Munich, Dachau, and Sweet Cars

Kevin and I woke up early today, around 7:30 AM. The first thing I did was check Facebook, hoping there was a picture from home...and there was! I got to see a wonderful picture of my Zelda and little nugget!! Thank you mom...I needed that :-)

We then got ready and left the house at 8. The place we are staying is a 20 minute walk from the train station and a 40 minute train ride to Munich. On our walk we stopped at a bakery and got chocolate milk and a cherry pudding croissant! Both were delicious!! Also, the lady loved speaking/practicing her English there! Her face was priceless and she tried to squeeze in as much English as possible. We loved it too! Especially after coming from Poland, where many don't want to give the time of day to English speakers.

Anyways, we are our breakfast and caught our train. We first went to the tourist office to figure out what we wanted to do today and what our options were for getting to a castle or Dachau. Note to self and everyone else, it is so much cheaper and better to do it yourself than going through a tourist office. If you can do something alone without a guided tour...than do it. You will save a fortune!

After the tourist office, we went and bought a one day transportation pass for about 15 euros. We then traveled to the Dachau concentration camp. It only takes about 20 minutes to get there from Munich main station, and then you take bus 726 from Dachau. Everything is really easy to find!

Once at Dachau, we went in free. You can pay for an audio guide, but it wasn't worth it to us. We went in and followed a guided tour for a little bit, until some rude person told us it was a paid tour and we shouldn't be listening. Interesting how I've met some of the rudest people at the concentration camps. What happened to be kind to one another? We didn't know you had to pay! Anyways...

We find out that people in Germany just thought Dachau was a prison. They had no idea it was a concentration camp and what was going on there. In the very early years of Dachau opening, it was used to hold prisoner and kill Germans...real Germans...that disagreed with the Nazi party. So all through school when you ask yourself...why didn't prior fight back? They did! Then they were considered criminals and went to Dachau to die.

The SS did a great job with concealing Dachau of what it really was. They built tons of SS buildings around it, almost like an SS city. It was meant to blend in. Unlike Auschwitz and Birkenau, which were hidden in a forest, farm land, or in the middle of nowhere...so it was unusual for city folk to see or find them.

From what I figured out, Dachau wasn't made for mass murder. So many died here because it was the longest operating concentration than all the others. They didn't even really use their gas chamber like Auschwitz did, and especially not like Birkenau. They mostly used their crematorium for burning the dead. Still awful.  Sometimes they even hung or shot people in the crematorium...this was known as clearing the bunks. It happened in the other camps too. At Dachau, you were worked and starved to death, even working for 12-14 hours on what seemed like less food than Auschwitz.

We did watch the documentary here. It showed how the SS got started and how the US liberated the camp. Sadly, the SS knew we were coming and killed many. However, the prisoners knew we were coming too and fought back, killing as many SS as they could...even if that meant dying in the process. The movie was very eye opening. It showed how America FORCED the citizens of Dachau to visit the concentration camp to see what was really going on there and that it wasn't a prison. The look on their faces were priceless as they saw all the death. If only they knew sooner, maybe more lives could've been saved.

The feeling at Dachau was very different than Auschwitz. If Dachau is the only one you can visit, than do it...but if you can make it out to Auschwitz, than do that more. The atmosphere is extremely different, and you don't realize that until you've visited all three.

It was shocking to see all the German youth at Dachau. The even more shocking part was when we were in the crematorium/gas chamber, they were talking and laughing until their guide quieted them down. Even then, some were still talking. They seemed to have a lack of respect or understanding of the severity of the situation.

When we were at Auschwitz, silence was expected and kept. If someone talked, it was at a whisper...but there was definitely no laughing. If you needed to say something, it was done outside the crematorium and no guides were being done inside. The plaques on the wall and the rooms themselves tell most of the story. There were no laughs or smiles at Auschwitz, and guided tours were done very softly as people listened through headsets. The atmosphere was very solemn. We even saw several Jewish groups, old and young at Auschwitz and Birkenau...again very solemn and attentive as guides were given. There was never laughter and sometimes tears as they learned their history. I wish the German students could've seen this.

