Dachau

We have had no internet for a couple of days, hence the delay in communications. We didn’t have Internet access Monday night to Tuesday at our 2nd hotel in Munich, nor did we at our Bed & Breakfast in Rothenberg. Maybe wi-fi has not quite made it to the medieval Germany?

Tuesday, 10/07/09

We woke up, ate breakfast at the hotel, packed up and headed out with our massive luggage. We were heading to the train station to see if they had lockers, as the storage at the hostel wasn’t quite up to our standards (open room, anyone could go in as long as they asked for the key & there was already clothing and misc. items strewn about the floor). So, we went to Munich Main Train Station to find storage our luggage. To our surprise we found a locker big enough and it only cost us 5 euro. A great deal for storing luggage from what we’ve seen. Next stop Dachau.

Dachau was one of the first concentration camps built and the longest running camp of the Third Reich. It stayed in operation 12 years. As you can imagine Dachau was a somber stop on our tour, but one we felt we couldn’t pass up on since we were so close. The grounds itself was much larger than I imagined. They built a really simple yet intricate building that houses the information center, café and of course, gift shop. The rest of the area was pretty much rebuilt in 1965 to show the original layout of the grounds.

“May the example of those who were exterminated here between 1933-1945 because they resisted Nazism help to unite the living for the defence of peace and freedom and in respect for their fellow men.”

I have to say that I really admire what Germany has done to acknowledge the wrong that was done many years ago. I have heard many times that Germany, as a country has been very ashamed of it’s past for decades. So much so, that it could be rare to see a German flying his or her flag. Germans had hoped to regain some respect and pride for their country when they were host of the Olympics in 1972 however, this event did more to negatively affect the German image. It wasn’t until 2006 when the World Cup was hosted by Germany that the country was seen to have changed its view with regard to public displays of pride in their heritage.

Unfortunately after Dachau we didn’t have enough time to go to the Olympic Stadium as we had planned. Next time. We still had to make it from Dachau to Munich Hauptbahnhof (main train station) to retrieve our bags, and make our way to Rothenberg.