out and about: Day 19: Dachau

We're in Germany! I had no idea what to expect of Munich but I really like it--quite possibly my favorite city so far. If nothing else, I could definitely see myself returning to the area. Although I'm partial to London always. Today we actually spent about five hours in Dachau just outside of Munich to visit a former concentration camp which has since been turned into a memorial. Then we came back and walked over to the Oktoberfest grounds before doing a bit of shopping. We ended the evening at the Hofbrauhaus and are now working a bit on our essays. Anyways, I've split the blog up into three sections--Dachau, a few pictures of the hostel, and the Hofbrauhaus. More on Munich tomorrow!

Dachau

The weather for today certainly set the mood for visiting Dachau. It was pretty chilly, cloudy, and rainy all day--I didn't like standing outside in my jacket and jeans, no less could I imagine standing in the snow, starving, with hardly any clothes for roll call. We took a guided tour with an Irish artist named Gordon who has been living in Munich for the last 14 years. Dachau was the first concentration camp to be built and served as a model for the rest of the camps. New methods were tested out here and visitors (to Germany) would visit here if any camp. It was a work camp for men, not a death camp like Auschwitz, but around 32,000 people died there in the 12 years that it was open. Most of the buildings and things there are the original although some have been restored for the safety of the visitors of course. Dachau is the city that contained the concentration camp which is now called a memorial. It is also the place where the night of the long knives occurred. Dachau was liberated by the Americans on April 29th, 1945, almost exactly 67 years ago. As you can imagine, visiting Dachau is a very different experience from watching a movie, playing a video game, or reading a textbook about that time. I'm not sure what else to say about it except that if you ever find yourself in Munich, it is certainly worth a visit.

Gordon, our Irish tour guide, talking about the oldest monument.

The entrance to the camp.

The gate reading, "Work will set you free."

Those buildings are barracks where people lived and this space is where roll call was each day. The prisoners could have to stand still outside (even in January) for hours.

This building now houses the museum. The roof used to have words on it--a sort of manifest if I remember correctly that the prisoners would stare at during roll call.

The building had this room where the people were checked in and tortured sometimes too.

A recreation of the earlier beds before the camp became overcrowded. They were kept clean but only because the people would be tortured if it was dirty.

An original workshop.

The watchtower and the fence. If people crossed the curb on the left, they were shot.

The gas chamber which was used although not as extensively as, say, Auschwitz since Dachau was a concentration camp, not a death camp. Not to say that people didn't die there of course--I think the number was around 32,000 people.

The crematorium next to the gas chamber.

Wombat's Hostel

The hostel we're staying in is really nice. It has a good breakfast for only 3.80 euro and is only 16 euro per night if I remember correctly for a room with 6 beds and lockers. We stayed in Wombat's in Vienna and will also stay in one in Berlin so we're quite happy with our choices! You also get a free drink coupon in each city and a free breakfast for staying in more than one Wombat hostel--how can you go wrong?

Lobby Area

Lounging. I'm currently typing from the orange couch on the left actually haha.

Our beds. Not sure where Brendan's comforter is.. haha.

The rest of the room--we're rooming with two Canadians and two kiwis. Super nice people!

Hofbrauhaus

The beer house was way cooler than I thought it was going to be! My only expectation of Germany, really, was that it would be a little more like the US in that you wouldn't have people on the street trying to sell you things or asking you to come into their stores. So far we haven't found any of that in Munich (or Salzburg or Vienna)--quite happy about that. Munich also just has a lot of offer. Our trip out to Dachau gave us a great dose of history which was followed by a great trip to the Hofbrauhaus. It certainly caters more to tourists (at least on the first floor) since most places don't usually have the bands, etc. but regardless it was fun. The waitresses are dressed in Bavarian garb with dancers and brass bands playing all night. The beer is genuinely delicious and comes in one-liter mugs after 6pm. I had "Russ" which is half beer and half lemonade--there's no way I could handle a full liter of beer--hah! We sat next to a German family with no English speaking skills except for their daughter who knew a little English, probably from school classes. But we were able to communicate enough to recommend dishes and make jokes about the father having three liters while Brendan only had one. We said he was training up to it haha. When they left an Italian family sat down (no problem for our waitress who could speak six languages: German, English, Italian, Spanish, Greek, and I think the sixth was French). The Italians didn't speak English very well either but the woman who happened to be across from me spoke French so we chatted for a bit while Brendan and I waited for the bill. I really like the way we get to sit and chat with the people next to us in all these cities! It's probably my favorite part of dining out. Looking forward to tomorrow!