If I can't get my (previously) trusty adapter to work, there will not be many more posts.... This iPhone is runnin out of juice. For the nerdy techy types reading this, it has been over 42 hours since the last charge.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Anglischer Garten
Munich boasts a municipal park that dwarfs Central Park (a meaningless claim to me - I've never been there - but the tour guide acted like I should care)
It is a beautiful place with bikers, walkers, joggers and dogs off leashes sharing nicely. I think these would have made it my favorite part of Munich by themselves, of course......
There are 2 large beer gardens too. I guess that at one time, beer gardens had only beer but have now added food - roast chicken, pork knuckle (fantastic) and bratwurst. I doubt anyone complained, as beer still flows plentifully.
Our tour included a dinner stop at the Chinese tower garden. I had the pork knuckle because (a) pork is delicious and (b) I know somebody ate one on a travel show (just hope I was copying Bourdain, not Rick Steves). Our guide recommended the beauty of another establishment, so we went back the next night. I ordered the more stereotypical bratwurst, accompanied by an amount of sauerkraut I would previosly described as "the whole jar". It was not too much when you are drinking a liter of beer.
When the very kind lady
It is a beautiful place with bikers, walkers, joggers and dogs off leashes sharing nicely. I think these would have made it my favorite part of Munich by themselves, of course......
There are 2 large beer gardens too. I guess that at one time, beer gardens had only beer but have now added food - roast chicken, pork knuckle (fantastic) and bratwurst. I doubt anyone complained, as beer still flows plentifully.
Our tour included a dinner stop at the Chinese tower garden. I had the pork knuckle because (a) pork is delicious and (b) I know somebody ate one on a travel show (just hope I was copying Bourdain, not Rick Steves). Our guide recommended the beauty of another establishment, so we went back the next night. I ordered the more stereotypical bratwurst, accompanied by an amount of sauerkraut I would previosly described as "the whole jar". It was not too much when you are drinking a liter of beer.
When the very kind lady
Dachau
We took the commuter train out to Dachau today. "Dachau" once referred to a small village outside of Munich and indeed there is still quite a population there.
Shortly after taking power in 1933, the NSDAP (the Nazis) established their first concentration camp in Dachau - initially for political opponents (Social Democrats and Communists) but later to be reorganized and enlarged in 1938 to hold every group deemed "asocial". Eventually, members of the French Resistance and even Soviet POWs were kept here.
It is hard to enumerate all of the things that amazed me about this place - of course the horrors of Naziism that you know you will see - while most did not "surprise" me after years of Holocaust history, they are nonetheless always shocking to see or read again. 2 things did strike me
1. The heat - I've often read about or envisioned concentration camp prisoners enduring Northern European winters with a thin layer of clothing, nothing in their bellies and maybe no shoes. I'd never pondered summertime, but on an otherwise beautful day, the camp had heat lines rising from the ground. That is in spite of the beautful shade tree that have been planted in the past 60 years (aerial photos of 1945 didn't show them). I had never imagined this hardship too for the prisoners.
2. Life in town goes on - while that fact is painfully and awkwardly true of the townsfolk marched at gunpoint to the camp by the US Army in 1945, it is much more matter of fact today. There is a busy road that goes by the outer fence and homes whose second floor looks onto the camp yard. (We noticed this same phenomena in Cambodia - perhaps it is something innately human) The camp received enough coverage in 1930s German press (heavily misrepresented as "corrective") that it's name had a sort of boogyman connotation to regular Germans. Today the residents pack onto the same bus as the tourists streaming to the camp - 2 different lines head to that part of town and go beyond the camp's stop. Dachau the town seems to exist in symmetry with it's history without forgetting it.
Note - In a move that was not intentional but would surely make the Nazis cringe, we had a Turkish durum snack at a stand near the train station. There were only Germans eating there and the meat used was pork - very German, not very Turkish (Muslims not eating pork and all). Even without the warm and fuzzy "all getting along" sentiment, it was delicious.
