Thursday, June 29, 2023
Munich Tourist Day
Step Count: 19,426 Anika, 19,014 Nathan
I had nightmares last night. Well, maybe it was only one, but I think its because we were planning to go to Dachau today.
We woke up about 6 or 6:20, got ready and headed down to the breakfast buffet. We again made a sandwich from the offerings and then headed out.
We need to take the suburban train and then a bus to Dachau, but nearly everyone on that particular train and bus combo are going to the same place, so it is relatively easy to navigate.
We arrived at the entrance around 9:30 or 9:45, paid for our audio guides, and set off. The actual site, both inside the camp where the prisoners were and the outside portion where the SS administration was, is pretty big. The camp was meant to hold 6,000 prisoners, but towards the end of the war, held over 31,000 if my memory can be trusted.
We first toured the entrance and outdoor areas, moving into the maintenance building where the museum is, watched a film on the camp, then moving on to the prison bunker, barracks, the memorial worship areas (four faiths represented), and finally the crematoria.
I’ve opted not to show any additional photos of the camp and its living quarters, for fear they would be taken out of context. The whole trip was a sobering experience. Very heavy, and should be undertaken with the utmost respect. I, myself, fretted over what to wear and whether it would be respectful enough to the 41,500 souls who lost their lives there.
After we were done touring the camp it was nearly 2 pm, so we bought a cold drink before we boarded the bus and train to return to central Munich.
The afternoon was spent in the courtyard of our hotel and relaxing before dinner.
We decided to go to the Hofbrauhaus for dinner based on the front desk gal’s suggestion, and our evening was spent reveling in the old town beer hall.
