Tears of Time: Drips in the Dark

Obersalzberg, Germany.   Reminders of war and cruelty are hard to avoid in this part of the world.  While I prefer to focus on the beauty of Vienna and all we are seeing, sometimes dark history and its ugly lessons scream to be heard, startling, shaking us off balance and tearing at our hearts.

As disturbing as it is, the concentration camp at Mauthausen, Austria is an important site to visit for the informative, personal exhibits focusing on the persons imprisoned, starved, forced to work and murdered there. Two hours to the west is Hitler's luxurious Eagle's Nest, yet, according to the guides, Hitler was afraid of heights and did not spend much time at that mountaintop retreat. Instead, he spent much time in nearby Obersalzberg, Germany. Today, the Documentation Center at Obersalzberg, stands above his extensive bunker system. (You may be interested to know a bunker system was also made for him near Los Angeles.)    

I was surprised to see stalactites forming in Hitler's bunker, tears of time. I'm also struck by the similarity of the word, stalactite to stalag, the German word for a prisoner-of-war camp.