Monthly Archives: August 2018

Europe 2018

Day Four – Third Day in Munich

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30 Aug 2018

We decided to have an unplanned day today. After breakfast we decided to visit the site of the 1972 Munich Olympics. Dianne’s father was involved in these games and was Manager of the Australian Cycling team.

We bought a day tripper ticket which cost 19 euros for the both of us. It enabled us to travel on all forms of transport (train, bus, tram) and also provided discounts at various venues. The transport system is great in Munich. It is based on an honour system. There are no turnstiles or gates. You buy a ticket and get into a train or bus or tram. At your destination, you disembark and leave station through several exits provided. No dramas.

We caught a train to the Olympic site. It was an adventure in itself.  We took the wrong train as we discovered later. A train and 2 bus rides later we arrived at the site. It is next to the BMW factory and exhibition venue.  A short walk through a park got us to the site.

We were heading for a tower at the site. We will get a great view of Munich from the top of the tower.is

Main Olympic Site
Olympic Stadium
Block that housed the Israeli athletes that was attacked.
Swimming Venue

Unfortunately, the cycling velodrome was demolished in 2015 to make way for new construction. So, we didn’t get to see where Dianne’s dad would have spend most of his time.

BMW Headquarters and factory beyond
Looking back at the centre of Munich. Church towers of Frauenkirche is clearly visible.
Feldherrnhalle in the evening. This area is significant as it was the site of a failed coup by Hitler and Nazi party in the 1920s. It later became a site for annual Nazi commemoration and other ceremonies.
Europe 2018

Day Three – Second day in Munich

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29 Aug 2018

Morning Walking Tour of Munich

We pre-booked a walking tour of Munich to familiarise ourselves with the city using a local.  The meeting point was at the Munich Central Station which was across the streeet from our hotel.

Our guide was a proud Bavarian who grew up in Munich.  We were told that 80% of Munich was damaged by allied bombing in WW2.  Our guide felt that Munich was penalised because it was the birthplace of Nazism although Hitler was in Munich for only 12 years.

A rapid rebuilding programme began after the war and intensified when Munich won the right to host the Olympics in 1972.  Most of the buildings were rebuilt with outside to look like the original buildings but the inside is all modern.

There are 76 churches in town.  Most of them are Catholic with a few Protestant.

Courthouse for serious criminals and tax evaders
Statues on the gates of the old city wall
Towers of Frauenkirche (Cathedral Church of our lady - 1240)
One of the doorways into Frauenkirche

Interior of Frauenkirche. It also contains the tomb of Emperor Ludwig IV of Bavaria.

The famed Hofbrauhaus Brewery (1589). On a dark side, this is where in 1920 Hitler had his first meeting of the National Socialists. The upstairs Festival Room where the meetings took place, is rarely visited.

Our walk ended in Marienplatz.  I had a 1:15pm tour to Dachau which Dianne was not keen on. We had lunch and I headed for my tour. We were meeting in front of the tourist information office in Marientplatz.

Tour of Dachau Concentration Camp

We took a train from Marienplatz to Dachau. Our guide told us that the station where we got off is the exact station where detainees would have got off trains transporting them. This felt eery. The camp itself was 2km from the station. The prisoners usually walked or were transported on lorries. We took a bus to the Dachau Historical site.

Dachau started out as a camp for Germans (mostly intellects and political opponents). This was enabled by the suspension of regular German law covering human rights and allowed for detention without trial. With the change of political attitudes in Germany, later inmates were Gypsies, homosexuals, Jehovah Witnesses and finally the Jews.

It is interesting to note that the British used detention without trial in the colonies to suppress political dissent. Some of these laws have been used and still maintained in ex-colonial countries. Australia is inching in that direction without proper oversight.

Sign at entrance to Historical Site

Dachau was built as a model camp with the latest technology available. It was to be the template for other concentration camps built by the Nazis.  Outside the camp, Dachau also hosted the training school for SS soldiers.

Main Gatehouse and Commandant's Office
Dachau Camp Gate
Gate into camp with slogan used in most concentration camps - "Arbeit macht frei" or translated to "work sets you free"
Registration and processing room. Inmates are given a number which is sewn onto their prison clothes. This is the point where they lose their identity and just become a number.
"No Smoking" sign in Registration room
Snapshot of Dachau Prisoner Origin

Dachau was one of the last camps to be liberated. The statistics above shows increase in prisoner numbers towards the end of the war.  This is because as the Germans were losing ground to the east to Russians and to the west to the Americans, French and British, inmates from concentration camps in those areas were being transported to Dachau.

Looking at Barracks across Roll Call area from Central Utilities Building
View of Barracks beyond Roll Call area
Memorial sculpture to victims
On the way to Crematorium
Main Crematorium Building
Fumigation Cubicle with doors on either side
Gas Chamber
Old Crematorium. About 11,000 were cremated here. A new one had to be built to keep up with inmates arriving.
Memorial to Dachau inmates

Munich at night...

Europe 2018

Day Two – First day in Munich

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28 Aug 2018

We left Sydney at 3pm on Monday, 27th August.  We had a 3 hour layover in Singapore.  Changi Airport has plenty to do and see.  We relaxed in the Singapore Airlines lounge for a bit before boarding the flight just after midnight for Munich.

We arrived into Munich at 6:45am on Tuesday, 28th August.  We caught the airport shuttle which was going to Munich Central station as the final destination.  Our hotel is opposite the station.  To our surprise, the drop-off (and pick-up) point is just across the road from the hotel.  The hotel check-in time is 2pm.  We decided to walk around Munich with a map to see as much of the town as possible.  According to our tracker, we walked for a good 8 kms and saw most of central Munich.  There is a lot of old Munich town.  Lots of historical buildings.  This is also the birthplace of the 3rd Reich.

We got back to the hotel after lunch at about 1:30pm.  Our room was ready and we decided to shower and have a bit of rest.

Europe 2018

Europe Trip 2018

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We leave on Monday, 27th August for our trip to Europe.  First stop is Munich.  Our intention is to get to Malta after that.  There are no direct flights from Australia to Malta.  You have the option of going via Greece, Italy or Germany.  We picked via Germany and therefore Munich.

Munich should be interesting.  Malta has plenty of history and Paris is of course timeless.  We are meeting our friends in Malta to celebrate Fiona’s 60th birthday.