A lovely train-ride through the German countryside finds us at München Hauptbahnhof (Central Train Station). Berlin was an enormous culture shock in that it seemed much more conservative-minded than Brussels or Amsterdam. It was a great history lesson and was an experience we will not forget soon.
Munich seemed to have a much more welcoming air from the very offset. A few streets from the Station we found our hotel – the uniquely named “1st Creatif Elephant” – I kid you not! Hotels have been a source of great entertainment for M and me. Brussels had crazy old Mrs. Bluet, Amsterdam had a punk as our hotel bell-clerk, and even Berlin had me begging a couple of ladies to come back in 30 mins to clean our room (in vain) and them refusing to even try to understand my valiant attempts at sign language J. Munich finds us in a very creative hotel – both in name and in reality. The hallways are painted in numerous colours and there is even a stained glass window between the bedroom and bathroom (a small one mind you - ;) ). There is a great energy and the smell of hearty German food in the air. There is still a chill in the air and we have yet to clear 5°C during peak daylight hours. However, lack of maddening crowds makes the low-season a great time to really see these cities, imbibe the atmosphere of the true city and see it without the “makeup on” (if that is your cup of tea). Each city seems loaded with tourists from the country itself and that is always good.
Munich is a stop that I insisted on after a short splash and dash stop (Formula 1 term) during a recent business trip through Europe. The train ride through a part of what I assume is the famous Bavarian black forest and the great energy in the city, seem to be rewarding that decision already. We spend the first day drifting through beautiful Marienplatz, sipping hot wine and taking in the street Christmas fairs that have covered every stop on our trip so far. In Germany, these fairs are called “Christkindmarkt” and are composed of lots of stalls where you can buy food (sausages, potatoes, cheese, roasted chestnuts, pralines, etc), Christmas souvenirs, play carnival games etc. Munich seems covered by these too. A big one is in the main plaza – the afore mentioned Marienplatz. We stop to check it out and catch the 11am performance of the Carillon. The Carillon is the performance of the mechanical figurines up in the clocktower, to the accompaniment of church bell music. The entire plaza comes to a grinding halt to watch this twice a day 5-minute performance. It was cute, though I wager the figurines in the clocktower at Salarjung Museum in Hyderabad, India performed a more entertaining and definitely a more in-tune performance. German food is hearty and German food is meaty – day 1 found us eating Indian food at Rasoi. A hearty meal of Chole, Paalak Daal and Naan really hit the spot!
A good night’s sleep and a great shower followed by an awesome breakfast spread had both of us agreeing that this is the best hotel yet. Today is going to be emotionally challenging. We are going to visit Dachau – one of the main Nazi concentration camps, in the nearby Munich suburb of the same name. A longish subway ride followed by a confusing bus ride finds us at the bus stop for the camp. It is a fittingly bitterly cold and damp day (check out the snaps for proof). The visit to the SS headquarters in Berlin was chilling, but that was in the middle of the city and was surrounded by sights and sounds of a new growing city. This is in the middle of nowhere. We solemnly trudge down to the main gates – it looks like a modern prison compound. We pick up audio guides in a lonely wooden building in the middle of a huge compound. I am struck by one question - Can you believe the inhumanity of this place? It is the size of several football fields and was dedicated to the torture, imprisonment and murder of 1000s of people – how low can we stoop?
Attention, Attention – Hari is ascending the soap box. I cannot go past this point without bringing some thoughts up. The Nazi torture of several people (not just Jews) should have taught us to prevent this from ever happening again. But time and again, the world has turned a blind eye – Kurds in Iraq, the Balkan wars and now very recently in Rwanda. Genocide of people cannot be justified – period! It is up to all sensible thinking folk to ensure we don’t let this keep happening. In my opinion, there is only one way to get a feel for what these tragedies may have been like. Go to these places and see them first hand. TV has done a great job in informing us, but over time we get numbed to the horrors we see day after day. 60 years later, Maya and I felt a little bit of the horror felt by the prisoners at Dachau. We must never forget history or we are doomed to repeat it! *Hari has descended the soapbox, for now at least*
We stopped into the barracks and saw the horrid “living” conditions. We saw the terribly graphic photos everywhere and the huge rollcall grounds, where every morning, for 12 years (1933-45) several thousand prisoners lined up. We stopped by the gates to see the five levels of security (huge walls, guarded strip, barbed wire fence, electrified fence and 8ft deep ditch) that surrounded the camp. We even stopped by the tragic ovens meant for cremating bodies…and yes, we stepped into a Gas chamber. Enough said that it had M in tears and me in a very somber mood indeed. Never again should this happen….
We took the long ride back to the city in silence. Can we get back into a good mood (though never ever forgetting today’s experience?). We take a break in the hotel and get some rest. A few hours later we take a subway back to the heart of the city and decide to head to the loudest, most fun beer-hall we can find – the famous Hofbrauhaus. My memory has not failed me, and we find it without much of a struggle. Finding a table inside was not as easy. This is a huge hall with 30 foot ceilings and several cafeteria-style wooden tables. There are people in Lederhosen (local dress) serving beer, performing music and even dancing. Guests are encouraged to join in. Maya and I find a table and sit down opposite a large gentleman with a very red nose and a big silly smile on his face. I order my obligatory 1 liter of beer while M gets a coke-lemonade mixture that looks like a darkish ale. We toast the night, our trip, all your healths and a few other things I can no longer remember. With Maya liquored up on coke, we head out to find dinner…that was a very fun and happy walk as far as I recall. We stumble into the sprawling Ratskeller – the sprawling cellar of the Rathaus (Townhall) to find some vegetarian German food. It is our last night in Germany and dammit, I need some potatoes. We order some Potato Au Gratin, Potato pancakes with Sauerkraut (sour cabbage) and that was good!
Munich served up wholesome helpings of welcoming energy and cheer (in spite of freezing temperatures). It taught us a bit about the ugly side of human history (Dachau), but also showed us how positive the future can be (the street fairs in the city). We board our train to Venice. Germany has been quite a rush to the senses for us and we look forward to Italia.
-Hari
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