First we stopped at the store where I must have had a metabolic breakdown. I walked in to buy some snacks, and when I came out I was literally shaking with hunger and I had an amazing appetite for ANYTHING! Talk about a really bad time to walk into a store. I must have bought everything that looked good. The second I got outside, I told Erin what was going on, and as worried as she was, she understood and started to help break open packages of food. Although I had eaten a solid breakfast just hours before, my body feels the need to refuel itself the day after I catch 18 innings by telling me to eat every hour or so. I stuffed my face and immediately felt better. I guess it is not a bad problem to have because Erin was laughing the whole time.
At this point we found the muni-train station and tried to find our way to a town called Munster which was about 150kl north of us. We couldn't read or understand anything so we asked a girl waiting for another train if she knew how to get there and she informed us that the train we watched go by us just moment earlier was the one we wanted. It would be another hour before the next train came heading in that direction so Erin and I walked back to my house to come up with another plan. When we got back neither of us could decide what to do or how to do it because the weather was bad and it was the afternoon already.We never had a concrete plan so we decided to stay home, enjoy each others company and watch movies.
My roommate Franke has a great selection of DVD's so we picked from four we each had either seen or wanted the other to see. Well, one of the selections was Shindler's List. I surprised Erin, and even myself, when I realized I had actually never seen the movie. I had mainly seen bits and pieces. It also surprised me that the movie was in our house considering where we are, and the fact that German's are not proud of these past events.
Erin talked me into the movie and I realized why everything had happened the way it did. I was supposed to see this movie for a few reasons. One of them being that the next day we had planned to ride our bikes about 14 miles away to the Wewelsburg Castle which was the Headquarters for SS Nazi Leaders and organizers of the Holocaust. There is a great museum in the castle that explains the history of the SS and the Nazi Party, as well as the lies, deceit and elitism the Nazi's were trying to accomplish while murdering millions of people during that horrific time.
To say the least, Shindler's List only made me accept things a little more the next day. The movie was so hard to watch that I had to take a break from it and watch something else. However, I did finish the movie. Later that night Erin and I braved what looked to be a rainy night and headed out for dinner. We dodged the rain and managed to find a great Italian place where we enjoyed a great meal. I ordered a pizaa with eggs on top, a first for me. Erin loved it. Erin also debated a glass of red wine and a Beer at, needless to say the Beer won because we are in Germany. That was a first for me at an Italian place.
The next morning, Erin and I trekked out into the Beautiful German countryside through a few small towns and one very creepy forest to Wewelsburg and the Castle that Heinrich Himmler, (the man who plotted the entire Holocaust alongside Adolph Hitler) called Headquarters for the SS.The entire museum was educational. The displays broke down everything and it was made clear that this was not a Nazi museum for Arian followers or Nazi worshipers. Throughout the years following the Holocaust many evil worshipers have pilgrimaged to this site to worship the Nazi symbol embedded in the ceiling of the Crypt, as well as the symbol of the black sun in the room directly above.
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The displays in the museum were very descriptive on the history of the SS, Hitler, Himmler, the Nazi party, as well as the Niederhagen Concentration camp that was adjacent to the castle. Of the 3,900 prisoners, 1,285 died, as 56 were formally executed. This camp was mainly the site for Soviet POW's and followers of Jehovah's Witness. It was extremely sad to learn about.
After the museum we ventured to the Castle to see the infamous Nazi Crypt and chamber of the Black Sun (SS Generals Hall). 
As we recorded video (see below) and took pictures in the Crypt Erin and I both got a very strange feelings. It hit her first, but we both felt the same thing. The dome shaped crypt made even a whisper sound like a surround sound system in a movie theater. This was something I had never experienced and after about 3 minutes and standing alone in the middle of the room all alone taking pictures, (Erin left because she felt so uncomfortable) I myself got the chills and had to rush out. It was an evil feeling! One neither Erin nor myself will ever forget.
On a side note, the castle at Wewelsburg is now a youth Hostel. Many school's throughout Europe and the surrounding area take advantage of the educational experience of the museum by having children spend the night in the same place that some of histories most evil men planned the most inhuman act in modern and world history. Great idea huh?!?! The castle is a must see for anyone in Northern Germany as it is an errie reminder of Germanys dark past.
With time running out before I had to go to practice we headed back into Paderborn only to stop and have a great lunch with a beautiful view. We talked a little bit about our experience and realized just how important it was for us to experience the museum and even the castle.
I love hearing your perspective on the events compared to mine. Although, I wasn't laughing at you when you had the shakes, I was worried about you. I helped in getting food in you quick.
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