Sunday, July 27
We got a late start today (yesterday was very exhausting!),
checked out of the Sepp Hotel in Marktoberdorf and headed to Dachau, just
north of Munich. This is the site of one of the first Nazi concentration camps,
and was used as a model for all future camps. Dachau was a "work camp"
that the Nazis used to acquire labor to support war-time activities. It was
established in 1933, and during the war became one of the most feared camps
because of its reputation for torture and its brutal living and working conditions.
The Nazis would work the prisoners until they were too weak to be productive,
and then the prisoners would either die at Dachau or be shipped to extermination
camps such as Auschwitz. Between 30,000 and 40,000 people died at Dachau.
Paula and I had both been to Dachau before, but the exhibitions have been
greatly expanded and are extremely well-done. The combination of the museum
on the grounds, and the ability to walk throughout the camp and see many of
the original buildings (including the crematorium) bring this horrible history
to life. David and Katie both said that they came away with a deeper understanding
for what the Holocaust was all about.
We left Dachau in the late afternoon and headed to Bad Tolz, about an hour
south of Munich. This is where Paula's Dad lived as a child, and is a charming
town. We hope to spend a couple of "down days" in Bad Tolz, relaxing
and exploring the town (and the kids are excited about the water park which
is connected with the hotel!). This is not a tourist destination - we're planning
to simply spend time here walking through the streets, talking to people (we
are meeting a local woman tomorrow who we contacted through Servas), We've
decided that we'll need to build in these kind of "down days" into
our travel plans. It gives us all an opportunity to relax and take a break
from the day-to-day travel and sight-seeing. It will hopefully also give us
an opportunity to interact with local people and learn about their lives in
the cities we visit. 
Another thing we did today was to stop by villages that we saw along the
road. We took several pictures in one of these villages (Ketterschwang), which
was very typical of what you see. The focal point of each of village is its
church, which is clearly visible from the road as the tallest building in
the town. There are also many charming homes, gardens and streets in each
village. We love to simply stop by and explore these places!
~Steve
Distance Walked: 1.85 miles
