signature glass dome. And there is the Brandenburg Gate, where a man in a yellow chicken suit invited us to take photos with him.

As a fun-loving but frustratingly naive group of students, we bunched together and posed for the camera, unaware that he would later aggressively demand euros for his service.

It seemed only natural then to visit what was left of the Berlin Wall, which once separated East and West Germany. We went to the colorful Check Point Charlie Museum, jam-packed with dramatic stories of separated lovers, of freedom-seeking families and of fed-up senior citizens in the German Democratic Republic who breached the wall.

A lover of trinkets and memorabilia, I was tempted to buy an overpriced piece of the wall contained in a plastic box. Fearing it may not have been a part of the famous wall, but perhaps an ordinary chunk of cement, I relinquished the souvenir and took photos instead.

Berlin is also a hybrid of old and new, dotted with both medieval-era cathedrals and glossy modern structures like the Sony Center and the Daimler Chrysler complex.

Neues Museum on Museum Island epitomizes this blend of old and new. Devastated during the war, the museum was renovated in 2008 and designed in such a way that the bomb marks, the signs of destruction and the history of the museum itself are integrated into the modern architecture. It is a remarkable achievement.

Wansee Villa is a pristine white house in suburban Berlin, where the Nazis decided on "The Final Solution" - the decision to order the murder of an estimated 11 million innocent people. It was such a stark contrast - the tranquil, upper-class setting, and the horrific documents from the Wansee Conference. This is Berlin's final paradox: It is a city where goodness and atrocity have existed side by side, a city of both beauty and horror.

At Berlin airport, we stocked up on Haribo gummies and German chocolate in the hope of reliving the Eastern European experience when we returned home.

Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
久久久无码人妻精品无码_6080YYY午夜理论片中无码_性无码专区_无码人妻品一区二区三区精99

