Today was a day of powerful reflection for Abbey Road Modern Europe: after breakfast, we set off to explore some of the important historical sites in Berlin; We began with a stroll down Unter den Linden to the Brandenburg Gate for a thoughtful discussion of the social, political and economic conditions in Europe during the period preceding immediately World War 2; at the Bebelplatz we considered the significance of the Book Burning memorial; then the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe reminded us of the enormity of the suffering that underlie the events we had been discussing; the Topography of Terror guided us to a better understanding of the chronology of the rise and fall of the Third Reich in Germany.

It may not be surprising, then, that the light hearted conversation and laughter that accompanied a wonderful Italian dinner was exactly what we needed to take our minds off the darkness that can sometimes engulf humanity.