Dachau, Olympic Park, and English Garden (Munich)

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This morning after breakfast at the hotel, we walked to the nearest Europcar (Marstrasse 8) to pick up our rental car. Expecting a VW Passatt, I was a little surprised to end up with a Mercedes C200. Luckily we took the insurance out because credit cards will not cover a Mercedes. I drove the car over to the parking lot next to the hotel, spent a few minutes trying to figure out the GPS, and then dropped it off for the day before heading out on the S-bahn to Dachau.

We took the S-2 toward Petershausen and got off at the Dachau stop. Across from the station we picked up bus #724 to Dachau. Something to note… they pack the buses VERY full and we were all suffering during the 10 minute ride (stifling heat, no A/C, and a distinct smell of various body odors, most belonging to people I had never met before). However, an extremely small price to pay compared to the amount of suffering and mass murder that took place there.

Also worth noting is the admission to Dachau is free. You can purchase the audio guide (we did) for 3,50 euro, but it really isn’t necessary. After visiting Auschewitz and Birkenau a few years ago, I really didn’t get nearly the same feeling this time. The grounds are very bare and there is not much to see inside the buildings. If you really want a sense of the suffering that took place here, watch the film shown in the museum. This was the first concentration camp and many thousands of lives were taken here.. There are several memorials set up representing different religions and a bell rings out every day at 3pm.

The bus ride back to the S-bahn was also too full and we were relieved to be able to breathe again when we got back on the S-2. This time we got off at Laim and switched to the S-1 to Moosach, then the U-3 to Olympia Zenbrum because we wanted to find the memorial to the Israeli team who were murdered during the 1972 Olympics.

There was a Summerfest going on at the grounds and we walked around and around a bunch of booths only to find out that we were on the entirely wrong side of the park. After our feet felt like they would fall off, we finally found the memorial, snapped a few pictures and then hobbled back to the U-3 to Universitat to go to the English Garden.

By this time we were about to drop and walked only as far as the beer garden before stopping to eat (and drink of course!). The menu there is limited but the mozzarella, tomato, and pesto sandwiches we had were the perfect amount of food, washed down with Radler beers (mixed with lemonade, SO good on a hot day). The English Garden is a beautiful (and quite large) park also known for being “clothing optional”. By the evening, the only naked person we ended up seeing was a 1-year-old kid. Not very scandalous.

On our walk back to the U-bahn it started raining. We quickly made our way to the station, catching the U-6 to the U-$ back to Hbf and then back to our hotel where we collapsed for the night.

Tomorrow we drive to Neuschwanstein!

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Photos

Our rental car
Mercedes C220

Dachau
Standing cell

Dachau
Rows of standing cells