I was pleasantly surprised by the city of Kiev. The main war museum - The National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War - is near the Monastery of the Caves (Pechersk Lavra) UNESCO site. Also visited the Kiev Fortress which has a smaller museum dedicated to WW2.
When the Nazis rolled into Riga, they flattened the place. The iconic building of Riga, the house of the Blackheads, was only rebuilt in 1999. The war museum is quite small but interesting nevertheless.
I only had a couple of days in Berlin. It is full of reminders of what happened, almost every railway station seemed to have a memorial to the victims of the Nazis. The German Historical Museum is very good and handles a difficult subject very well. Also went to the Reichstag, Checkpoint Charlie and the Memorial of the murdered Jews.…
Reggia di Caserta, The Royal Palace of Caserta is a UNESCO World heritage site. It can be reached from Rome in about an hour on the direct fast train. The Palace was Allied Headquarters during the battle for Rome and it was here that the German Generals in Italy came to finally surrender on 2nd May 1945. There are few…
I went down to Salerno to see the Museum of the Landing and Salerno Capital. However, the Museum was closed despite what it said on the Museum door, the official website, and Google maps. I called up and nowadays they only open for groups, mainly schools. If there is a group visiting then individuals can join the group. Important -…
The WW2 reenactors on the beach at Nettuno for the Anzio Landings anniversary events.
I was in Malaga, Spain and took a day trip down to Gibraltar. I didn't have time to see the WW2 Tunnels, which was annoying but I hope to get back there some time. A small place with a fascinating history. The British have been here for over three hundred years. The rock of Gibraltar has around 34 miles (55…
I booked a cheap flight to Moscow and then spent almost as much money on getting a visa. I hadn't really thought about the date but when I went to the Kremlin on the 22nd of June I found it closed for the anniversary of the start of Operation Barbarossa - the Nazi invasion of Russia. In the streets I…
In Fort Pierce, Florida at the Navy Seal/UDT museum. UDT stands for underwater demolition team and it was in Fort Pierce that they trained to remove the underwater obstacles blocking the landing crafts paths to the beaches on D-Day. Some great exhibits.
I spent a few days in Oslo. I would recommend the Norwegian Armed Forces Museum. Well organized and I learned a lot about the Nazi invasion of Norway and the role Norwegian Sailors played in the Battle of the Atlantic. I also visited the Norway Resistance Museum which is quite interesting.