Euro Trip Part 4 - Munich (part 2)

The next morning we got up early (again of course - because that's how you euro trip), checked out of our hotel, and left for Dachau. For breakfast we stopped at MickyDs on the way (classy we know).

Dachau isn't far outside of downtown Munich so the drive there was short. Our time there - far from it. I had no idea we'd be there as long as we were. We stayed nearly 2.5 hours. Don't get me wrong, the time was well spent and I wouldn't have chosen to leave earlier anyway.

When we arrived we started walking the path and reading signs on our own but ended up getting confused. To avoid confusion throughout the entire camp we paid for audio guides at the front entrance building - best decision ever as you learn so much about the history and structures there.

this was a creek on the way into the camp

yay for audio guides - it was so helpful
we each got to listen at our own pace too.

the entrance

the old captains/officers quarters

this is the entrance to the right

These two plaques are by the main gate for the forces that participated in the liberation of this camp.

This is the main gate into the camp. The original gate was stolen by vandals and this was recreated.
"Arbeit Macht Frei" - it means "work makes you free". Dachau was one of the largest work camps. This phrase appeared on several of the concentration camp gates.

the view of the gate once inside

The tour was led by a series of numbers you'd type in on the audio guide that correlated with these informative signs/buildings and their number on our map.

the barracks buildings were all destroyed but two were reconstructed to show what they
looked like on the inside through the years the camp existed.

these are the plots where the barracks buildings used to be

This tree lined road had the barracks buildings on either side.
At the end are the memorials that have been constructed here.

The first building we went in were the reconstructed barracks buildings. Each room was designed for a certain period of occupancy. The longer it was open the more people it housed and the rooms here showed the changes the Nazi's attempted to put in place to fit more people into each room.

just to think what the view looked like out the real windows
when the camp existed. Only other place I've felt such
a heavy silence was at the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.

The barracks buildings had numbers to mark where they would have been. This one had a rose on it.

Even just looking back on these photos - it touches your heart to see and feel what happened here.

At the back of the barracks buildings there are 4 religious monuments and a convent. 

This is the Mortal Agony of Christ Chapel, built in 1960

This bell was donated by Austria 

this is the cross hanging in the chapel

another on the monument in the middle

this is the pathway to the convent
(it's the white buildings right on the other side of the wall).

Below this is the Jewish memorial dedicated in 1967.

This is the Protestant memorial.

The fourth memorial, the Russian Orthodox one, was off to the side. You had to cross this trench (via bridge now), another bridge over a creek, and it was by the crematorium.

the stone marking the entrance to the crematorium
area.

There we several mass graves outside the crematorium.

This is the statue of the unknown prisioner.

This building, across from the gardens, mass graves, and statue of the unknown prisoner, was the newer crematorium.

These were the gas chambers. The various hookups on the walls were were the chemicals were added, some were windows to watch, and others were vents.

The crematorium building had various staging areas. It had a waiting room, disrobing room, the gas chambers, and the incinerator rooms.

This was the older crematorium building. It was a smaller room and ended up being too small and that's when the one above was built.

the old crematorium exterior

this was the Russian Orthodox memorial

Next we walked back up by the main gate to see the maintenance building.

Upon our entrance they had a massive map of the Nazi camps. Dachau was comprised of over 100 smaller camps in the region. I truly had no idea how many camps there really were and this map put it into perspective.

The entire interior of the maintenance building was turned into a museum of information about Dachau and the Holocaust itself.

This was a mini map of the camp. We are currently in the large building on the right
shaped like a "U" and all the buildings lined up facing it
were the barracks buildings.

"Ashes of the unknown concentration camp prisioners"

Outside there were various art structures or walls that paid tribute to what had happened here. We learn from history and, in doing so, keep it from repeating itself.

I could have never imagined what it was going to be like to see or be at Dachau. It literally leaves me at a loss for words. The experience was just humbling.

After our tour there we returned our audio guides and headed back to the car. We stopped for gas before getting on the road and then left off for Neuschwanstein castle. This day was busy for us and involved a lot of time in the car but- the views of the alps were worth it. Talk about gorgeous!

the water was so clear!!

Once we arrived and parked the car we walked up into town to scope out castle tickets (since you couldn't buy them ahead of time and had to get them physically there).

There were two castles here - the Neuschwanstein Castle and the Hohenschwangau Castle. We planned to get tickets into Neuschwanstein but the tour times were so far from when we arrived that we'd have to wait around for awhile before starting and didn't want to. Also, since we still had a roughly 4 hour drive home it would have put us back in Baumholder super late. Instead we just took the bus up to the castle and walked around the outside - such beautiful views!

It was MASSIVE! I've never seen a legit castle before - let alone one so large!

While we didn't get to go inside exactly we did get to go into the courtyard.

The views were just gorgeous - we went at a great time of year. It was chilly but everything was still lush and green. After walking the grounds we hiked back down and stopped for dinner and a few souvenirs.

Josh had super awesome spatzle! 

BBQ Pork with crispy onions and potato fries - my dinner! super yummy as well!
Plus you can't forget the wine.

this was the front of the restaurant we ate at.

On the way home we snagged some more awesome mountain views - they were everywhere.

Then back at the house I took some photos of some of my souvenirs I bought in Munich. I love collecting my magnets!

I'm very happy we did Munich and Oktoberfest and know Katie and Josh had a great time. Getting to squeeze in some views of the beginning of the Alps was also a great thing for them to see as well. If you haven't been to Bavaria for Oktoberfest or down to see the Alps - I highly recommend both! Next up - Barcelona!