We left Dachau soon after the crematorium as it began to rain. It rained for the rest of our day, but we did not stop our travel in Munich :-)

We next grabbed lunch! I had promised Kevin kebab in Germany as now we were paying in euros. Kebab is a mystery meat, but very good! We got kebab wraps, and as my first time eating it, I was not disappointed! The man serving our food found out we were from Texas and had to ask if there are still cowboys and people riding around on horses! I love how people think this and I was sad to say that you won't find those kinds of people very often. It isn't the old west anymore.

We then headed back to Munich and visited the BMW Welt! That place is super awesome and free to enter! We saw many sweet cars, motor cycles, and rolls Royce. Sadly, we did not buy anything. We then walked up to the Olympic park. We were able to go into the swimming pool area, but were not able to go to their museum. It was raining extremely hard by this point and there was a cold front with it...and apparently the museum is outside, so we were not prepared to take on this adventure. Maybe another day.

We then traveled to marienplatz. A very cool street in old town Munich. We went into two beautiful churches, and one very expensive store and decided it was time to go home. It was nearly 6 PM at this point and we were very cold, wet, and done. So sad. At the train station, I grabbed chocolate delicious gelato and Kevin got a bratwurst hot dog. Both very amazing! We then rode the train and walked home in the rain. The warm shower almost felt as good as the one in Prague after the night train from Poland...but not quite!

Overall, great day...even with the rain! Tomorrow we are taking a day trip to Salzburg Austria! I am extremely excited! The hills are alive with the sound of music...or so I hear!

Ta ta for now!

Prague to Munich

Our experience in Prague was very pleasant! The transportation in Prague is very reliable, unlike Poland. The people there are much less stinky, unlike Poland, because I believe there is more A/C. In Poland, imagine very hot travel with windows that don't open, no one is wearing deodorant, and they lift their arms to hold onto the bus...not pleasant. The travel was often too long for it to be comfortable. I felt like I had stepped back into world war 2 times, with a little more technology advancements. Communication was hard as very few spoke English, but I am extremely grateful that I got to experience Poland. Would I go back...Yes! I think this country, especially the concentration camps, should be experienced by everyone. I think I could visit Auschwitz and Birkenau several more times and still not be satisfied or feel like I learned enough. It was exciting and fun...yet hot, but well worth it.

Now with Prague, Kevin did great giving the outlines, but I just want to add some stories.

Prague was awesome in that finding the castle and anything there, isn't that hard. They do a great job with street signs. The hike to the castle is hard and uphill, but when you get up there it is totally worth it with the amazing view and the incredible architecture.  Pictures will never do it justice. It is something you need to experience. On the way down from the castle, we passed an extremely naked young woman. She was working it...and must've been very proud of her body. How she got there with no police stopping her is very amazing!

From the castle, we made our way to subway. From there we just wandered and miraculously happened upon Charles Bridge! It was very impressive. There was also a band dressed in old time clothes, playing great music from the top of the bridge. It almost felt like we went back in time. The statues on the bridge are amazing, although not the originals. Understandable, as I would not want those to be damaged either. However, the statues on there seemed very old as well.

There are also many tourists on the bridge and in old town. I went into what Kevin calls, "survival mode". (Morgan is usually very happy and talkative, making jokes and talking about things she sees, but when she is stressed, or hungry, or needs to go to the bathroom, she tenses up, stops talking, and only gives one word answers. It's really funny. This happens a few times a day) That was Kevin, I felt like he could describe survival mode the best.

Anyways, what's amazing about entering old town is how easy it is to happen upon something cool. Like we just happened upon the astronomical clock and a church I wanted to see. Pretty awesome! It's nice to have a map, but wandering around also brings you to cool things as well.

We were out on the town for about 4 hours, until 8, and then we went back to our place. We didn't want to stay out past dark here.

The place we stayed was found on airbnb.com! It was amazing and just what we needed. It was actually a dance studio, with a bed, bathroom, and shower. The shower was amazing! After Poland, we definitely needed one! When you travel, take showers as much as you can and utilize the free bathrooms because you never know when you will have these again.

