Concentration Camps & Castles: Germany Trip Part Two

Tuesday, Sept 24: Dachau Concentration Camp

After an eventful few days in Germany, the pace doesn't slow down as we start our morning on the train to Dachau! Katie planned our hotel pretty perfectly because the nearest train line not only got us into the heart of Munich but extended up to Dachau, a small town about 20 km northwest of the city. Along our train route to Dachau, Meghan and Peyton joined us for a morning of sad history.

Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site: KZ-Gedenkstätte Dachau

Dachau was one of the first concentration camps and is the only camp to have existed throughout the entire twelve years of Nazi rule, making it the longest-running concentration camp. In the early years, it was the largest and most well-known concentration camp. Hitler established the Dachau prison camp in 1933, even before he became Führer of the German Third Reich. The name "Dachau" soon spread fear and terror throughout Germany.

As we approached the camp, we entered through gates with the saying "Arbeit Macht Frei," which translates to "Work Makes You Free;" this exact phrase was written on the gate at the concentration camp in Terezin that we visited back in February, and every other concentration camp created by the Nazis.

Using our audio guide, our first major stopping point in the camp was a large open space used for roll call every day. Adjacent to that was a large building used for prisoner intake and administration, which now holds the museum. After spending some time wandering through the museum and learning of the horrors that took place within these walls, we walked back into the cool autumn air.

In the museum, we learned that Dachau started off as a prisoner camp for Hitler's political opponents, but expanded into a labor camp under the direction of Heinrich Himmler. Dachau was a horrible place for Jews, Romani, Slavs, German and Austrian criminals, and, even, foreign nationals from countries that Germany occupied or invaded. We learned during our museum visit that Dachau even held human experiments on prisoners; these experiments tested hypothermia, salt water consumption, and high altitude tests in the hopes of helping the Germans win the war.

2007 throwback to Katie's trip with Gram to Dachau

Lagergemeinschaft Dachau eV

After making our way across the open grounds, we entered a replica of the barracks. Following the liberation of the prison in 1945, the barracks were converted into small apartments for the recently freed prisoners who had no home to return to. All of the barracks were then torn down in 1964/65.

The replica barracks were built a few years back so that visitors could better understand the living conditions these occupants suffered. A new sign outside the barracks said renovations are coming soon to these replicas, as they are using survivor stories and drawings to replicate the more realistic setting, rather than the barrack descriptions saved by the German government.

Carmel Holy Blood: Karmel Heilig Blut

At the north end of the camp, behind where the site of the barracks once stood, is a large Jewish Memorial, a small Protestant chapel, and a monastery where nuns live and people can go to pray every day.

Here's another flashback to 2007 when Katie and Gram visited the memorials:

Crematorium: Gedenkort "Ehemaliger Krematoriumsbereich"

Located in the northeast corner of the prison, isolated from the rest of the camp, the crematorium and the gas chamber were the most sobering portion of the tour. We learned that the gas chamber was not commonly used for mass killings of prisoners, but it was used as a means of murder and terror towards the end of the war.

In the crematorium, the Nazis would burn up to four bodies at a time in each oven, but many murdered prisoners would be buried in unmarked graves. During the 12 years of operation as a concentration camp, Dachau had an intake of over 205,000 prisoners and over 31,000 deaths.

Connected to the gas chamber and the crematorium were the fumigation chambers. While sometimes thought to be mini gas chambers, these rooms were used to disinfect clothing to prevent mites, bugs, and other diseases from spreading through the camp.

When the gas chambers were used, prisoners brought dirty laundry here to be cleaned. Then they were told it was shower time; they stripped down and entered the gas chamber believing they were about to have a group shower. Instead of water raining down, gas canisters were released through the ceiling, killing all inside.

After a quiet walk back to the visitor center, we explored the gift shop, where Katie found the German copies of Refugee and Ban This Book by Alan Gratz, a young adult author from western NC.

Gasthaus Drei Rosen

Following our tour, everyone was feeling down and quite hungry. As we turned in our audio headsets, the group agreed it was time for lunch!

