From the horrific to the sublime

26 April 2022.

It was overcast with threat of rain today so we opted to wear raincoats and take the umbrella, both good choices as things turned out.

We made our way to the Sendlinger Tor metro hub where we got our day-long pass allowing us to ride any and all of the transports in the city and immediate periphery for the day. Off we went in search of the S2 train that would take us to the Dachau Memorial site.

train from the Munich central station to Dachau

bus stop at the entrance to the Dachau Memorial

After about a 20-25 minute train ride we got off at Dachau village where we took the no. 726 bus to the memorial; there were plenty of like-minded folk joining us as well as numerous school groups, even though the predicted rain had arrived.

Once inside the camp we walked to the administrative/maintenance building which today serves as the camp museum. 

While I have provided a number of images with captions, to get a much better sense of visiting the memorial you'll want to spend some time at the official virtual tour of the memorial: go here.

the large grounds in front of the administrative building, facing the barracks

inside the old administrative building, now the memorial exhibition site

 

the admin building from the barracks point of view

the prisoner road separating the two lines of barracks (all gone now)

site of the barracks with one of the seven watchtowers in the center distance

looking back up the prisoner road toward the administrative building

another watchtower on the right and more barracks locations

wall surrounding the camp. . . buildings beyond are today a Carmelite convent, built in 1964

looking back up toward the admin building

example of original ditch designed to present escapes

site of the original crematorium

reproduction of the crematorium and punishment barrack X (memorial website photo)

"to honor the dead, to remind the living"

site of the original gallows close to the crematorium and gas chamber

gas chamber designed to resemble showers

room where the bodies were stacked before being removed to the crematorium

two of the four ovens used to burn corpses (reproductions)

The rain continued in a steady downpour as we made our way back to the bus stop. So much suffering had taken place in such a small amount of space for such a long time we simply felt overwhelmed by it all.

From the camp we returned to the village station via the no. 726 bus. After a few minutes' wait we were back on the S2 train heading toward Munich. We left the train at Marienplatz and wended through the back streets of the old town in search of the Dallmayr Deli where we planned to have lunch. 

And so we did. Besides the extensive food section the deli houses a bar and grill on the first floor and the cafe on the second; we opted for the latter. Settling ourselves into a cozy booth we ordered lunch: Susie had quiche Lorraine and I had Vittello Tonnato, washed down with two glasses of Sancerre. Given what our morning was like, enjoying such a delicious lunch somehow seemed wrong and yet it was so necessary (for me at any rate) to remind myself of being alive, of needing to enjoy the life we are given, however long or short it may be,

the first floor food area

In search of further uplift, from Dallmayr we walked the 20 minutes or so in light rain to the Alte Pinakothek, the city's preeminent old world art museum holding numerous Manets, Rembrandts, Tintorettos and so much more.

"The Day's Work Done" 1900 by Max Slevogt

"Judith with the Head of Holofernes" 1820 by Simon Vouet

The galleries were filled with what seemed like an endless number of works of art, mostly of religious themes broken up by the occasional portraiture. We couldn't see everything and eventually we had to go and so we did. Leaving the museum we walked to the nearest tram station and took the no. 28 back to Sendlinger Tor. From there it was a quick 5-minute walk home.

Later that evening we went next door to the vegetarian restaurant, Botanista for a light dinner.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Munich before heading to Hohenfels and the MacDs for a few nights.

I hope you are well, healthy and happy. 

Stay tuned!