The night's sleep in Prague was the best I've had since traveling. Not only the nap we had here, but going to bed...was very easy for Kevin and I and we both slept hard! Obviously a week of traveling is catching up with us.

Today officially marks a week of being away from home.

This morning we woke up at 7:45. We checked out of our place, and made our way to the train station. There we got a pastry and bananas for breakfast. We caught our train to Munich at 9:15 AM, showed our eurail passes, and traveled on our reliable train for 6 hours.

Thoughts on a train: I love traveling! It's amazing! When you are an animal lover, it can be hard though. If you see my Facebook, it is not hard to see that I love my animals. Last night I found myself watching videos we have of Zelda and looking at the pictures of our kitties. Every now and then, I find Zelda hairs on my clothes from giving her pets or snuggles. The more I am away, the more I realize how much I miss the little things my animals do. While Kevin was still napping yesterday, and I was writing my blog that would later be deleted for some unknown reason, I watched a man playing fetch with his dog in the courtyard. I would give anything to play fetch with Zelda right now and to have her snuggles. No matter those feelings, it did not take away from everything I have seen and done so far. I would still make the same decision to travel! If you have the opportunity to travel, even if you have animals at home, just do it!! :-)

Today on the train to Munich, it was really really hot. So far in Europe, we haven't seen any air conditioning. They just depend on opening windows to cool houses and trains off. But for some reason, on the train no one opened their windows except for us and the group of Americans next to us! I guess everyone else was used to it. I talked with one of the Americans for a good part of the trip, and we exchanged stories about our animals we had left at home! She told me that she has a cat named nugget, who shows its love by bringing her dead bugs!!

We got to Munich, only about 40 minutes behind schedule, and then caught a train out to Weilheim, the city where we're staying. In Weilheim, we found a little outdoor German restaurant, where we decided to eat. The server was very nice, and spoke good English! He even translated the whole menu so we knew what was available. Afterwards, we continued our walk to the house we are staying at. It was a long day of travel, and we are both looking forward to exploring the city of Munich tomorrow!

Auschwitz-Birkenau continued

Blogging on a phone is very frustrating. Especially when it deletes all your work...

Anyways, I also wanted to note that in the death row blocks was also another building, barrack 10, where the SS conducted experiments and had underground cells. The experiments involved the sterilization of woman, genetic experiments of twins and handicapped people, and trying new medical and chemical preparations with toxic substances rubbed onto the skin. Hundreds died during these experiments, and if you lived you suffered serious damage to your health. They also deliberately murdered people with lethal injections to do autopsies on them. Sick, sick people.

The underground cells consisted of three types...all equally a painful way to die. One cell was where prisoners were condemned to starvation, another was death by suffocation, and the last was a standing cell in which it was so small you could only stand. Despite all this, there was still resistance by the prisoners! Good for them!

Lastly in Auschwitz, we came to the crematorium and gas chamber. The original had been destroyed, but the museum did well to renovate it. You will also find gallows next to the crematorium. This is where they hung Rudolf Hoss, the first commandant of Auschwitz, in April 1947 for everything that happened at this camp. Ironic. When you first enter the crematorium you enter the gas chambers...Just like the prisoners and Jews would have done. Kind of surreal. You will see the holes in the ceiling where the deadly crystals were dropped through. In the next room are the furnaces where 350 bodies were burned daily. However, the ability to kill at Auschwitz was not sufficient for the SS. That is when Birkenau was built. By the way, for those that don't know. Auschwitz used to be a polish military base that the Nazis took over. There were only a few buildings then. The prisoners built most of them later on.

We had lunch at noon and then caught the bus to Birkenau. It is only 3 km away from Auschwitz.

When the bus first drives up, you see the very recognizable main gate. However, the Jews and many people brought to the camp couldn't see this because they were in tiny, sealed off train cars. Those coming to concentration camps were sometimes tricked and told they were being moved to a safe and new land. They packed their best things, and then were put on a train for days without food, water, and bathroom breaks. You can imagine how awful it was. Now imagine the shock of arriving to Birkenau if you survived the train ride.