During our walking tour of Munich a few days ago, our tour guide, Patrick, recommended we visit Gasthaus Drei Rosen for some authentic German food while exploring the town. The four of us got separate dishes, all a variant of some traditional German meat and potato. For dessert, we split an apple strudel, which was fantastic. This was an awesome meal and Patrick definitely did not lead us astray!

Hacker Pschorr Festhalle

Since we made it back to Munich fairly early in the afternoon, we all decided to get back into our garb and keep the party going at Oktoberfest! We met back up outside the gates of Theresienwiese around 5:30 pm for an evening of beer and cheer! Our first tent was Hacker-Pschorr Festhalle, where we each enjoyed a pint at their outside tables since inside the beer tent was an absolute madhouse!

For those considering an Oktoberfest visit, know this: tables inside the tents are reserved for most of the evenings. A reservation requires pre-payment for 10 plates of food and 20-30 beers...so Germans gather their 10 closest friends and pre-book these tables 6 months out via phone, email, and fax machines! (Yep, some Oktoberfest tents still require reservations via fax!)

For people like us with smaller groups, it's better to wing it without a reservation. If you go early enough, you can sit at these inside tables until the 5 pm reservations arrive. Once the evening starts, finding a spare seat inside a tent is quite difficult, but the outside picnic tables are another fun alternative party location!

Löwenbräu Festzelt Oktoberfest: Wies'n

Our next and final beer tent of the Munich Brewery gauntlet was Löwenbräu Festzelt. We were also unable to secure a seat inside, so we chose to sit outside and play cards while we enjoyed our final beers of the festival.

For those keeping count, the four of us visited and drank a beer from each of the six major Munich breweries: Hofbräuhaus, Löwenbräu, Augustinerbräu, Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr and Spaten-Franziskaner. Peyton and I even bought a pin from each brewery to put on our new hats.

Matbah

At 10:30 pm, all of the beer tents close up shop and stop serving beer. Peyton and I were pretty hungry, so as we were making our way back to the subway station, we ran across Matbah. Although it wasn't quite as good as our Turkish kebab place here in Rota, this hit the spot after a long day!

Wednesday, September 25: Neuschwanstein Castle & Linderhof Palace

The next morning came very early for Katie and I; after getting back to our hotel around 12:30 am, we were back up and moving bright and early at 6:30 am! We met our tour bus in downtown Munich at 8:15 am and were off to the German Alps to visit some beautiful palaces.

Linderhof Palace: Schloss Linderhof

Our first stop of the day was Linderhof Palace, built in 1876 by Ludwig II, King of Bavaria. This was the smallest of the three palaces built by King Ludwig II and the only one completed before his death in 1886. Ludwig II was obsessed with the French King Louis XIV and mimicked many stylistic choices for this palace after the Palace of Versailles.

Unfortunately, Katie and I weren't allowed to take pictures inside (even though Katie was rebellious and snapped a couple), just know that everything was basically covered in gold foil. There were paintings of French monarchs on every wall and statues of Louis XIV and peacocks everywhere. Ludwig II was incredibly eccentric.

Honestly, the palace was gaudy and tacky; it seemed like Ludwig wanted to be considered equal to the French monarchs and became obsessed with them. It's strange that the King of Southern Germany decorated his entire house with photos of French kings that he never met.

After viewing the inside of the small palace, Katie and I enjoyed the fresh autumn air in the garden and warmed ourselves up with some dirty chai lattes!

Oberammergau

Just a short trip up the road from Linderhof Palace is the small town of Oberammergau. We were given a few minutes of free time to check out some shops and cafes. Oberammergau is known for its many frescoes on homes and businesses representing Bavarian themes, fairy tales, and religious scenes.

It's also well known for its Passion Play, which has been performed once every decade since 1634, with the exception of two cancellations in 1770 and 1940. Only residents or people born in the village are allowed to participate in the production. Even though Katie and I didn't have enough time to visit the museum, it was cool getting to learn a little bit more about this amazing production from our tour guide.

Neuschwanstein Castle: Schloss Neuschwanstein

Our next stop has been a major bucket list item for me for years: Neuschwanstein Castle! I've been looking forward to this for a while, especially since I know it's the inspiration behind many of the Disney castles around the world! (Just look at that bottom pic with Walt Disney World's castle and California's Disneyland castle beside the OG Neuschwanstein. It's clear as day that Walt Disney was inspired by this place!

