About 70 years ago, there was this war... It was kind of world wide, no big deal. It was the second time such a war has happened... Therefore the name "World War Two". Maybe you've heard of it?
A lot of it took place in the very town I'm living it.
As a result, occasionally when doing construction or the unlucky child is walking through the woods (too soon?) they uncover one. This happened less than a block from where Erik lives:
A similar type of bomb was found earlier this year in another town in Germany. While trying to excavate it, it was set off and three people were killed. It was a tragic accident that kind of shook up the town. To prevent this from happening, as soon as it was identified the nearby buildings were evacuated (including Erik's building)
After careful inspection, they realized it was unsafe to try to disarm, so they were going to set it off. It was all over the news, but I was working and wasn't able to follow it as closely as I would have liked. Around 10 pm, I was about 1.5 miles away, and I heard a gianormous "BOOM!" I called my host mom. "Christa did you hear that?" "Yes!", she answered. "The entire house shook!" I couldn't believe it. We live about 2 miles from where the bomb is, and our house shook!!!
The next day was very exciting. Everyone wanted to get a look at the aftermath. The police had blocked off the site, but you could get pretty close. Within about a 2 block radius, the downstairs windows of many buildings were broken (including Erik's building, but luckily he's on the 3rd floor).
The smell of smoke and gunpowder was really strong. The next day it started to rain, and poured for the next four days. Four days later, the smell of gunpowder was still there.
I have to say, it was a pretty eye-opening experience. Being American, I have never seen war or the affects of war on my own soil. I see it in movies and hear about it on TV shows, but I have never been through anything close to a war zone. It was brought to my attention that this particular bomb was dropped a few hundred times a day, on one city. That blew my mind. Seeing and feeling the impact of what just one bomb could do, I couldn't imagine having to listen to that blast 100 times.
I guess now I have a better chance of trying to understand the calamities of war. I never really realized how sheltered Americans are. I have no fear of war on American soil. It makes me wonder if people experienced war first hand if we might not get involved in as many as we do. Hmm. Who knows. I don't mean to get all political, I'm just saying. I'm really glad I got to witness this with my own two eyes.
If you're interested, here is a link to the video of the fireball created by the bomb. It's pretty impressive if I do say so myself. You can skip to 19 seconds to just see the blast and the aftermath.
A lot of it took place in the very town I'm living it.
As a result, occasionally when doing construction or the unlucky child is walking through the woods (too soon?) they uncover one. This happened less than a block from where Erik lives:
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| It weighs a whopping 550 pounds!!! |
After careful inspection, they realized it was unsafe to try to disarm, so they were going to set it off. It was all over the news, but I was working and wasn't able to follow it as closely as I would have liked. Around 10 pm, I was about 1.5 miles away, and I heard a gianormous "BOOM!" I called my host mom. "Christa did you hear that?" "Yes!", she answered. "The entire house shook!" I couldn't believe it. We live about 2 miles from where the bomb is, and our house shook!!!
The next day was very exciting. Everyone wanted to get a look at the aftermath. The police had blocked off the site, but you could get pretty close. Within about a 2 block radius, the downstairs windows of many buildings were broken (including Erik's building, but luckily he's on the 3rd floor).
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| The view from Erik's building. The bomb was on the other side of the Mc Donalds |
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| Can you see the broken windows? |
The smell of smoke and gunpowder was really strong. The next day it started to rain, and poured for the next four days. Four days later, the smell of gunpowder was still there.
I have to say, it was a pretty eye-opening experience. Being American, I have never seen war or the affects of war on my own soil. I see it in movies and hear about it on TV shows, but I have never been through anything close to a war zone. It was brought to my attention that this particular bomb was dropped a few hundred times a day, on one city. That blew my mind. Seeing and feeling the impact of what just one bomb could do, I couldn't imagine having to listen to that blast 100 times.
 |
| This is the construction site, but you can see all the blackend walls from the blast. |
I guess now I have a better chance of trying to understand the calamities of war. I never really realized how sheltered Americans are. I have no fear of war on American soil. It makes me wonder if people experienced war first hand if we might not get involved in as many as we do. Hmm. Who knows. I don't mean to get all political, I'm just saying. I'm really glad I got to witness this with my own two eyes.
If you're interested, here is a link to the video of the fireball created by the bomb. It's pretty impressive if I do say so myself. You can skip to 19 seconds to just see the blast and the aftermath.
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