Okay, so first off my host Anna is awesome. She was so friendly and did everything she could to made me feel comfortable. Thanks Anna!
On tuesday we went to the state stud stallion training center in Celle. The horses were gorgeous and it was interesting to hear about how they train both the young horses and the riders. For the riders it seems like a very competitive and intense program but a great experience. I also got an opportunity to collect one of the stallions. I've only seen a stallion collection once before and I've never had to opportunity to participate in once so it was a really cool experience for me. A little bit intimidating though because this big stallion comes charging up to you stomping everywhere but they're well trained and know their job.
After we went to celle we went to Bergen-Belsen which is a former concentration camp. They had a museum with picture and stories from people who where not in the camps but lived near by. It was such a haunting and eerie place, made even more so by the gun and cannon fire that was going off near by. There is a military base a few kilometers away and they were just running drills but it was a bit freaky. In addition, there were several burial mounds with thousands of people buried in mass graves. It's a Jewish tradition to lay stones on the grave stones and many of the markers had stones and prayers for the dead of them. And amidst all this horrible history, the entire place is situated in the middle of this beautiful forest. So at this scene of great horror, great beauty also exists. It was a heart-wrenching experience, but I'm glad I went.
No comments:
Post a Comment