One of our day trips on holiday in Austria, was across the border in Germany to Berchtesgaden - a beautiful mountain town, which will forever be linked with the Eagle's Nest- the mountain top retreat of Hitler, given to him by the Nazi party as a 50th birthday gift. An incredible view from the place which is now a tourist attraction and a restaurant, but it evokes so much thought about Hitler, the terror of Nazism, and quite a few war films which feature it too.
Being at the Eagle's Nest got me thinking about some of the other significant and historical places that I have visited:
One that immediately came to mind, seeing as I was watching a DVD drama series about his life, was the grave of Cecil Rhodes in the Matopos National Park of Zimbabwe. A bitter sweet story of a classic Victorian era pioneer and colonialist.
Another one in Southern Africa would be Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was held captive. I visited it with a Christians in Sport cricket team and went around with England cricketer Devon Malcolm, himself a black man and famous in South Africa for taking 9 wickets against their team in one innings. It was a sobering time for Devon on Robben Island- he'd met Mandela, and reflected that if he had been living in South Africa at the time of Mandela's imprisonment he would have either been in prison too or living in a slum.
Across to America, one of my lasting memories is visiting Ground Zero , the site of the World Trade Centre Twin Towers attack in New York. I went to the site only two months after 9/11- the flowers, cards, messages, pictures of lost loved ones were all still on subway walls and fencing around the site. Also in the States is Dealey Plaza in Dallas where John F. Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald. People of a certain age always remember where they were and what they were doing when they heard about the death of JFK. I have similar memories about the death of John Lennon and Princess Diana.
Another place in the USA, would have to be the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, original home of the Grand Ole Opry. I've actually never seen a country music show there but have seen plenty of Christian concerts at the Ryman.
Indelibly stamped on my memory is a visit to the Al Faw Palace In Baghdad. Originally commissioned by Saddam Hussein to celebrate victory in the Iran-Iraq war it's now home to Camp Victory and Camp Liberty- two massive US military bases.
I can't leave India out, and so I cast my mind back to a day spent wandering around the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort at Agra just a few miles away from the Taj Mahal. Being on my first trip to India and visiting these legendary monuments was truly awe inspiring. I will always remember the guide telling us that the Taj Mahal was built by the Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
Indulgent of me I know, but I have to also mention 3 cricket grounds in Australia- the Adelaide Oval, the Melbourne Cricket Ground- the MCG, and the Brisbane Woollongabba Ground-the Gabba. Many a long night under the covers of my bed as a young boy was spent listening to the radio commentary of Test matches from these grounds when England were touring, and so to finally see cricket at each of them (even though it wasn't Test cricket) was thrilling.
And finally a venue very close to home, and even closer to our holiday caravan- Moriah Chapel in Loughor, just outside Llanelli. It's a small, seemingly insignificant old church, but it was the birthplace of the 1904 Welsh Revival.