Kainz Restaurant: Restaurant Café Kainz

We arrived in Schwangau (small town just below the castle) around 12:30 pm and our tour of the castle didn't start until 3:15 pm. Before making our way up the mountain, Katie and I grabbed a quick lunch consisting of chicken schnitzel, pumpkin soup, and a pretzel with cream cheese, all while enjoying the view of the castle above us!

And look who ate at the exact same restaurant in 2007 during their visit:

We didn't plan that restaurant choice, but clearly Katie's subconscious knew it was going to taste good!

Marienbrücke

When Katie booked this tour, her one requirement was that we weren't climbing the mountain on foot. When she visited Neuschwanstein Castle in 2007 with Gram, they hiked the climb and were miserable! The shuttle bus costs €3/person and drops off past the castle for easy access to numerous viewpoints! Another transportation option to the top is horse-drawn carriages for €10/person, which drops off at the bottom of the castle for quick and easy entry to Neuschwanstein Castle. Following lunch, we opted for the 10-minute shuttle bus to the top of the mountain, just above the castle.

After getting off our shuttle bus, we made a short walk over to Marienbrücke (Mary's Bridge) where we were treated to stunning views of the castle and surrounding foliage. THIS is the photo of Neuschwanstein castle that is plastered on puzzles, tote bags, and wall hangings everywhere! The viewpoint was absolutely stunning.

As we began to make our way down the mountain towards the castle's main entrance, we continued to take stunning pictures of the castle and the scenery around us. This place felt like it was straight out of a postcard. As we made our way up to the castle, Katie and I felt like we were approaching Hogwarts!

Now, for our tour of the castle; as we entered the main courtyard, we felt like we were entering a fairy tale! Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures inside, and the security inside was incredibly vigilant, so Katie didn't risk it this time.

We learned that Neuschwanstein Castle was designed to look like it was from the Middle Ages, when in reality it was largely completed in 1886. While Ludwig II's other palace was designed to mimic the French aristocracy, this castle was his dream world. Designed with murals of Percival and the Knights of the Round Table, Ludwig's castle was his picturesque escape from reality.

The saddest part of this story is that Ludwig II only lived in the castle for less than six months before his death. The castle's secluded location kept it safe during both world wars. Later during WWII, the castle was used by the Nazis as a fancy storage location; there are even photos of the Monuments Men carrying out stolen artwork from the castle's walls after the war!

The interior rooms were all rather strange and honestly left more to be desired! Since we couldn't take photos, here's a virtual tour of the main rooms we saw on the tour. The main throne room had a massive painting of Jesus and the 12 apostles surrounding an empty spot where a throne was supposed to be. The throne was never built, and since the king saw this place as his escape from the real world, it's thought he never planned to see commoners here in the throne room anyway.

The main attraction of this castle is its exterior, beautifully nestled in the foothills of the Bavarian Alps!

Ruhebänke

After making the 20-minute hike down the mountain back to Schwangau, Katie and I grabbed a couple of pictures of the lake just south of town before jumping back onto the bus! This entire place was picture-perfect. No wonder Ludwig II thought of it as his worldly escape!

Hofbräuhaus München

Following our two-hour bus trip back into Munich, Katie and I wanted to meet Meghan and Peyton for a drink at Hofbräuhaus am Platzl, the famous beer hall we visited on our walking tour with Patrick on Monday!

This beer hall was originally built in 1589 and has been involved in numerous events throughout history. Namely, Hitler founded the Nazi Party at these tables in February 1920 and was elected as the party's leader here in July 1921. Despite this darker, lesser-known history, the Hofbräuhaus is a lively place with good vibes! With constant live music, clinking of glasses, and cheers heard around the huge beer hall, this place was the perfect way to end our time in Munich! Katie and I enjoyed a couple of raddlers (beer diluted with lemonade, you know, to give our livers a break) in the presence of great company!

Here's a short clip of the bustling beer hall:

After a nice dinner with Peyton and Meghan, we said our goodbyes. Tomorrow we head to Stuttgart for the next leg of our trip, while they head to Basque Country in northern Spain! Stay tuned for more fun coming soon!

Prost!

Bryan