    欧美挠脚心视频网站| 怡红院av一区二区三区| 中文字幕一区二区日韩精品绯色| 国产无一区二区| 五月激情综合色| 99久久精品国产导航| 日韩一二三四区| 亚洲欧美电影院| 国产精品一区二区在线观看网站| 欧美性一二三区| 中文字幕成人av| 五月婷婷综合在线| 色综合久久久久综合体| 国产人伦精品一区二区| 蜜臀国产一区二区三区在线播放| 色8久久人人97超碰香蕉987| 国产日韩欧美一区二区三区乱码| 日av在线不卡| 99精品黄色片免费大全| 久久精品夜夜夜夜久久| 青青草视频一区| 欧美日韩国产综合一区二区三区 | 日韩精品中文字幕在线不卡尤物| 日韩一区在线播放| 国产99精品国产| 精品国产免费人成在线观看| 天天射综合影视| 色综合色狠狠天天综合色| 亚洲精品在线网站| 亚洲电影一级片| 91福利在线播放| 国产精品久久久一本精品| 国产成人精品免费视频网站| 精品国产人成亚洲区| 美国三级日本三级久久99| 在线成人免费观看| 偷拍一区二区三区| 91.成人天堂一区| 亚洲v中文字幕| 欧美体内she精高潮| 亚洲乱码国产乱码精品精可以看| 99久久免费视频.com| 中文字幕av资源一区| 国产91丝袜在线18| 亚洲色图都市小说| 欧美性大战久久久久久久蜜臀| 亚洲午夜在线观看视频在线| 欧美一区二区三区精品| 国产一区久久久| 亚洲欧洲av另类| 国产在线国偷精品产拍免费yy| 亚洲国产精华液网站w | 91色视频在线| 亚洲亚洲精品在线观看| 7777精品伊人久久久大香线蕉经典版下载 | 一区二区欧美国产| 欧美精品在线视频| 经典三级视频一区| 国产精品第13页| 在线影视一区二区三区| 蜜桃视频在线观看一区二区| 久久精品视频免费观看| 色悠久久久久综合欧美99| 亚洲国产精品欧美一二99 | 69成人精品免费视频| 国内欧美视频一区二区| 最新热久久免费视频| 欧美系列在线观看| 精品无人码麻豆乱码1区2区| 中文字幕一区二区三区四区| 欧美日韩和欧美的一区二区| 久久国产日韩欧美精品| 国产精品久久久久aaaa| 欧美性xxxxxxxx| 激情五月婷婷综合| 1000精品久久久久久久久| 91麻豆精品国产91久久久更新时间| 国产精品一区二区无线| 亚洲一区二区三区四区在线免费观看 | 美脚の诱脚舐め脚责91| 国产精品高潮呻吟| 精品视频1区2区3区| 国产高清久久久| 亚洲成人精品影院| 久久噜噜亚洲综合| 欧美性猛交xxxxxx富婆| 国产精品一区专区| 香蕉影视欧美成人| 中文字幕av资源一区| 91精品在线麻豆| 91亚洲男人天堂| 精品无人码麻豆乱码1区2区 | 色香蕉久久蜜桃| 久久成人免费电影| 亚洲一卡二卡三卡四卡| 欧美国产视频在线| 日韩欧美综合在线| 欧美这里有精品| 国产成人免费视频网站高清观看视频| 亚洲mv在线观看| 国产精品进线69影院| 日韩精品一区二区在线| 欧美在线看片a免费观看| 国产91精品在线观看| 免费在线成人网| 一区二区三区中文免费| 久久精品亚洲一区二区三区浴池| 欧美老女人第四色| 91视频免费播放| 国产a精品视频| 蜜芽一区二区三区| 夜夜精品视频一区二区| 欧美激情在线一区二区| 欧美va亚洲va国产综合| 欧美日韩一区中文字幕| eeuss鲁片一区二区三区| 精品一区二区在线看| 亚洲成人av一区二区三区| 国产精品天美传媒| 精品不卡在线视频| 69av一区二区三区| 欧美日韩激情一区二区三区| 91免费国产在线| 成人综合在线观看| 韩国一区二区视频| 蜜臀av亚洲一区中文字幕| 亚洲v精品v日韩v欧美v专区| 亚洲精品欧美激情| 成人欧美一区二区三区视频网页| 国产日韩精品一区二区三区在线| 精品国产免费视频| 日韩欧美在线综合网| 7777精品伊人久久久大香线蕉的| 欧美在线视频你懂得| 91麻豆高清视频| 成人ar影院免费观看视频| 国产高清久久久久| 国产米奇在线777精品观看| 久久精品国产网站| 麻豆精品国产91久久久久久| 日韩av电影免费观看高清完整版在线观看| 一个色在线综合| 亚洲综合在线免费观看| 亚洲最大的成人av| 亚洲一区二区三区四区五区中文 | 精品日韩99亚洲| 欧美成人在线直播| 日韩欧美国产高清| 日韩免费观看2025年上映的电影 | 亚洲成人av一区| 亚洲午夜羞羞片| 亚洲成人免费视频| 日韩电影免费一区| 蜜桃av一区二区三区电影| 日本 国产 欧美色综合| 麻豆国产91在线播放| 精品亚洲porn| 国产福利精品一区| 成人免费不卡视频| 99久久精品国产一区二区三区| 99精品在线免费| 色综合久久66| 欧美日韩中字一区| 欧美一区二区三区在线观看| 日韩美女天天操| 精品久久久三级丝袜| 国产欧美一区在线| 亚洲天天做日日做天天谢日日欢| 亚洲欧美日韩国产手机在线| 一区二区欧美精品| 日本不卡视频在线观看| 国产一区二区精品久久| 成人综合日日夜夜| 色综合天天综合网天天看片| 欧美综合一区二区| 欧美一区二区久久久| 久久先锋影音av鲁色资源网| 中文字幕av一区二区三区免费看| 亚洲日本va午夜在线电影| 亚洲电影一级黄| 久久er精品视频| 成人国产精品免费观看动漫 | 欧美xxxxx牲另类人与| 欧美激情资源网| 亚洲精品中文在线| 亚洲图片欧美色图| 激情欧美一区二区| 99久久久国产精品免费蜜臀| 欧美午夜精品久久久| 日韩欧美在线一区二区三区| 中文字幕第一页久久| 亚洲小少妇裸体bbw| 久久99国内精品| 成人app在线观看| 欧美日产国产精品| 欧美午夜精品免费| 欧美精品一区二区三区视频| 中文字幕日本乱码精品影院| 天堂va蜜桃一区二区三区| 99re热这里只有精品免费视频|