Munich, Christmas Markets, Concentration Camp, and Castles

The ride  to Munich from London Stansted was only one hour  of flight time, thanks to a good tailwind.
Fortunately, the airport had signs in English.

We rode the S-Bahn train from the airport to Marienplatz, the city centre, and hiked the 3 blocks to our hotel which  was conveniently located on Viktualienmarkt.

Since we left the U.K. so early, we were hungry early.
The hotel recommended the traditional Bavarian  food at Der Pschorr.
We all had the homemade bratwurst.
http://www.der-pschorr.de/english_about.html

Now that we had full bellies, it was time for shopping. The first stop was the market at Marienplatz.
The large gothic building is the New Town Hall.

The markets are set up in all the open areas throughout the city. The crowds were lighter in the mornings.

Glass and wooden Christmas items were available in abundance.

Even the stores we elaborately decorated. Germany is more serious about Christmas than the U.K.

We rode the tram to western Munich to visit Schloss Nymphenburg, one of the Bavarian  royal palaces. http://www.schloesser.bayern.de/englisch/palace/objects/ny_schl.htm

The palace was built to be similar to Versailles in Paris.

The inside of the building was very ornate.

This is the grand hall. A perfect location for entertaining a few friends.

After touring the two open wings of the palace, we rode the tram back to the city and disembarked at Sendlinger Strasse where we found another market.
A vendor here sold alcohol-free Gluhwein (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulled_wine) and we all enjoyed a hot cup. 

On Sundays, all businesses are closed so we rode the train to Dachau.

The words over the gate mean, "Work will set you free." The Nazis publicly claimed that this first concentration camp was to re-educate and reform problem people through work. What they really did was use them as slave labor to support the war effort and worked the prisoners to death.

The gate house. All prisoners entered through here.

The area in front of the maintenance building was used for twice-daily roll calls and public punishment. 

The sculpture reminds visitors of the imprisonment and suffering of the 200,000+ people who passed through the camp.

Each prisoner wore a triangular patch that identified them as part of a specific prisoner group; political, criminal, etc... The Jews wore a Star of David.

This sums up the entire reason for this memorial - Never Again!

The inside of the maintenance building is now a museum. The rooms are stark and filled with black and white panels depicting the experiences of the different types of prisoners. We followed the path that the prisoners followed, starting and in-processing, and ending in the showers where rough treatment and torture started. The museum also had a very graphic and sobering video about the camp.

Two barracks have been rebuilt to display how the prisoners lived.

The guards would shoot anyone who entered the area near the fence.
Some prisoners would purposely enter this ditch to end their suffering.

In the back of the camp was the crematoria where the many bodies were burned. 

The sign over this door means "shower" in English. Prisoners would be  made to undress before entering...

...the next room, which was actually the gas chamber.

  

The bodies would then be moved to the next room, where they would be cremated, four at a time 

The many dead from the camp would also be cremated here. How can people be so cruel?

I found the camp to be very sobering and I found myself thanking God that I was born in America, where the U.S. constitution protects us from a person obtaining unlimited power. I also cannot understand how anyone can deny the holocaust. God help us to love one another as He loves us.

On Monday, we rode the tram again, this time to the Hauptbahnhof (Central Train Station) for a tour of Neuschwanstein with Radius Tours.
(http://www.radiusmunich.com/index.php/en/)

The scenery from the train looked much like the Midwest of the U.S.; fields, white birch, snow, etc...

...until we reached the Alps!

The train stopped at Fussen, the literal end of the tracks, where we boarded a reserved coach.

Mike, from Minnesota, was our tour guide. He knew all of the places to  stop and which to avoid.
He was very knowledgeable and made the trip lively and interesting.

Schloss Hohenschwangau overlooks Alpsee and is the birthplace of Bavaria's King Ludwig II.
It was built by his parents in the early 1800's.
https://plus.google.com/113262212715964522908/about?gl=uk&hl=en

Alpsee. Austria is just beyond the far shore.

Our destination, Neuschwanstein Castle, is approximately one mile up the mountain road.
The only two methods of travel are by horse-drawn cart, for a small fee...

...or walking. We walked.

The walk was well worth it. Behind us is the mountain side of Neuschwanstein.

The castle was built in 1866 and has heat, running water, electricity, and even a telephone.
Unfortunately, King Ludwig II died before the castle was completed.

Unfortunately, I could not take photos inside. You can see some of the interior here - http://www.neuschwanstein.de/englisch/palace/index.htm

The snow made us feel like home and put us in the Christmas spirit.

Bavarian Matthew really enjoyed the snow. He tried to have a snowball fight with everyone he met.

After the 35 minute tour and two castle gift shops, we stopped for a hot cup of coffee in the cafe.

After descending the mountain to the village, we were treated to a beautiful sunset view of the castle.

I experimented with a black and white version of the castle picture. Which photo do you prefer?
Can you see the resemblance to Disney's Sleeping Beauty's Castle?

Minnesota Mike recommended the Hofbrauhaus for authentic Bavarian food.
The ground floor holds over 1,000 people at a time and always has live music

The restaurant was packed with people eating, drinking, and pounding the tables...

...to the beat of the music. We were tired and did not stay to eat so we returned to Der Pschorr for another Bavarian meal.

On Tuesday morning, we explored the markets again and found this all American restaurant at Karlsplatz.
We didn't eat here, just took a picture for Lauren.  

This stand sold sausages. Some were 1/2 metre long!

Matthew and I each had one early in our adventure.

At the airport, we were sent off by Santa and...

...King Ludwig II.

This trip to Germany was very relaxing and refreshing. The country reminded us a lot of Wisconsin. The snow and Christmas markets put me into the Christmas spirit. In some strange way, Munich and the country side seemed more like home than England does.