Vienna

So yesterday we went to Dachau Concentration Camp. We were going to go without a tour guide, but at the last minute decided to opt for a tour guide. The tour was very tough. I think everyone should tour a concentration camp to see what can happen with absolute power, blind obedience, and plain ignorance. The place was suffocating. The tour was around five hours and our group was mostly silent except for the occasional question. Dachau was the "model" concentration camp almost all others were based on. We walked through and heard the stories for torture, how prisoners were labeled, and then about the mass killings that occurred there. The place will never leave my mind. It is horrifying to think how something like this might happen. The tour guide discussed in depth how the people of the town claimed to not know what was going on. This is so disturbing.

The tour guide made many parallels to present day and encouraged people to always be cognizant of what happened there. We left very depressed. When we got back to the hostel we took a nap.

We woke up and walked through Munich getting some German food at an open air beer garden. Then we saw the Glockenspiel.

It was somewhat anticlimatic, but still good to see. It reminded me of the "It's a Small World After All" ride at Disneyworld except not annoying. It was really fun. Munich is very beautiful and it is hard to believe that is was the birthplace and capital of the Third Reich.

After dinner we walked through the vast gardens and unfort. saw a few very big German men sunbathing in the nude. At that point I took back anything I said about the beauty of Munich. We went to a Beer hall that night and told stories with friends we met at the hostel. The apple strudel was amazing!

We didn't stay out too late and called it an early night and headed to bed.

TR, our other roomates, and I were awoken to more of Ajay's sleep talking. Last night he yelled "PUB CRAWL!" Pub crawl is the tour we were going to go on of different pubs in Munich. We didn't get to go though due to timing. Then a couple of minutes later Ajay yelled "Hoffbraugh"-- I don't know how to spell it and don't have time to look it up. That was quickly followed by various voices in the room telling him to shutup. I think Ajay was dreaming of alcohol...at least he wasn't dreaming of the naked German guy...that would have been bad...

We took a train to Vienna this morning and just got in. We are in another hostel tonight, but now we will go out walking again and see the sights! So far Austrians have not been too nice. I was already yelled at by two separate train ticket people at the train station. All I did was ask to buy tickets. Anyway, I got my tickets for Milan tomorrow night. I will be taking an overnight train there and get in Sunday morning. TR and Ajay are going to Venice Sunday morning. I have to go! Pictures will be put up in Milan!