Dachau is about 10 miles outside of the city and was actually the first Nazi run concentration camp in Germany. It was initially set up for political prisoners, but as time went on a wide range of people - over 200,000 of them, including women and children - came to this labor camp. Despite being a "labor camp" rather than an extermination camp, over 40,000 people died due to disease, undernourishment, violence, or other terrible circumstances due to the conditions of the camp.
Though it sounds strange to admit, I have always been fascinated by the holocaust. I suppose it stems from reading many novels - fiction and non-fiction - over the years, being involved in The Diary of Anne Frank play in high school, and a general interest in social psychology. It is unfathomable that something like the holocaust could have happened, and it amazes me how one person (Hitler) could have led so many people to participate in such terrible things. It's terrifying - I assume most of the Nazis and others involved in running these camps and doing such horrible things would have never imagined doing the things they did, and yet they went along with it. It makes me wonder about humans and if something this terrible could happen again. We see it on smaller scales all the time - groups of people doing terrible things to other people.
It's also interesting and inspiring to hear the stories of the people who were in this very camp - and so many others like it - and how they helped each other, persevered, and risked (and sometimes gave) their lives to try to help other people survive and resist the Nazi regime. Those are the stories I'd rather hear, but I think that period of history in general is a fascinating period of human behavior.
We had a short amount of time (the theme of this trip!) to walk around the camp and visit the museum and memorial site.
The entrance to the Dachau concentration camp
Translates to "work makes you free" in German
This was a place I kind of felt like walking through on my own - I didn't want to chat, I just wanted to take it in and think about what really happened here. It's always strange to me to visit places where something of historical significance happened - it seems surreal. It's like, you know terrible things happened here - but it's just some buildings and a yard and it doesn't seem possible that such atrocities actually occurred on the very site you are standing. I remember feeling similarly when I visited Ground Zero in New York - it doesn't seem possible that something so significant and awful could have happen in the real world, outside of history books or television screens. I don't know if I'd say it makes it feel more or less real, it's just something I can't wrap my head around.
A message in multiple languages says "May the example of those who were exterminated here between 1933-1945 because they resisted Nazism help to unite the living for the defense of peace and freedom and in respect for the fellow man"
Looking out on the camp
There is a very detailed museum on site. I tried to go through it, but ran out of time. It covered the entire history of what was happening in Germany (and Europe) at the time of World War 2 and the rise of Hitler and the Nazi regime. It took you through the circumstances of the Dachau prisoners and I assume through the liberation, but I didn't make it all the way through. After leaving the museum Alyssa (who was reading at about my pace) and I walked over to the barracks. It was heartbreaking how small the beds were and imagining how many people were packed into those horrible rooms.
Inside the barracks
We wandered a little more but it was quickly time to leave. As I was leaving I saw this plaque and it made me feel very proud.
The US has so many problems and I often struggle with the knowledge that we can't save the world -and we're spending precious resources overseas "assisting" other countries while our own citizens are living in poverty and struggling in other ways here. I often feel like we should help our own people before we try to help the world, because there are just not enough resources to help everyone everywhere. It totally, completely sucks, but it's just reality.
This place was a good reminder that sometimes it's necessary for us to get involved in what's happening in other parts of the world and do something about it. I am both thankful and proud that my country was there to end these atrocities and liberate the people who so deserved our help.
After getting a little lost (and a group of us literally running in multiple directions to try to make it back to the bus on time and avoid being late) we were off to Rhine Valley. We spent a good chunk of the day on the bus, which was actually kind of neat because we saw the prettiest scenery and castles throughout the hills.
We stopped in St. Goar, which is along the Rhine River Valley, in late afternoon. It was a charming little town. We stopped in a beer stein shop, which was neat but kind of overwhelming. I had originally thought maybe I'd buy a beer stein to bring home, but there were so many to choose from and I couldn't find the "perfect" one that I felt like I needed to buy. We then had some time to wander around a bit before dinner - there wasn't a whole lot to see, but it was pleasant walking along the river and chatting. There was some kind of festival going on so there were people walking around and there was live music.
St. Goar seemed like a neat place, but it was also rather obvious that it was a stop Contiki selected because it was a good driving distance between Munich and Amsterdam. There was not a ton to see or do there, but it was enjoyable to visit and nice to have a fairly low-key stop.
St. Goar
Along the Rhine River - it was a charming area
The Rhine River
St. Goar is such a cute little town
We stopped for dinner at a hotel in town - not the one we were staying at, but it was close to the place where we were tasting wine later. After dinner, we walked a block or so to a wine tasting - this was an optional activity, but I think most people participated.
The wine tasting was underground - it seemed like a cave, though I don't actually know what it was made of. We learned a bit about the wine region we were in, and tasted 4 different Reislings plus an optional "ice wine", which is made from grapes harvested at -7 degrees Celsius. The wines were all ok, but kind of sweet for my taste. They had cheese in between each taste to cleanse your palate - much better than the crackers you see most places!
The tasting room
Danielle and I at the wine tasting
After the wine tasting, we drove to the hotel we were staying at and checked in. That was kind of the end of the night - we hung out a bit in the lobby area and had cake for Daryl's birthday (which was 2 days earlier) and there was talk of playing trivia or something, but that didn't end up happening so everyone just went to bed. It was just as well - we were getting toward the end of the trip and while a part of me wanted to spend every minute having fun and experiencing it while it lasted, the rest of me was tired and really benefited from a decent night of sleep. The room in St. Goar was one of the nicest - Danielle and I had a room to ourselves, and it was very comfortable!
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