Arriving into Dachau Friday night around 10.30, we ended up taking a taxi to our hostel since we had no idea how to find the place. I was pleasantly surprised in how cleanly and updated it was. Dropping our stuff off in our room, we proceeded to head down to the lounge to hang out and get drinks. Unfortunately, it was just about to close, but the guy working said there was a dance club we could go to. Getting basic directions, we began our walk. After about an hour of walking, we finally stopped at a McDonald’s to ask them for directions. Finding out that it was just a few blocks further, we made it to the club, only to find out that it closed. Apparently Germany doesn’t believe in “Thirsty Thursday’s.”
Saturday morning we woke up early and made our way to the continental breakfast that the hostel hosted. It wasn’t much of anything except for a cereal bar and some coffee. Beginning our walk to the concentration camp itself, it ended up being on the same road we had walked the night prior. Signs soon guided our paths, giving us the information that we were walking the same path that the prisoners would have made. Talk about a creepy feeling.
Walking through the entrance to the camp itself, I was not only overwhelmed, but also completely enthralled by everything I was seeing. It was one of those experiences where you could close your eyes and literally envision what had happened during the time of the Nazi administration.
If you have a facebook, I strongly suggest that you look through my photos. I was able to write captions on most of what I saw, which will give you a very BASIC overview of what I experienced at the camp.
The pictures themselves are worth a million words, so I do not feel like I need to elaborate much on it. I will say that, if you do ever have the opportunity to tour a concentration camp, do it. As disturbing as it is, it is absolutely worth it.
Leaving Dachau a few hours later, we took our train back into Munich. Spending the next hour and a half searching for the Hofbrauhaus, we eventually found it and were all blown away by the size of it. Each room had HUGE ceilings, the tables were all in bench form allowing everyone to sit next to each other, and beer bringing brought out every minute by the waiters. Spending a few hours there, we ordered some dinner and drinks, were entertained by a live band, and was able to people watch on some legit old-school German men. It was definitely a good time.
The second part of the weekend was a little different. If you read the last blog I posted, I mentioned the two guys we met on the train on our way home from Paris- Chris and Chad. Well. I had a date with Chris on Saturday. So, after the Hofbrauhaus, Nicole and I took the train back to Graf so I could be home for the following day.
My date with Chris was awesome. He ended up picking me up at our apartment at like nine-thirty in the morning. He drove us out to Pottenstein, where we were able to tour the town and hike up to an old castle. After our hike, we found a putt-putt golf course to play on, and despite the fact that I lost- it was still a lot of fun! Following the road out of town, Chris took me to this place called Rodelbahn, which ended up being exactly like Alpine Slides. It was hilarious. After riding it a few times, we ended up leaving, only to stop a little ways down the road at a cave. Running into two couples that we had coincidentally saw at every pit stop along the way, they invited us to join them for a beer. One of the couples was actually from Seattle, and had just visited Portland before they arrived in Germany. Talk about a small world! Finishing our beer, we ended up taking a tour of the caves, which was fascinating, except for the fact that the tour guide was speaking German. They did have the English translation, but it was too quiet to actually hear over everyone talking. Once we finished the cave tours, we ended up finding another putt-putt golf course to play on, and I unfortunately, lost again. Clearly it was not my day for golfing. Chris ended up making me dinner and drove me back to my apartment around 10.30pm. I had a really good time though, and hope to have a second date soon!
Due to Sunday being the ten-year anniversary of 9/11, a commemorative run was held in honor of those lost that day. Because a lot of the individuals who were registered to run were parents, half of the Camp Adventure staff was asked to work. I was included in that group, as well as my roommates. Arriving at the Fitness Center, we were each given two/three kids that we would be held accountable four. I ended up with three girls: two fifth graders, and one sixth. They were awesome. We did a few different sport stations, and then ended up sitting on the football field and talking. The whole event only lasted about two hours, so once we were done, we had the rest of the day to ourselves. It was the first time since being here that I felt like I had a few hours to just relax. I ended up laying around for most of it, although our friend Jason did take us to the commissary for groceries, and then later we met up with him for gelato.
As we were sitting at the gelato place, a huge storm rolled into Graf in the matter of minutes. The wind picked up, to where it was knocking chairs over and blowing stuff all over the street. We could feel the moisture in the air, so we all took off sprinting down the street toward our apartment. I have never seen my roommate Nicole move so fast in my life. I started laughing so hard; I could not even pull it together. Long story short, we made it home literally seconds before the downpour fell.
Overall, it was another great weekend.
But now it’s time to plan this next one!
