My last day in Munich was an array of emotions. I spent the first half of my day in Dachau, which was emotionally draining. Believe it or not, the Holocaust education I received in the U.S., which has no reason to dilute the truth, was nothing compared to going reading and seeing the information presented at Dachau. It was incredibly explicit, but I think that's important. And the experience of standing on that ground - of seeing the bunks where the prisoners slept, and walking through the crematorium - is harrowing in a way that I've never experienced before. The air in the rooms feels different. That very well might be psychological, but I don't think that over 30,000 people (recorded, that is) can be murdered without an alteration in the place is occurred. I don't understand how anyone lives in Dachau anymore. There's a whole street where the S.S. Officers used to live, and those are government buildings now. I find that disturbing.
After Dachau, I came back into Munich, took a last walk through the Altstadt, and had dinner at Hofbrauhaus. I had a lovely 2 hour dinner conversation with 2 young German men, who told me that my German was really good, especially considering how dreadful they said their English was. So I ended the day feeling pretty good about myself, and got a good night's sleep for my journey to Heidelberg.
Let me just say something. It's freaking HOT. Like 95 degrees and humid. And my train wasn't air conditioned. So I showed up in Heidelberg really sweaty and half dehydrated, made it to my Hotel, and, surprise, there's no reception. There's a door and a buzzer. So I rang the buzzer. Again. Again. No answer. I don't understand how there's no one on staff at 4 in the afternoon, but whatever. After ringing for 5 minutes, I looked at the door and there's a little piece of paper that says "Call this #." So I did, and I got my room key and such, but seriously, I'm lucky that I bought a phone and that I actually had some money on it. Otherwise I'd have had a heat stroke.
After a shower and a half hour spent cooling down, I took a walk through Heidelberg's Altstadt. Typisch Deutsch! Absolutely beautiful old buildings - this is a city with character! I'm a little upset I have only one full day here, but I'm making the most of tomorrow. I'm going to a castle and roaming until my feet can't bear it anymore. =)
Till then,
Katharine
