On our way to Münden, we stopped to pay our respect at the Bergen-Belsen Memorial site. Bergen Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp in 1943, parts of it became a concentration camp. Initially this was an “exchange camp”, where Jewish hostages were held with the intention of exchanging them for German prisoners of war held overseas. The camp was later expanded to accommodate Jews from other concentration camps. This stone sign at the entrance to the Memorial site denotes the dates that this area was used as a prison camp from 1940 to 1945. May 21, 2018

This is one of several mass grave sites at the Bergen-Belsen Memorial site, which was a Nazi concentration camps from 1940 to 1945. There were no gas chambers at Bergen-Belsen because the mass killings took place in the camps further east. Nevertheless, estimates put the number of deaths at Belsen to be more than 50,000 Jews, Czechs, Poles, anti-Nazi Christians, homosexuals, Roma and more. The sign simply reads: Here lie 1,000 dead…April 1945. May 21, 2018

This symbolic headstone is in memory of Margot Frank and Anne Frank who died at the former Bergen-Belsen concentration camp before the liberation. The sisters were transferred to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp on October 30, where both contracted typhus in the winter of 1944. Margot Frank died sometime in February 1945 at the age of 19 due to typhus. A few days later, Anne died due to the same illness. The sisters are buried in one of the mass graves and no one knows exactly which one. May 21, 2018

Our Rick Steves Germany tour guide, Carlos Meissner, explaining the Jewish Memorial at Bergen-Belsen Memorial a former concentration camp, explains that the stone monument is is dedicated to the Jewish victims of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. The Jewish Monument was erected on the first anniversary of the camp liberation, April 15, 1946. The memorial consists of a central memorial stone and a number of symbolic headstones, similar to the headstone of Margo Frank and Anne Frank, scattered around it. May 21, 2018

This obelisk and inscription wall at the Bergen-Belsen memorial, a former concentration camp, began in early 1947 on the orders of the British military. The wall bears multiple inscriptions in various languages commemorating the victims of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. May 21, 2018

Me getting back on our luxury tour bus as we make our departure from the Bergen-Belsen memorial. May 21, 2018

Our Rick Steves tour guide Carlos Meissner passing out cake in the German forest of Sababurg in celebration of two members birthdays. May 21, 2018

A brief walk…a good way to stretch our legs from the bus ride…through the German forest of Sababurg. May 21, 2018

Our tour group members walking a short distance across the covered wooden bridge in Hannoversch Münden a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. The city is located in the district of Göttingen at the confluence of the Fulda and Werra rivers, which join to form the river Weser. It has about 24,000 inhabitants is famous for its well-preserved half-timbered medieval houses, some more than 600 years old. May 21, 2018

The 14th century Town Hall (right) in Hannoversch Münden, a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. The facade had a bit of a facelift between 1603 and 1618. May 21, 2018

The town of Hannoversch Münden, in Lower Saxony, Germany, is known for its well-preserved half-timbered medieval houses some of which are more than 600 years old. May 21, 2018

The town of Hannoversch Münden, in Lower Saxony, Germany, is known for its well-preserved half-timbered medieval houses some of which are more than 600 years old. May 21, 2018

The doors of well-preserved half-timbered medieval houses in Hannoversch Münden, a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. May 21, 2018

The name of this statue is Mundenia by the sculptor Heinz-Detlef Wüpper who was born in Hannoversch Münden, a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, in 1911 and died in 1995. The statue can be found where the Fulda and Werra rivers join to form the river Weser in Hannoversch Münden. May 21, 2018

Mundenia by the sculptor Heinz Wüpper can be found where the Fulda and Werra rivers join to form the river Weser in Hannoversch Münden, a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. May 21, 2018