Saturday in Munich:
[1] We spent five and a half hours at the Dachau concentration camp memorial… and would probably have stayed longer if they weren’t getting ready to close. The gate by which prisoners entered the camp ironically states ‘Albeit Macht Frei’ or ‘Work Brings Freedom.’ [2] Me walking through the camp courtyard to the barracks where, after liberation, U.S. soldiers found 30,000 prisoners living in a facility built for 6,000. [3] The crematorium. I really don’t have the words yet to describe my experience that day… [4] We missed lunch without really noticing while we walked through the camp, so we settled for Subway sandwiches in the town of Dachau. I posted this photo because it was strange to think that people lived right here next to the camp, going on with everyday life while all of the horror went on beyond the gates… and I’m afraid I would have been one of them if I were in their shoes. [5] When we returned, we sat with our coffees on a balcony overlooking Karlsplatz. [6] Along our walk to meet my sister’s friend, we stopped to listen to this street musician. There are a lot, of course, but this man was really good. The photo doesn’t show you the huge crowd - even dancers - he attracted. [7] We rested on a bench in the Hofgarten (Court Garden) behind the Munich Residenz, former royal palace of the Bavarian monarchs. [8] After meeting up with her friend, we happened upon Munich’s “Bike Night,” a night when the city blocks traffic to cars along Munich city streets leaving the roads clear for bikers. Bike Night is a part of a campaign to promote biking as a healthy and environmentally friendly way to get around the city. [9] We finally made it to the Biergarten (beer garden) under the maypole in Viktualienmarkt, a daily market in the center of Munich. [10] That night, we waited for our tram by the monument of King Maximillian II of Bavaria on Maximillianstrasse.
