I just realized that I leave Europe in a day and I have yet to write two snapshots plus Ireland and about what I actually found in Firenze... While my conclusions on Italy will probably have to wait until I reach the states, I promised an actual entry from Ireland, so here goes!
I'll confess that I've been avoiding posting on Munich. It's not that I disliked Germany, but rather that this trip had a more profound impact on me than I thought it would. In the interest of time and the publicity of this blog I'm going to be vague about the extent to which I have been emotionally and philosophically transformed, so if you're interested in my new perspectives you'll have to ask me in person.
On a happier and less cryptic note: I really liked Munich! Despite the nine hour bus ride and the head-splitting migraine I developed as we wound our way through northern Italy and Austria, I was content to settle into the cramped hostel room with a five of my girlfriends. We got to sleep in a bit before heading down to a sizable breakfast and then off into the city center for a bike tour. Starting from the Marienplatz in the heart of medieval Munich, we cycled our way past the city's major sites including: the Hofbrauhaus (beer hall of the kings), the Hofgarten (garden of the kings), the Odeonsplatz (where Hitler paraded the power of the Third Reich), and the English Gardens (where we stopped for lunch in the world's second largest outdoor beer garden).
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Hofbrauhaus beer was formerly reserved for
kings ('hof' in German denotes royalty) |
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| Beautiful church off the Odeonsplatz |
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| Hofgarten the former gardens of the rich and famous |
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| Nothing like getting back in the saddle |
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| My friend Sarah and I enjoyed our refreshments |
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Beautiful English Gardens in the early
spring sunshine |
After the bike tour, a few friends and I decided to find the Dark Beer Festival that was going on in the southern part of the city. We walked our way until we were hopelessly lost and a kind German guy took pity on us and sent us, with very precise directions, right to where we needed to be. I'd like to think it was an hour-long detour. At least we had fun playing in the park on our way there! We knew we had arrived at the right place when the people ahead of us were wearing lederhosen. That's right. Of the people at the Paulaner (brewery) Festival, 95% were locals and 90% of them were dressed in traditional Bavarian garb. The rest of the evening consisted of people watching and wishing that we knew the words to a few German drinking songs so we could join in with those who were belting out the lyrics as they swayed on top of tables and swung their steins (beer mugs).
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| Enjoying the atmosphere (not the beer) |
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| Lederhosen and loud music! |
The next day proved to be the most momentous: a visit to the concentration camp Dachau. After having read that we would visit the camp, I anticipated that I would be emotionally effected because as much as I don't like to admit it, I'm a sensitive person—sometimes overly so—and I was right. As I walked the grounds of the compound, a former political prisoners camp that claimed the lives of far fewer individuals than did the extermination camps like Auschwitz-Birkenau, I could think only of the innocent men and women who were systematically dehumanized and slaughtered by their fellow human beings. It was bone chilling to walk through the prison and later through the crematorium. I only took a few pictures to remind myself of the austerity of the place, but I think they're enough to represent the atrocities that took place there.
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The center of the camp where prisoners lined up for role call
twice a day, standing sometimes for hours in the rain or snow.
The administrative building where they were processed upon
arrival stretches ominously behind the commemorative
sculpture depicting a metallic jumble of twisted bodies. |
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Leafless trees line the aisle between the foundations of the 34
former barracks. |
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The gate to the camp containing the infamous Nazi phrase:
Arbeit Macht Frei |
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