Munich Part 2: Trips from Munich - Salzburg, Dachau, and Neuschwanstein

Trips from Munich, Germany. March 16-18

Salzburg, Austria. Saturday March 16
        On Saturday we went on a day tour of Salzburg. We met up with the tour guide and group at the train station, and took a 2 hour train ride through Bavaria, into Austria. The train ride was gorgeous, as we got to see the Alps, a lake or 2, and some cute German towns.

Cute German town with church and Alps!

The Alps!

        Once we got to Salzburg, we started our tour! The first stop was the Mirabell Palace and Gardens, a palace built in the early 1600s for royalty, some from Bavaria. The Palace was rebuilt in the early 1800s after a fire and is the building that can be seen today. Some scenes from the Sound of Music (one of the best movies ever!) were filmed here, like in the song "Do Re Mi". At the end of this song, the Von Trapp children and Maria dance in these gardens, and run through the tunnel of trees. Here is the YouTube video of it (start at 4:00 if you want to see just the Mirabell Palace and Gardens).

Maribell Palace and Gardens. To the left is the tunnel of trees

Maribell Gardens, with the Pegasus fountain

Stairs that the Von Trapp Children and Maria danced on

      Salzburg was also home to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and we saw plenty of shops and things commemorating him. Mozart was born in 1756 and was a musical prodigy who composed many masterpieces. Watch below if you want to listen to Mozart's "Eine kleine Nachtmusik".

Birthplace of Mozart, the window that is under the crest.

Where Mozart lived later in his life.

           We then crossed over the River Salzach. Salz is salt in German, and the river was named this because salt would be shipped down the river. Salzburg was also named because of this. People flocked to Salzburg once they discovered the "white gold", salt.

River Salzach, with mountains and fortress

           We then walked down a street called Getreidegasse (Grain Lane in German) that was full of shops. Most of the shops keep the tradition of hanging signs outside, which were used a long time ago to depict the service the shop provided, since most people were illiterate. 

Getreidegasse. You can see all the signs! And a steep cliff in the background

      Our stop after this was Salzburg Cathedral, which we didn't get to go in. But it was pretty on the outside! Mozart was baptized here, and the Cathedral was founded in the 700's, and and the modern-day building is from the 1600s.

Salzburg Cathedral

Front of Salzburg Cathedral

           After that, we went to St. Peter's Abbey Church, which is considered one of the oldest monasteries in Germany and Austria.

Steeple and front of St. Peter's Abbey Church

Inside of the church, with organ

        Right next to St. Peter's Abbey Church is most likely the oldest restaurant in Europe, maybe even the world. It was founded in 803, and is called Stiftskeller St. Peter. Botin in Madrid holds the Guinness World Record of being the oldest restaurant in Europe, but it was only started in 1725. 
        We then had some time to walk around on our own, so we got some pretzels (I got a cinnamon and sugar pretzel, so good!), and we walked up to the fortress a little bit to get a view of the city. 

View of Salzburg

             We then did a bit of shopping in Salzburg and went back to Munich!

Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site. Sunday March 17
        On Sunday we took a tour with Sandeman's again (with our very knowledgeable guide Marcin) to Dachau concentration camp, which was about 30 minutes outside of Munich. The site was first an ammunition factory, and in 1933 it was opened as a concentration camp, and first held mostly people that did not agree with the politics of the National Socialist Party (or Nazi Party). As it was the first concentration camp to be used by the Nazis, it became the model for all other Nazi concentration camps. Eventually, eventually Dachau was used to imprison German Jews, and other groups of people the Nazis hated. Many people died died from harsh conditions, disease, and forced labor in the camp over 12 years, about 41,500 out of the 200,000 prisoners. In 1945 the camp was liberated by the U.S. Army. Until 1960 the site was used as a refugee to camp to house displaced Germans. 
        The site has some of the original buildings left. Our tour guide told us that not one concentration camp is still fully intact, but Dachau might be the most intact. The memorial site now has a museum inside the buildings where new arrivals would go. The original entrance, guard towers, buildings with individual cells for certain prisoners, administration buildings, and crematorium are still intact on the site. The buildings for the barracks were torn down, and 2 were rebuilt to show living quarters. Now, memorials are set up across the site, with 4 chapels for different faiths. 
        

Entrance to Dachau concentration camp

Memorial to those who lost their lives at Dachau, in multiple languages: "May the example of those were exterminated here between 1933-1945, because they resisted Nazism, help to unite the living for the defense of peace and freedom and in respect for their fellow men"

        The site was quite eerie, and although our tour guide told us the brutal and inhumane conditions and punishments that were going on inside the camp, it was impossible to imagine what the prisoners went through. It was definitely not my favorite part of my trip, but it was important to see as it contributes to the history of Germany, and also the history of all humans. Genocides, concentration camps, and persecution have plagued many nations' histories, and can be found in the near past, and even today. The site is a reminder that we shouldn't ignore or forget the past, so that we can learn from it in the future. 

Neuschwanstein Castle. Monday March 18
          On Monday I went to Neuschwanstein by myself because my friends wanted to explore Munich some more. Neuschwanstein Castle was on my to-do list from the beginning, so I wasn't going to go to Munich without making a visit! Neuschwanstein Castle was built in the late 1800s for Ludwig II of Bavaria as a summer home, or personal refuge for thing king, who died while the castle was still being constructed. So, there is not really much on the inside to see, it mostly the outside and scenery that attracts people, because it is so pretty. The castle has also been in a lot of movies, and was the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty's Castle in Disneyland.
         As it turned out, I can say I've been to Neuschwanstein, but I'd be lying to you if I said I actually could see the castle. I could see some of it, but not a whole lot of it. It was like a repeat of Mount St. Helen's on the SLU EAS department trip last year....we got there and it was snowing and we couldn't see Mt. St. Helen's! Now I will have to go back to both of them. Oh well, gives me an excuse to go back to Germany! But it was fun walking around in the snow, and the town where the castle was located was cute. I also got to go into some shops and look around. 

Cute Christmas shop in the town of Hohenschwangau

Hohenschwangau Castle, on a cliff above the city

Snow! Path I walked on to get to Neuschwanstein.

After a nice trek up a hill, here is Neuschwanstein! This was the most I got to see of it. I went to the bridge where you can normally have a good view of the castle, but I literally just saw fog and snow.

This is what Neuschwanstein is supposed to look like. I didn't see the lake or mountains.

       And that was my trip to Munich, Germany! We had another layover in Zurich, Switzerland on the way back to Madrid, but it went better because we knew where to sleep. I was sad to leave Germany!

 Things I learned in Munich:

• Sleeping in airports isn't fun, but we all survived!
• Don't be surprised if I talk about wanting to live in the countryside between Munich and Salzburg with the Alps in the background, with a bunch of horses. I can picture myself living there!
• German food is really good...although I think I already said that
• The German train system is easy to use, and always punctual
• Don't go to Neuschwanstein when it is snowing, you may not be able to see the castle. But it will give you an excuse to go back!

 Auf Wiedersehen!