World Germany Bayern Munich

The Compton's European Adventure 2018

What A Day In Munich Apr 28, 2018

Our day started in München (Munich) with a delicious buffet breakfast at our hotel. For the next 9 hours we did the locals walking tour of Munich and then rode the train to Dachau. Ella, a local guide, walked us to all the major sites in Old Town Munich. We first visited a contemporary work-live-shop space named Fünf höfe space that was beautiful. Architecturally it had a lot of green species from the ceiling and a floor level. We then visited a beautiful Italian style church that was beautiful and dedicated to the King and Queen’s son. After seeing many other government buildings and the Munich Opera House, we went to St. Mary’s Square to see the Glockenspiel. Every day the city's central Marienplatz square is crammed with onlookers with their chins aimed skywards. They’re watching one of the city’s most loved oddities, the Munich Glockenspiel, or carillon. This chiming clock was added to the tower of the New Town Hall the year the building was completed in 1907. At 11am, midday and 5pm between March and October the Munich Glockenspiel recounts a royal wedding, jousting tournament and ritualistic dance - all events which have etched a mark on Munich’s popular folklore.

The our tour group of 18 headed to The Viktualienmarkt, a daily food market and a square in the center of Munich, Germany. The Viktualienmarkt developed from an original farmers' market to a popular market for gourmets. Here our Gide stopped at different stalls and we sampled pretzels, German sausages, cheeses and Schmalznudel, German fried donuts, very similar to and elephant ears but muuuuuch better!!

We had about an hour break before meeting out guide, Yoda, to go to Dachau and Janice and I went shoe shopping. A girl never has too many shoes, you know and yes, I bought a pair!!

We met Yoda at St. Mary’s Square just as the Policez was setting up barricades for a recognition ceremony to honor the München soccer team who has won the German championship. We rushed to get our of there and caught the train to Dachau. Dachau, one of the first

concentration camps established by the Nazis, was located in the small town of Dachau approximately 10 miles northwest of Munich.  The location at Dachau was selected by the Nazis because it was the site of an empty munitions factory from World War One, which was ideal for the establishment of a camp.

The opening of the camp, with a capacity for 5,000 prisoners and the first group of so-called protective-custody, consisting mainly of Communists and Social Democrats was brought to the camp on 22 March 1933.

It was a very sobering and sad tour but one that I am glad we did. Our guide had a wealth of knowledge and shared with us for about 3 hours the atrocities that happened at Dachau. I am attaching an excellent link for anyone interested and will post a few pics. I have many, many more if anyone is interested.

Above the main gate stood the inscription – Arbeit Macht Frei (Work Will Make You Free). As one entered the camp, the huge administration building was on the right. Painted in large letters on the roof was the slogan:

There is one road to freedom and its milestones are

Obedience,  Diligence, Honesty, Order  

Cleanliness, Temperance, Truth, Sacrifice

and love of one’s country

On 29 April 1945, the camp was liberated by the Seventh Army of the United States armed forces. A Turkish newspaper correspondent, Nerin E. Gun, who had been imprisoned in Dachau for his reports on the Warsaw Ghetto wrote, “An American soldier saw red and he shot the SS men down, then the hunt started for any other German in an SS uniform. “Within a quarter of an hour, there was not a single one of Hitler’s henchmen alive.”

The Holocaust slogan, “Never Again” was very heavy on my heart today after this visit.

Read more about Dachau here:

http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/othercamps/dachau.html

Our group returned to Munich by train and to our hotel by tram and were some tired folks. We went to Augustiner Braustuben, a German brewery and restaurant. Again a very good German meal. Tomorrow will bring a morning tour and then to Passat to board the Maria Theresa of Uniworld River Cruises. Oh yea, 14,319 steps today and 5.03 miles. Good night!!