Day Seven in München: Dachau and Dinner

March 22, 2017

My last day in Munich consisted of gray skies with light rain and a day tour of Dachau, the first permanent concentration camp. The weather really did set the mood for the somber tour I was about to go on.

I did my tour through InMunich and I’ll was lucky to be one of two participants, which made it very laid back and we were able to get every question we had answered. Adam was our guide and he was fabulous. As a former Dachau tour guide for the historical site itself and a certified tour guide, he had so much information that allowed myself and Carmen to gain a full understanding of what was endured there.

Honestly, I don’t want to detail the atrocities for you. But I do think that if you’re making a trip to Germany, you should get a tour of Dachau. Though it is heartbreaking and painful to realize, the Holocaust is a very important piece of world history that everyone needs to understand. I’ve included some pictures below, and highly suggest InMunich for all of your tours.

The entrance building for Dachau.

The gate reads “Work will set you free,” which has different meanings for those held at Dachau at different times.

The bunker floorplan

One wing of the bunker.

Panoramic view from the very back of the camp. Imagine being on the bottom of the hierarchy of prisoners and having to run to the roll call yard from back here every morning.

View of entering the roll call yard from the barracks.

The perimeter. Grass area off limits, would be shot on sight. Then there’s the deep ditch, followed by low barbed wire, and then the electric barbed wire fence.

One of the two reconstructed barracks.

Panoramic view of the roll call yard. It’s large. The entrance building is on the far right.

The old crematorium.

The new crematorium and gas chamber.

The undressing room, where prisoners thought they were going in for a shower but we’re actually entering a gas chamber in disguise.

The gas chamber disguised as a shower room. There are drains in the floor and we’re shower heads in the ceiling, but no water was connected.

The chutes for administering the gas.

Death chamber. For bodies awaiting cremation.

The cremation room. Hangings were also done here, right outside the furnaces.

The execution range and “blood ditch.”

One of the ash graves.

I then had dinner at Augustiner Bräustuben, because I really needed an authentic Bavarian meal before heading back to the US. The particular Augustiner location I went to is on Bayerstrasse by Hackerbrücke and it was wonderful.

It was filled with locals, not tourists, and the food was delicious. Of course the beer was too, because Augustiner is the best. I had a pint of dunkel and ate schweinebraten. The pork was tender and served with a potato dumpling, both of which were covered in a savory brown gravy. It also included a sweet purple cabbage slaw that was tasty as a side, though I think technically I was supposed to eat it with the meat… oops.

At this dinner I made the acquaintance of a freight train driver who was also eating alone named Thomas. He was an older German gentleman with good but rusty English skills. Thomas was very friendly. We joked about beer and America and he bought me a shot of plum schnapps. Then we parted ways and wished each other well.

Again, this is why I love Munich. It’s a magical place where beer is delicious and plentiful and if you go out for a meal or a drink you wind up making new friends.