Guten Tag Munich!

DAYS 11 & 12 : SPRECHEN SIE ENGLISH? – MUNICH, GERMANY

Happy Easter! The first day in Munich was amazing. The train ride between Austria and Munich was incredible. Traveling along the line of the mountains and zipping quickly between the trees above and below us made the trip intriguing. On board, we played cards, however also used the time to sleep as the last ten days were very busy. As I sat in silence, I listened to the snores coming from behind me and watching the heads of many move side to side as the train swayed in the wind.

It was late morning when we arrived in Munich. The German language, although intriguing, was extremely complicated. We made our way from the train station and rolled our luggage to the hostile nearby. I noticed the wide streets; about four lanes wide on each side. The flow of traffic made it very easy to cross, however in spurts, as fifty is a massive group. When we got to the hostile, named Wombats, I was already impressed and excited to see the room. The exterior was beautiful, but not fancy beautiful, it was teenage beautiful. The lime green, yellow and peach orange colors that covered the murals outside of the Wombat’s hostile made me realize that this was a very youth-friendly place to stay.

After dropping off our luggage, we had time to sit down, unpack and rest before leaving for Dachau. I ran to the room so that I could have the bottom bunk near the window; we were placed six per room. The colorful tiled floor and the bright rooms reminded me of a school, however a rad, fun school. I opened the massive windows and let the air fly through the room. It was surprisingly cooler in Germany than anywhere else we had been in Europe. I peeked my head out the window and noticed another large group lining at the next-door hostile. I wondered where they were from.

Later that afternoon, we walked towards the tramway station, which is where we took the “underground” all the way to the Dachau Concentration Camp. The minute we entered, my stomach began to turn. The trees had just finished blooming and the sound of the peaceful birds chirping was the only thing which could be here; visitors hardly spoke. The sombre visit began when I went through the gates, officially entering Dachau. The gate was lined with iron and at the top said Arbeit macht frei, which means “work will set you free”. As we made our way to the houses, my heart continued to drop. It was devastating to think that 30,000 people had been shot to death, worked to death or gazed to death on the very soil that I walked on. There was a wise man I once spoke to, named Berek Ajzenberg, a holocaust survivor who attended Dachau for a limited amount of time. As I slowly, attentively made my way through the camp, I thought of him, I thought of his story. I swallowed my saliva slowly, embracing the feeling of being at a real concentration camp. I went inside one of the dwellings; one of the two that was left standing. I walked through the barracks, the kitchen, the fountains and the empty wood rooms. Nobody spoke, the only thing heard was the creeks coming from beneath my feet when I moved further along the wooden planks. After exiting, I took a deep breath and kept Berek in my mind, thinking of his survival story. I walked along the perimeter of the camp, which is where the guard towers and electrical fences stood tall and wide. It was devastating to know that people, just like me, people who could’ve probably made an amazingly positive impact in this god forsaken world were probably shot along the very wall I touched with my bear hands; my heart sank. By the end of the tour, we entered the most shocking and soul wrenching part of all, the Crematorium Dachau, which consisted of the large ovens and gas chambers. When I passed through the gas chambers, under the holes where the very gas came out, my palms sweat and my face dropped, was it really possible that one twisted man could do this, and nobody would stop him! Upon my departure from the camp, I looked back once more at the sign at the top of the gate and thought to myself “bullshit!” It’s not that I was mad, however when I left, my feeling of sympathy was much more complicated than others. Berek was such a wonderful, innovative and intuitive man and how could a human being, or a group of twisted human beings, stand by and kill (by the thousand), other bright, smart and loving people – it disgusted me. Despite my heart dropping feelings, the experience was a one in a lifetime chance, and this was the one!

For dinner, we went to the Hofbrauhaus, which was where we had one of the biggest meals of the entire trip. We sat in a massive hall, with lines of tables that extended from the entrance to the furthest wall. There was a German band with typical German instruments playing on a large wood stage in the center of the hall. The beat, although not familiar, was actually very catchy and contagious. The hardy wood tables were fun to sit on, they resembled oversized picnic tables. Later that night we learned that this place was actually where Hitler organized his first SS meeting; this made me refrain from eating any longer. After finishing our meal, we were all dismissed and were able to have free time around the town before curfew. As there was hardly any time do to anything and it was Easter, the streets were fairly quiet. The sound of the police car echoed in the night and as the clouds rolled in, we made our way back to the hostile by tram for curfew.