Shortly after taking power in 1933, the NSDAP (the Nazis) established their first concentration camp in Dachau - initially for political opponents (Social Democrats and Communists) but later to be reorganized and enlarged in 1938 to hold every group deemed "asocial". Eventually, members of the French Resistance and even Soviet POWs were kept here.
It is hard to enumerate all of the things that amazed me about this place - of course the horrors of Naziism that you know you will see - while most did not "surprise" me after years of Holocaust history, they are nonetheless always shocking to see or read again. 2 things did strike me
1. The heat - I've often read about or envisioned concentration camp prisoners enduring Northern European winters with a thin layer of clothing, nothing in their bellies and maybe no shoes. I'd never pondered summertime, but on an otherwise beautful day, the camp had heat lines rising from the ground. That is in spite of the beautful shade tree that have been planted in the past 60 years (aerial photos of 1945 didn't show them). I had never imagined this hardship too for the prisoners.
2. Life in town goes on - while that fact is painfully and awkwardly true of the townsfolk marched at gunpoint to the camp by the US Army in 1945, it is much more matter of fact today. There is a busy road that goes by the outer fence and homes whose second floor looks onto the camp yard. (We noticed this same phenomena in Cambodia - perhaps it is something innately human) The camp received enough coverage in 1930s German press (heavily misrepresented as "corrective") that it's name had a sort of boogyman connotation to regular Germans. Today the residents pack onto the same bus as the tourists streaming to the camp - 2 different lines head to that part of town and go beyond the camp's stop. Dachau the town seems to exist in symmetry with it's history without forgetting it.
Note - In a move that was not intentional but would surely make the Nazis cringe, we had a Turkish durum snack at a stand near the train station. There were only Germans eating there and the meat used was pork - very German, not very Turkish (Muslims not eating pork and all). Even without the warm and fuzzy "all getting along" sentiment, it was delicious.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Ich liebe Deutschland
We finally got our bags, figured out a transit pass, took the subway to the bus - found the right one in spite of ourselves (stopped somewhere in there for a pretzel).
Our short bus ride took us through Beethoven square and down Goethestrasse - yes we are in Germany.
Got into our room at 10:00 AM (thank you cleaning lady) and found not only the expected complimentary bottles of water, but, YES, complimentary beer as well.
Yes, we are in Germany
Our short bus ride took us through Beethoven square and down Goethestrasse - yes we are in Germany.
Got into our room at 10:00 AM (thank you cleaning lady) and found not only the expected complimentary bottles of water, but, YES, complimentary beer as well.
Yes, we are in Germany
Efficiency
If there were only one guy unloading the (not even full) plane, and if he were a 90 year old arthritic man, this baggage claim would be faster. Like 2 bags a minute come out - we've been here 20 minutes.
Runnin' on Empty ??
Our flight from Atlanta to Munich took off on time and 2/3 full - several people have empty rows to stretch out on. We had chosen 2 oversized seats over the wing when we booked the flight.
I guess with an empty flight, we can go really fast.... We are set to land an hour early. We got very little sleep so it could be a long day in Munich
I guess with an empty flight, we can go really fast.... We are set to land an hour early. We got very little sleep so it could be a long day in Munich
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Travel Bugs - and Bags
We are packed and ready to go - awaiting our ride to the airport. Lisa and I have been on several trips together, but this one keeps bringing back memories and lessons learned on our first and longest - to Southeast Asia. Our recent trips have been of shorter duration and we got very lazy in our packing - ending up with way too much stuff.
This week we found ourselves looking at another long duration trip and realized that we needed to be more calculated. Nonetheless, I think we both have one or two extra pieces of clothing - slaves to European fashion I guess - a pressure we didn't feel in Laos :)
This week we found ourselves looking at another long duration trip and realized that we needed to be more calculated. Nonetheless, I think we both have one or two extra pieces of clothing - slaves to European fashion I guess - a pressure we didn't feel in Laos :)
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