When you get off the train, the separation begins. Women and children on one side and men on the other. They also selected who would be fit to work and who would go straight to the gas chambers. There were 4 crematoriums at Birkenau. The ones on the women and children side were much bigger. Only 25% of those that got there were said to be fit to work. When you see how big this camp is, with 300 buildings...700-1000 in each barrack, you start to realize how many people were truly murdered.

Of the 300 buildings that were there, only 45 brick barracks and 22 wood barracks are still standing. However, you can still see the outlines and chimneys of the barracks the Nazis tried to destroy. It was very eerie.

At the main gate was where the processing began. Shaving the heads, being given their new clothes that were never washed out intended to keep them warm, and they were given their numbers.

When you walk to the very back of the camp, you will see a memorial for those that died and the ruins of the crematorium. The smaller ones were in much worse shape than the bigger ones.

You could see the underground part where the people would go being told they were guaranteed a bath. So they go underground, take off their clothes, enter the gas chambers, the gassing took 10-15 minutes, SS waits about 30 minutes, then pulls out the corpses to burn in the crematorium and pits. The pits are still there with water in them, along with the ashes.

We then continued back towards the front entering two of the wooden and brick barracks that remain. It was very eerie knowing how awful it was to sleep there. I know night trains are bad, but at least we had our own beds. They had to sleep 4-8 to a bed and you were lucky to wake up in the morning of you hadn't died from being suffocated, a sickness, or the rats and bugs. If you were being punished, they had standing only cells in the barracks as well. On the grounds were also torture barracks.

Birkenau was made for mass murder with no remorse. After about 5 hours, we left, knowing we had to catch a bus. I know we couldn't spent much more time, but with the amount of time we did spend, I have been changed forever.

Nothing can take away the pain and death the holocaust caused. It wasn't just Hitler who caused it, it was a group of people that had been tricked into thinking killing was right. Don't let history repeat itself. There is always room to fight the crime, no matter how big or small. Even in the face of certain death, these prisoners and Jews still had the fight of resistance. I like what Ellen Degeneres says, "be kind to one another". I hope we can always remember this.

Ta ta for now.

Guest writer- Kevin-Poland to Prague

So... Morgan is making me write this post, since she is pissed that her draft of today got deleted. Makes sense. Anyways, I guess I'm supposed to write about after Auschwitz, and our day in Prague. What I'll do is write about what happened and what we did, and then go back and share some of my thoughts. I think a trip like this isn't as meaningful if it doesn't affect the way you live your life, and your relationship with God, so I'll share some of those thoughts as well.

Okay...so we caught a bus back to the city of Krakow. Of course the bus wasn't on time, it's Poland! Sorry if that offends any polishes. We made it back, and Morgan and I were both super tired and sunburned. We booked our night train ticket, and chilled at an ice cream shop in the station. Poland is way cheaper than Sweden, so we have been enjoying being able to get ice cream and snacks when we need to, without it feeling like a rip off!

We finally recovered enough energy to go back out and do something, so we decided to check out the wawel castle. One thing I think is super cool about Europe is that even in random towns all over, there is guaranteed to be really cool buildings and history. Apparently this castle is where the polish kings and nobility lived for over 500 years, and I can see why! The castle is on top of this huge hill next to the river, and, like all good castles, has a giant wall around the outside, and basically a little village inside. It has a giant courtyard inside, and now there are museums and restaurants up there, it's pretty awesome. The view was great too, Morgan and I took lots of selfies haha (it's easier than finding someone to take the picture for you all the time). I also had to storm the castle, of course.

We finished that up, headed back to the station, ate some McD's and waited for our night train. And just so you know, night trains are not at all as fun as they look on Harry Potter. The air in ours wasn't working for the first two hours, so got way warm and stanky. Everyone was chilling in the hallway because the windows partly open there. I got to meet some cool people, a dude from Switzerland and a dude from Denmark. For them, traveling in Europe is something they just do every summer! That's awesome.

