After breakfast, we packed up with plans to head out for the day to Dachau Concentration Camp. Marina had joined Tim and Michelle on their first visit ten years ago. This time we all went including Renate. Entry to the museum is free and we paid a few euros each for the audio guide, which really added depth to the experience. We expected to stay a few hours, but the audio guide pulled us deeper into the sobering experience. It's still chilling to see the iron sign Arbeit macht frei - "work makes you free". We appreciate that the people of Germany allow this site to be preserved, a symbol and reminder of how the masses can be manipulated and a slippery slope becomes a steep slide.
We completely missed lunchtime during our walk through Dachau.
Leaving the concentration camp, we go into the historical part of the town of Dachau for dinner and desserts. The mood is still heavy and slowly lifts as we get further from the concentration camp. A walk through old town reveals another quaint European town. We come upon a restaurant that serves traditional Bavarian food and settle in on the patio with a round of beer. We enjoyed our meal and ordered one of every dessert on the menu. It was fun trying the cherry and the apple strudels, fried apples, and a simple scoop of vanilla ice cream that came with an awesome berry sauce. The desserts came with an option of vanilla sauce or ice cream, the waiter was kind enough to allow us to order them with ice cream and brought a small dish on the side of the vanilla sauce to taste it.
The single girls happen to notice that our young waiter is handsome with ice blue eyes. They try to strategically capture him in a photo. When the time comes for the bill Tim follows him into the restaurant to use the credit card machine. After settling the bill, Tim asks the waiter for a favor...could I take a photo? The waiter offers to take one with all the women but Tim thinks it might be too embarrassing. Instead we settle on a good spot with nice lighting. After the picture the waiter wanted to see it and gives his approval. Tim and the waiter share a wide smile and laughs as they are viewing the photos. Shortly after Tim returns to the table, Marina leaves her phone behind as the girls use the restroom. We secretly turn on airdrop and plot a way to get Christyn's phone too. Michelle executes the plan, and as we walk toward the bus station Tim airdrops the photo to Marina and Christyn. Suddenly squeals and laughs erupt as the whole plan comes together...everyone laughs at the silly things Americans do. We hope the waiter could hear us and it brings a smile to his face.
We took the train back to Renate's house and began the process of packing up our bags to move on. Marina, learning from her prior experience with our ability to get ready on time, gave us a deadline that was a half an hour earlier than necessary. She was starting to understand that American and German timeframes needed some adjustment to prevent undue stress. It wasn't until we were hustling to the nearby train station that Marina told us, with a smirk on her face, that we had plenty of time so there was no need to rush.
We took the train back to Renate's house and began the process of packing up our bags to move on. Marina, learning from her prior experience with our ability to get ready on time, gave us a deadline that was a half an hour earlier than necessary. She was starting to understand that American and German timeframes needed some adjustment to prevent undue stress. It wasn't until we were hustling to the nearby train station that Marina told us, with a smirk on her face, that we had plenty of time so there was no need to rush.
We enjoyed the short ride into Munich with Renate and Marina. We were seated mostly together, except there was a 40-something German woman seated in the middle of our group. As we chatted she tried to ignore our conversation and not appear to eavesdrop. But somehow the conversation turned to laundry and Renate mentioned the lack of covering of some of our groups "slips," then Renate compared it to Tim's "slips" at which time the German woman couldn't help but start laughing. She apologized profusely but joined in on the remaining part of our conversations until we reached Munich.
We have scheduled special transport for tonight on a Couchette on the night train to Cologne, Germany with the intent for a short stop before we continue onto Brussels. As the train pulls into the Munich Station, we find our car and Tim steps aboard...shortly thereafter he realizes he is alone in the couchette. While Michelle, Susanne and Christyn said their goodbyes to Marina and Renate on the platform and then entered the couchette, Tim had to do so in the cramped corridor of the sleeper car. We appreciated the warm greeting that they offered us and the time they spent showing us Bavaria and a surprise trip to Austria. It makes adventures like these enjoyable to have friends that are so welcoming.
As we pull away from the Munich station, we adjust to our new beds. A four bed couchette is a tight space and the the WC and washrooms are down the "hall." The space between the bunk beds is just wide enough for the ladder that is used to reach the top bunks. We are provided a very small pillow, a sewn up bed sheet that forms a "sleeping bag" of sorts and a light blanket. Too awake to fall asleep we chat for a few minutes before moving to our respective beds. It doesn't take much with the gentle rocking of the train to make us fall into a night of sleep.
No comments:
Post a Comment