Rathenow

Toured the small town of Rathenow. Climbed the bell tower of the town church and went to the optic museum where we learned that Mr Duncker of Rathenow provided the world with glasses beginning in 1801! Quote of the day - "so basically I am looking at glasses that are older than the United States." Basically, yeah! It's hard for us to imagine living in a culture where the majority of the population doesn't read - not because they're uneducated or underdeveloped but because the printing press was not yet invented. When those who were fortunate enough to get glasses did acquire a pair, they were being produced on a crank machine being powered by children whose fathers hadn't returned home from war. Talk about OLD world.