It's been a while since my last blog post so I thought I'd catch you up as to my latest escapades.
I found myself with a few free days so decided to take a quick trip to Munich and Berchtesgaden which would allow me the chance to indulge in three of my favourite things...the 101st Airborne, food and BEER!!!!
Okay, so on with the blog and trip.
Started off very early, seems to be par for the course when I travel solo, at 0430 Friday morning. Quick drive to Heathrow T2 to catch a Lufthansa flight to Munich. Tip: I suggest using business parking..few extra pounds gets you close to T1-3 and the buses run every 5 minutes.
The flight to Munich is pretty quick, less than 2 hours, so arrived early enough to have time to enjoy the city. Arrived at Terminal 2 and had to catch a bus to the terminal. The airport is expanding but that's a few years off. Transit through the terminal was very quick and the next thing you know you're in a large and modern concourse.
 |
| Note to self, must do better at taking selfies... |
Munich is the capital of Bavaria and, as cities go, is relatively small with a population of just under 1.5 million but still the third largest in Germany. The city is in southern Germany just north of the alps. As European cities it isn't 'OLD' only 850+ years but I guess by US standards it's downright ancient ;-).
The central focus of the city is the Hauptbahnhof which is the main train station. You can catch trains pretty much anywhere from the Central Station along with subways. The Central Station is also where you can find a lot of the major tour companies.
Generally, I don't take city bus tours but as I only had 3 days I figured it was a quick way to get to grips with the city. I pre-booked a city line tour (Grayline) which uses open top buses. It was convenient for me as you catch the bus at the Bahnhofplatz which is just outside the station (hence the name...). There are 2 different tours you could take, the shorter 6 stop tour or the longer 10 stop tour. I opted for the 10 stop which, in total took approximately 2 hours. The tour takes you through the city center and gives you the option to hop on and off at any of the stops.
I, personally, thought the tour covered the main 'historical' spots of the city including...
-Konigsplatz
-Kunstareal
-Sendlinger Tor
-Marienplatz
To name a few. The longer tour took us out of the city and to the Nymphenburg Palace, the BMW building, Olympic Park and then back into the city at Schwabing which is on the west side of the English Garden.
 |
| Nymphenburg Palace |
 |
| BMW Headquarters |
 |
| Seigestor |
 |
| Olympic Tower |
After the tour, caught a taxi from the Siegestor, on the east side of the English Garden) to my hotel which was on the west side. The hotel was located on the edge of the garden, one of the most popular places in the city. After checking in I thought heck as I am in Bavaria I might as well do the Bavarian thing! So off I trundle to the Hofbrauhaus. Now he's me thinking that the one in Vegas was the only one...who would of thought that there were others ;-) .
To be honest, the Vegas version wasn't far off the mark. You had the girls in the traditional clothes carrying huge steins around. Okay, by huge I mean flippin' enormous.
 |
| Does this beer make my head look small? |
...oh, did I mention that they also do food!
Well that was nice...
After dinner I made my way back to the hotel via the English Garden. I have to say that the Germans love their beer but they are also civilised about it. They can drink copious amounts and don't end up acting like idiots. I happened to stumble across this area near the Chinese pagoda that was absolutely teeming with people eating and drinking.
Well, managed to survive day one in Munich, bit tired but content.
Up early on Saturday...caught the train to Berchtesgaden from the Central Station. Tip: Take the Salzburg train which is usually on platform 10. You can book tickets from The Train line Europe. Note the number on the ticket which corresponds to the train and is usually posted on each carriage. The trip lasted about 2.5 hours and you have to change at Freilassing. The trip was easy with fantastic views as you go south towards the alps. Try sitting on the right side of the train, the views are a bit better.
I made it to Berchtesgaden without getting lost. What a beautiful little town with stunning views of the alps. Once you arrive you can't help but be impressed...
 |
| Mosaic on the wall of the station |
I believe that the above picture was taken outside the Hotel Bavaria but I'm happy to be corrected. :-)
I walked around the town for about 45 minutes then caught the 838 bus from the train station to Obersalzburg which is about 5kms from Berchtesgaden. The return trip costs 7.60 euros and takes about 10 minutes. Tip: The bus runs every half an hour and can get busy so plan your return.
After arriving at Obersalzburg you then have to buy a bus ticket to the Eagles Nest. The ticket offices and buses are about 2 minutes from where the 838 drops you off and not far from the Documentation Center. Tickets costs 17.60 euros and include the elevator to the top of the Eagles nest.
Wow, what a stunning trip up the mountain! fantastic vies of the surrounding area including Koningsee (BoB fans will know the significance of this...). Once you arrive at the top you then have to book your return slot back down. Tip: Don't overestimate the time you need. The wait for the elevator took 40 minutes and looking around took another 20-30 minutes. If you stop to eat then add another 45 minutes.
