A camp, a castle, and an end

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December 30, 2008

We made it! The end of our vacation. And the first time I've actually blogged all the way through a vacation! Usually I get too tired and give up in favor of sleep. But the night is still young, I have instant latte macchiato in my cup, watching a German M-TV-ish music countdown on television (and wishing I could stab my ears because Phil Collins is currently singing - oh good, that stopped; even Mariah Carey is an improvement), and the bells from the church across the street are ringing like the Second Coming is nigh. So, no sleep right now and I can finish blogging about our trip.

Today we bought a transportation ticket so that we could take the S-bahn, U-bahn, trams, and buses around. A partner ticket for all zones in the greater Munich area covers several people for a day (until the next day at 6AM, so it will cover our trip to the airport, too) for 18E. It's expensive enough that I didn't want to use the public transport until we absolutely had to, preferring to walk everywhere. However, we couldn't possibly walk to Dachau - or we could, perhaps, if it wasn't so bitterly cold and we didn't already have feet worn out from so much recent walking. So, public transport. In places like Germany and Prague it's so much nicer than back home. At home, buses and the like seem so dirty and can have interesting (insert your own word) characters, probably because so many people choose to drive instead. In countries like Czech Republic and Germany, everyone takes public transportation and it's clean and efficient and safe for children.

We took the S-bahn out to Dachau this morning, a trip that lasts about 45 minutes. Dachau is a cute little town on the outskirts of Munich, one that looks unassuming and quaint and like a great place to raise children - if only one didn't think about its unsavory past. I'm not sure how I feel about this. Last year when we visited Terezin (Theresienstadt), it was a town that was dying - dirty, poor, and depressing, like there was no future for its inhabitants and that was just what the town expected. If there can be an opposite to that ambiance, it's found in Dachau. Perhaps it's the difference in how the towns dealt with their Nazi heritage? Terezin was the Nazis' “model camp” that they used to show Red Cross representatives how kindly they treated prisoners. (Ha! Even the treatment here was abysmal, although I guess it was comparatively better, but we all know that's not really saying anything.) Dachau, on the other hand, was opened in 1933, so it was used right from the start of Nazi control of Germany. It was not used originally for Jews but for political prisoners and other “asocials” until it was expanded in 1937-8. Within the camp itself there are three memorials - a protestant church (called the Church of Reconciliation, which holds services every week), a Catholic memorial (and behind the camp there is a convent with an order of nuns), and a Jewish memorial. I think it's appropriate because there needs to be recognition that there are plenty of other victims here. After the war, there was no place for many of the prisoners to go; their homes and families were gone, so they stayed at Dachau, at least for a number of years. Then Dachau was used to house some Nazi criminals, and eventually, years later, this area became a town with a sad past and a memorial where the camp was located. The memorial opened in the late 50s, and they have done a very good job with memorializing and educating the 1,000,000+ visitors that come every year. But it was a bit disturbing to see that the area where the SS barracks were located was torn down to make way for an apartment complex years ago. I guess that brings to mind the question that's been tossed about for years - do you let something awful crumble and then replace it with something useful, do you tear it down, or do you replace it and repair this terrible thing so that future generations can see it?

Dachau seems to try for a compromise. So part of it was torn down, and the original prisoner barracks are no longer there, but the main camp complex is preserved with barracks replicas, the memorials, and a very educational museum. All is free and open to the public. When we were there in the morning there were plenty of people there already, but by the time we left the line stretched down the sidewalk and around the corner. Which brings me to another dilemma - or frustration? I am very glad that so many people are trying to become educated about this nasty bit of the past (and apparently all German school children are required to visit concentration camp sites as part of their education in history), but with large tourist groups come some drawbacks. I saw a piece of trash lying in the path as I was walking (who litters at a grave site?!), there was an American couple with their three year old getting ready to have a tantrum (which begs the question why bring a cranky toddler to a concentration camp), and - the most shocking of all - a group of tourists having their picture taken in front of the Arbeit Macht Frei sign!! Is that really appropriate to be smiling with a group of friends in front of the entrance to a concentration camp? OY. VEY. But these were actually the exceptions; most people were very reverent and sensitive as they walked through the sites. I walked out to the Jewish memorial and placed a stone on it while offering up a silent Shema, walked through the museum and absorbed the atmosphere. Matthew and I have now seen two concentration camps, both very different. And neither one is one of the most infamous camps, like Auschwitz, which we will probably need to visit at some point in our lives. Yet it's sometimes hard to know the best reaction to these sites and visits.

Knowing that we did not want to end the day on a down note (and also wishing to avoid the crowds), we started the morning with Dachau and then went back to the S-bahn to head back into town. The Dachau S-bahn station has a McDonald's located in it, which does a good business because people want something to do while waiting. I wondered if the McDonald's had a 1E menu, like the dollar menu at home, and they do. Sadly, no fries for a dollar, but we did stop in for a large fry anyway, which was a good dose of grease to hold us over for a while. (We hadn't eaten anything yet.) We took the S-bahn back into town and stopped at the Starbucks so that Matthew could try a drink that Starbucks carries here that I haven't noticed at home (of course I've only been in a Starbucks once since October at home, so maybe I just missed it), a dark cherry chocolate latte - very good. I had a gingerbread latte again because I love that flavor. (Hmmm, I guess we hit all of our American food joints today.) We then ran to catch a tram (which we took in the wrong direction at first, something that seems easy to do but thankfully also easily correctable), and journeyed out to Nymphenburg Castle. It was built in the 1660s when a king gave the land to his wife because she gave birth to a son. (Odd side note: apparently descendants still live in one wing and refer to themselves as royalty.) The lands stretch just about as far as the eye can see and it's a great place for a walk. Within the grounds there was also a “Rococo hunting lodge” and several other large buildings, but I think that the most interesting thing that we saw on our walk around was the frozen pond on which a bunch of people were skating. Families with children seemed to make the trek out from the city specifically for this and the kids were having a great time.
We returned to the city center from the palace and then took a U-bahn out to the Olympic Park. My blisters were starting to act up and the daylight was fading, so we didn't stay long, just long enough to take a few pictures and look around. We headed back into town to the Viktualienmarkt one last time, this time with a goal. I wanted to make sure that Matthew tried a bratwurst before we left, so we found a stall and he ordered a brat for himself, a pretzel for me, and we each got a dunkel beer. Yum!

Today we had an easy day for our feet, finally, putting only 20,000 steps on the pedometer. We needed to make sure that we'd have energy to pack when we got back to the room, rather than collapse in a heap like we've been doing. We're pretty much packed and ready to go, which is good since we have to get up at 3AM and make it to the U-bahn as it starts. Our fingers are crossed that they won't make us check baggage and that we'll have a smooth trip back home. We've had a great time but it will be good to get back!

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Photos

Dachau Concentration Camp
This is a piece of art outside the camp museum. It depicts the different patches that prisoners were forced to wear, depending on their "crimes against the state."

Nymphenburg Castle
This picture only captures part of it, the view as we walked up. It is massive!

Yum!
Matthew enjoying his bratwurst.