Munich Abenteuer

Though we only knew a few words of German, it was nice to return to Germany. After traveling we were exhausted so we bought some wine and headed to the English Gardens. These gardens are ENORMOUS, and contains statues and a beer garden. We found a nice place on the grass and relaxed for a bit. That night, we went to the bar in our hostel to watch the World Cup: Brazil vs Mexico.

Watching the World Cup in our hostel 

KD admiring my wonderful log cabin

Surfers taking advantage of the current in the middle of the park in Munich

The boys enjoying the beer garden

That next day we all went to Dachau, the site of one of the many concentration camps in Western Europe. At one point in our tour, she showed us a map indicating all the concentration camps, extermination camps, etc. I was surprised to see how many establishments were actually made in order to confine or exterminate people of a different race or background.

Maps of Concentration Camps

The entrance to Dachau

A german phrase meaning "Work makes you free." An obvious lie but it is posted at the entrance to the camp.

Here is a summary of the timeline for Germany and Dachau listed in the museum:

1933: National Socialist dictatorship is founded, Dachau Concentration Camp opens initially only for political prisoners

1935: Nuremberg Laws institutionalizing racial discrimination, new prisoner groups are send to Dachau such as Jehova's Witnesses and homosexuals

1936: System of concentration camps becoming more organized, conditions in Dachau worsens

1938: 11,000 Jews sent to Dachau

1939: Attack on Poland: start of WWII, hundreds of Sinti and Roma sent to Dachau

1940: 13,000 from Poland sent to Dachau

1941: Attack on Soviet Union, mass shootings of more than 4,000 Soviet POWs

1942: Start of medical experiments at Dachau, Poison gas used

1944: 10,000 Jewish prisoners killed through forced labor at Dachau, horrible living conditions lead to a typhus epidemic in Dachau full of 63,000 prisoners

1945: April 29: liberation of Dachau May 8: Germany surrenders

One of the weirdest feelings while being there was the beautiful weather, the beautiful sky and trees, yet just 70 years ago, this place was full of horror

Example of a barrack.  Each door leads to a small room

Panoramic of Dachau. Place where barracks would have stood on the left and gas chambers on the right

This entire experience was emotional, not surprisingly so. We ventured through the rows upon rows of where barracks once stood, the gas chambers and the subsequent cremation rooms. It was a surreal experience to walk through those.  It was difficult to imagine the prisoners at the time not understanding what was going on because the Nazis were highly secretive and all outside information came by propaganda and newspapers controlled by the Nazis. It was important to see the amount of barracks and realize there were many more compounds just like that around Europe. It put into perspective just how many people were kept here and how horrible it was.

The next day a great friend came to visit. Both of us worked as Au pairs just a year earlier in Igualada and so happens she studies just 45 minutes outside of Munich! I was so excited to see her as she arrived at the train station that morning and we immediately began exchanging stories, as we had a lot to catch up on over the past year. She joined us on our last day of adventures throughout Germany as we visited the "German museum" which had boats, ships, science, etc. We paused for some lunch at an oriental restaurant then continued to the BMW museum which had some quite impressive cars. Half of it was an enormous showroom with the newest BMWs showing off their electric hookup capabilities.

Jasmin came to visit! Top left: us trying out a motorcycle at the BMW museum

The Royal Rolls Royce ridden in by Kate Middleton at her wedding

Next day: flight to Naples!