You walk through a 100-200 meter tunnel carved out of the mountain until you reach the elevator which is huge! It is the original only the electrics have been upgraded. After a 130+ meter ride to the top you come out in the house. Unfortunately, they have built a restaurant which means the place gets very busy. However, it cannot begin to detract from the views!!!
There's a restaurant in this room now.
The entrance remains the same. The bus stop and shop are to the right of the tunnel entrance.
I really loved it and it meant that I could tick another box on my list of spots that the 101st visited during the war. The few photos above don't fully do it justice...will add more later.
Made my way back to Berchtesgaden and, surprise, found another Hofbrauhaus! Had a quick bite and a beer then headed back to Munich.
After a long day I decided to eat at the hotel. Stumbled across a dish called 'Bavarian meatloaf'. Not meatloaf as Americans know it, more like spam but it was fantastic...especially with potato salad and German mustard.
..not sure about the egg tho'. ;-)
Just a bit of history:
For the WW2 history buffs out there, Munich (at least in my opinion) can reasonably considered to be where the events that would eventually result in the war starting took place. Let me explain, briefly as this isn't a history blog. In 1923, Adolf Hitler attempted a 'coup' generally called either the Beer Hall Putsch or the Hitler Putsch. He tried to overthrow the Weimer Republic much as Mussolini had done in Italy by marching with 2000 to the Burgerbraukeller (one of the largest beer halls in the city) to where the state commissar, Gustav von Kahr, was speaking. After some initial success things disintegrated into chaos spilling out into the surrounding areas. Eventually the leaders of the Putsch marched their followers to Odeonsplatz where they meet 130 soldiers. There was an exchange of gunfire in which 16 Putsch members and 4 police offices were killed. The Putsch failed and Hitler was arrested and charged with treason. Hitler was arrested for treason, landed in front of a sympathetic judge who sentenced him to 6 years of which he served 10 months. Honestly, he should have been executed but instead he was free to write Mein Kampf and used the events to rally people to his cause.
The next section isn't about sightseeing and can be disturbing...
My last day in Munich and my visit to Dachau. I purposely left it to the end as it wasn't a pleasant, sightseeing trip. Dachau is a small village on the outskirts of Munich. It is actually older than Munich by a few hundred years. During WW1 there was a munitions factory site there which proved to be convenient for the Nazis. After Hitler fully took over in the early 30's he decided to build a camp to house 'political' prisoners. In 1933 the Nazis decided to use the old munitions factory at Dachau. There was bit of payback in that decision as the village had voted firmly anti-Nazi in the election that saw Hitler take power.
Tip: The Nazis didn't build the first 'concentration' camp...
The camp opened in 1933. There were 3 phases (1933-38, 39-44 and 44-45) during which the purpose of the camp changed. It is worth noting that the camp was not an 'extermination' camp and, in fact, prisoners stood a better chance of survival at Dachau then at most other camps. However. over 25,000 died there with the majority in the last 12-18 months.
I am not going to blog about the history much more, just going to post photos with a few comments.
The first thing that the prisoners saw at the camp, the imposing entrance building with guard tower (Note that the Americans put the wood panel on the tower when they used the facility after the war).
'...Work will set you free'.
The electrified fence..the grass area was called the 'killing zone'. if a prisoner set foot on the grass they would be immediately shot.
The memorial outside the processing center.
One of four religious memorials at the far end of the camp. There are Jewish, Catholic and Protestant memorials inside the camp and a Russian orthodox memorial just outside.
The gas chamber and ovens. Some debate as to whether the chamber was fully used or just tested. The ovens were used. Often the Nazis would execute the prisoners in front of the ovens. I cannot believe the depths of depravity that people can sink to...and to think, there are people who deny that this ever happened.
I came away from the visit feeling very humble. It had an obvious affect on me. What makes it worse is that the Dachau memorial is designed to educate so they have made an effort to make it less 'shocking'. Apparently, Auschwitz is the opposite and is designed to shock people. The camp at Dachau is less than a quarter of the size of Auschwitz which boggles the mind.
Tip: For BoB fans the camp depicted in the show is about 1-2 kms from Dachau. It was a satellite work camp which is now being used by the German army.
Following Dachau I took the train back to Munich then headed home...
Summary:
It was short and hectic trip but I felt that I accomplished quite a bit. The highlights for me were the Olympic village, the beer and food and Berchtesgaden. Personally, I could have done with another day or two which would have given me the chance to visit Konigsee and do a bit more walking around the city. I, personally, thought that the airport was fantastic and the Germans were great hosts! I would definitely recommend to any of my friends.