We made it to Prague, and luckily could check into our place at 9, so we did. Morgan and I both were pretty miserable on the train, it's not exactly a 5 star hotel, let alone a motel 6. Dude, about 3 in the morning, I would have taken sleeping on the ground in a park over the night train... so of course, once we check in, we pass out until the afternoon. I love naps, so I slept until about 3, and Morgan woke up around 1, which is about 6am in Texas, the time she usually wakes up. While I was still out, she was writing about what I'm writing now, but like I said, it got deleted and here we are. (That's 2 hours of blogging...gone! - angry Morgan)

We got ready and headed out to the city of Prague. Awesome city, lots of hills. The city has an old feel to it, a lot of the buildings are an older style than what we had seen in Stockholm. We made our way to the castle and cathedral, which is basically the top tourist spot here. The hike up to the castle is pretty long and steep, even Morgan and I were tired by the time we got to the top. There is an amazing lookout point at the top. The cathedral is even more impressive up close than in pictures. I've noticed that about a lot of things we've seen in Europe, a picture is one thing, but in person it's way more breathtaking. The cathedral is super ornate and has tons of little spires all over it, I don't know why. Unless they're trying to keep helicopters from landing on it. But it was hard to get any good pictures up close, since it was so big that any picture with the whole cathedral makes the person look tiny. We walked back down through the cobblestone streets, and found a subway. Not like the travel subway, like the "eat fresh" subway, and ate there. I like to try new foods and restaurants, but Morgan had been craving subway for a few days now!

We then walked over Charles' bridge, which is cool, but way too crowded, and into the old town. There, we saw the Prague astronomical clock, which does a whole little mechanical show like antique clocks do, on the hour. We saw that and headed back for our place. Prague was a lot more crowded than the cities we have already seen, and I'm sure the most crowded cities are still to come.

Over the past few days, the Auschwitz concentration camp has been on my mind. One thing that fascinated me was how the Nazis were able to get over one million people to go to the camps, where they would be killed. I think there are a lot of parallels to how Satan is able to persuade billions of people to leave Christ and go to spiritual death. I don't want to be too preachy, but maybe some of my thoughts will resonate with someone who reads this. The main strategy, and an obvious but essential one, of the Nazis was to never tell the people what the end would be. The Nazis knew it ended in death, but they lied to the people, and said that they were taking them for "relocation". Satan's plan includes the same strategy. He never lets us know that sin ends in death, and lies to us, telling us that "it's not that bad" or"you can repent later", trying to keep us from seeing his plan, and getting us to leave spiritual safety. Once in the camp, the Nazis were able to get people to go willingly into the gas chambers by telling them that they will be able to take a shower, then of course they lock the doors so they can't fight back, and pour the poison in. Satan does this too, by trying to disguise a bad thing as a good thing. Satan will try to get us to sin by telling us it's a "shower", when really it's a gas chamber.

So how do we fight against these strategies? Since Satan is using lies, we need to be able to see the truth, and the truth is in Christ. Having a personal relationship with Christ so that we have his spirit with us is essential, because I believe the spirit well alert us when we are told a lie. We need this all the time, not just once in a while. In Christ, we know that all sin leads to spiritual death. That is the truth that Satan hides with lies. If the Jews had known that if they get on that train, they WILL be killed, I'm sure they would have fought to the death before they went with the Nazis.

For those that were taken to the concentration camps, there was really no possible escape on their own. I've seen the fences, and the guard towers. If someone tried to escape, they were shot and their bodies were placed by the gate for everyone to see. If, by some miracle, they did escape, the Nazis went and took their family to Auschwitz OR they tortured and killed those that helped you escape. There really was no escape. When we find ourselves in Satan's grasp, we need to realize that we cannot escape on our own. We need Christ to deliver us, just as the people in Auschwitz were finally delivered (go 'merica!... and the other allies). When we fall into sin, we must suffer the natural consequences, but keep faith that Christ will deliver us.

All in all, I think it is super important that we see through Satan's lies, and see sin for what it is- a one way ticket to Auschwitz. Fight against Satan, and trust in Christ, who fights with you, and for you.