The next morning was surprisingly a late one. We were able to sleep in as there wasn’t much planned for the morning. However, because it was my birthday, I wasn’t really able to sleep in; I didn’t mind at all to be honest. The first knock on my door was at around 6:30 am and it was some friends, coming to wish me a happy birthday, it made my day to know that people honestly and sincerely cared and was willing to get up early in the morning to simply wish me a happy birthday. That morning I got a lot of hugs and birthday wishes, along with the painful birthday beats that practically put a hole in my left arm. After getting all dressed up, my friends and I made our way to a museum of engineering. Different exhibits, such as space, airplanes, agriculture and science were portrayed well, however I found it kind of boring; if only there would have been more “hands on” material.

Later in the day, after eating an amazing lunch at a nearby German restaurant, which was paid for by my best friends, the group met up and prepared for a four hour walking tour. This seemed long, however it went by pretty quickly, considering we had an excellent tour guide. His name was Ausie and had curly black hair. He brought us around town and made us realize the importance of certain monuments. The tour itself was long; however his voice that projected across the group and practically across the town is what made the visit interesting. One thing that I loved was the Glokenspeil. It was said to ring every seven years; it’s unfortunate that it didn’t ring while we were there. It was beautiful as it was long, wide and was made up of such small, detailed parts, making this clock tower, as a whole, extremely attractive. Walking by several parks and streets was amusing because we got to be in both a city and nature setting, one quality about Munich that I loved. When walking through the parks, the smell of daisies and certain distinct flowers flew with the air, soaring across the open field. The rivers and streams flow gently down towards the great lake and the little Gelato vendors on bikes rode along the dirt path – it was a cute setting.

Later, when the tour was over, we had our last supper of Europe, the Bavarian meal. It was nice to have Happy Birthday sung for me by a large number of people at this massive restaurant, however it was also depressing to know that this was the end – it was the end of the trip and we were about to be off on our way home. The meal itself wasn’t half bad. There were some distinct smells and tastes that were “too strong” for me, however the pork knuckle, which sounds disgusting, simply tasted of overcooked chicken, it was quite tasteful actually. For dessert, came a large crepe with blueberries and whipped cream, all homemade. The warm blueberry sauce lit the whole room with a scent of nature and the way it remained in my mouth made me think of camping, when I used to eat the berries right off the bush – they even tasted fresh. When dinner was complete, we were brought back to the hotel for the final touches of packing. Of course, as I had time beforehand, I was wise enough to have done my packing earlier, so that I could really enjoy my last night in Germany. Unlike many people, I stayed in the hostile and played some board games with my closest friends. We laughed, smiled, told jokes and reminisced about the great two weeks we had in Europe, until our bums got sore from sitting on the cold, humid ground, which is when we said goodnight.

After I did the final check, I was good to go. I sat in my bed and took my fully recharged camera, scanning through all the pictures I had taken during the trip. Although I didn’t cry, I did get emotional, knowing that the two best weeks of my life, spent with some of my closest friends, was now, soon, going to come to an end. I feel asleep that night, pretty early, after remembering all the good laughs we had.

The next morning there wasn’t much chaos. We slowly but surely brought down the luggage and made our way to the coach bus, about to bring us to the airport. As we passed the buildings in Germany, my eyes watered. It was at this point that I knew the trip was officially over. It felt like yesterday that I was climbing down the Eiffel tower, overlooking the Patisseries and persistent street vendors. It felt like yesterday that I was walking on the beach, in my bear feet and overlooking the sun upon the sea horizon. It felt like yesterday we made our way to the Mercato and bargained with the small, but loud vendors. It felt like yesterday we entered a piece of ancient history and touched the stone that was once touched a thousand years ago. It felt like yesterday I looked at my reflection in the waters of Venice while taking a ride on the long, black gondola, swaying back and forth. It felt like yesterday that I went 2.5 thousand feet into the air and enjoyed the wind race threw my hair with some of my closest friends. It felt like yesterday I stood where brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers were shot and gazed to death by a disgraceful people. It felt like yesterday we became a family, all of us friends, together on this Europe trip. Although today is not yesterday, the memories of yesterday will never be forgotten. Europe 2011, memories that will last a lifetime!