Today I had planned on going back to Salzburg to do an official Sound of Music tour. I got lost looking for the train station in Traunstein and when I finally found it, I only had a few minutes to catch the train.
The ticket machine was being used and there was a guy in the ticket line taking forever! I finally was able to get a ticket out of the machine and I ran outside...just in time to see the train pulling away. Rats! Missed it! So, I went back in and traded my ticket for a ticket to Dachau. I'd been wanting to go to Dachau for awhile anyway.
A carnival?! Early Oktoberfest celebrations?
No! Not the clowns!
Is that a wishbone on top of the building?
St. Jakob Church built in 1625.
A view of Munich from Dachau Palace.
Staircase in Dachau Palace
"Through Work One Will Be Free"
Guard post
Catholic Mortal Agony of Christ chapel.
Tree-lined barracks area.
The ticket machine was being used and there was a guy in the ticket line taking forever! I finally was able to get a ticket out of the machine and I ran outside...just in time to see the train pulling away. Rats! Missed it! So, I went back in and traded my ticket for a ticket to Dachau. I'd been wanting to go to Dachau for awhile anyway.
I took the advice of the guy selling tickets at the train station in and got a ticket only to Munich and changed to the S-train in Munich to go to Dachau. Big mistake. It couldn't have been that much cheaper, but instead I lost at least an hour changing trains and waiting for connections. I finally reached Dachau around 3pm.
There was a plaque at the train station showing a map and a walking tour you can take that is supposed to be the same route that the prisoners took from the train station to Dachau Concentration Camp. I tried to decipher the map and orient myself as best as I could and headed off. There were quite a few people in the town and I figured they were all probably heading to the same place, so I just kind of followed them. I fully expected Dachau to be a somber place given it's history. Here is where I ended up:
Dachau: the happiest place on earth. There was a plaque at the train station showing a map and a walking tour you can take that is supposed to be the same route that the prisoners took from the train station to Dachau Concentration Camp. I tried to decipher the map and orient myself as best as I could and headed off. There were quite a few people in the town and I figured they were all probably heading to the same place, so I just kind of followed them. I fully expected Dachau to be a somber place given it's history. Here is where I ended up:
A carnival?! Early Oktoberfest celebrations?
No! Not the clowns!
I left the carnival and ended up in the old part of the city which was very quaint and beautiful.
Is that a wishbone on top of the building?
St. Jakob Church built in 1625.
A wandered up a winding hill and ended up at Dachau Palace. I didn't even know Dachau had a palace. The original was built in 1100 and was demolished around 1400. This incarnation was built in 1577 in the baroque style.
A view of Munich from Dachau Palace.
Staircase in Dachau Palace
I was getting really hot and tired and could not for the life of me find the Dachau Concentration Camp. I finally gave in and flagged down a cab. I'm not sure where the cab driver was from, but he didn't understand the word "concentration camp." I tried, "World War II", "prisoners"...and he said, "Ah, Nazi." Yes, this is it! So, he drove me to the camp. It was so freakin' far, there is no way I could have walked there. It ended up costing 15 Euros. Ugh. I arrived at 4:50...apparently it closes at 5:00. Of course. So, I just ran around and snapped a few pics.
The camp was opened in 1933; just 51 days after Hitler took power. It was described as the first concentration camp for political prisoners. Amazingly, it stayed open until 1945 when it was liberated by the Americans who found approximately 32,000 prisoners crammed 1,600 to each of 20 barracks that were designed to hold a mere 250 people each.
The camp was opened in 1933; just 51 days after Hitler took power. It was described as the first concentration camp for political prisoners. Amazingly, it stayed open until 1945 when it was liberated by the Americans who found approximately 32,000 prisoners crammed 1,600 to each of 20 barracks that were designed to hold a mere 250 people each.
"Through Work One Will Be Free"
Guard post
Catholic Mortal Agony of Christ chapel.
Tree-lined barracks area.
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