August 1-8 Dinkelsburhl, Garmisch, and Freiburg Germany

After we left Rothenburg, for whatever reason EVERYTHING seemed to go wrong for the next three towns. There wasn´t one particular thing that happened, just a bunch of little things. No matter how hard we tried, it seemed like every obstacle was thrown in our path: lost hotel reservations, problems on train rides, bad weather forcing us to cancel plans, and me getting sick, to name a few. We resolved to come back to Southern Germany again and maybe we will have better luck next time.

During this time we ended up back in Munich one more night and went to a wonderful beer hall/restraunt that came highly recommended by the locals. The restraunt was located deep in a cellar and a fun atmosphere. The food was great! I had a delicious ham and potatoe salad dish that went great with the local beer.

July 30 and 31 Rothenburg ob der Tauber

We left Munich and decided to see a couple small towns in Bavaria. We stopped at Rothenburg first. It is a little medival town surrounded by city walls. It is such a cute little town with some great crafts and Christmas shops. We found a map with the descriptions of the buildings and took ourselves on a guided tour. There is also a little walkway on the town wall, so we decided to walk it before heading back to our hotel for the evening. For a couple weeks now, Joe has been collecting goofy things to add to his street performance and has been practicing. We decided it was time to get out there, so the next morning, we gathered up the juggling pins, magic tricks, etc and went looking for a good spot. We couldn´t find one. There was a yard sale going on in the middle of town, so we decided to wait until it was over before Joe did his thing. I went to the stores and browsed the traditional crafts and then we set up a couple hours later. Joe was so nervous to get out there with his new tricks and things didn´t go very smoothly for him. I was nervous too and didn´t do such a good job making balloon animals for the kids. I did finally make a few swords and hats, but I forgot to take pictures of Joe´s first performance. We did make a couple Euros in tips and had a good laugh. We decided to try again in the next town we go to. We had dinner and then grabbed a couple of shneeballens (a local sweet) and went back to the room.

July 27-29 Munich

After we left Berlin, we boarded the train for Munich. It took us almost seven hours to get there. I amused myself by reading, knitting, and making conversation with someone who worked in the cafeteria on the train. Joe spent most of his time on the computer. When we got to Munich, it was cold and rainy. In fact, it was cold and rainy the whole three days we were there. Once we dropped off our stuff, we headed downtown and walked around a bit. We then headed to the famous Hofbrauhaus. Munich is known for it´s beer halls, lederhosen, and oompa bands. This had all three. It is really touristy but really fun. For those of you that have seen "National Lampoon´s European Vacation", (the scene in which the family goes to a beer hall and Clark starts a brawl after getting up on stage with the lederhosen clad Bavarian men), that is what Hofbrauhaus reminded me of.

The next day, it was still raining and dreary, but we put on our rain jackets and made the most of it. We walked around town, listening to street musicians and then decided to walk through the large park. The park had a river flowing through it and a couple guys wearing wetsuits were surfing one part of it. That was unexpected! We walked for a while and heard some music playing. We followed the music and came upon a Chinese temple with a polka band playing on it. There were also all kinds of tables set up and lots of different kinds of beer and German food. We stopped and shared a beer and I had sausages and sauerkraut before it started raining harder and we made our way back home. Before leaving the park, however, we ran across a little girl in a wheelchair and Joe performed a couple magic tricks for her and her family. That was a very special moment for him.

When we woke up the next morning, it was still cold and rainy. We decided to go to Marionplatz (the main square) to watch the Glockenspiel. Everyday at 11 am, 12 pm, and 5 pm, it chimes and 32 life size figures spin around the niche they are set into. It is a huge tourist draw and Joe and I found ourselves wondering why.

After that, we headed to Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial. Both Joe and I have seen images of the Holocaust and been to Holocaust Museums, but neither one of us have been to a
concentration camp before. It is very different walking the grounds and seeing where the victims slept and lived. We saw the crematorium where the bodies were burnt and even stepped into the gas chambers where 150 victims at a time were killed in a matter of minutes. It was a very difficult (but important) day for us. Dachau was the first concentration camp of Hitler´s administration, and it was the model for the rest of them. Over 200,000 people were held in Dachau and it´s subsidiary camps. More than 43,000 of them died in Dachau. My mind could not wrap around the human suffering that went on there. This was our last stop in Munich.

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July 26 Last Day in Berlin

Our last day in Berlin Joe was feeling better, so we made the most of it. We first headed to the East Side Gallery. The Berlin Wall was constructed in 1961 to keep the eastern Berlin residents from escaping to the west. When the wall was torn down in 1990, a section of the wall on the East side of town was left up and many artists were invited to paint a section of it. Some of the paintings were very haunting, while others were very beautiful. It was very moving emotionally. This was the first time in many decades that artists could fully express themselves without having to worry that the government would punish them for what they had to say. Joe had fun jumping from one side of the wall to the other. Hard to believe that a couple of decades ago, he would be shot for doing that. After that we walked around the area for a bit. We accidentally stumbled on a circus community. That was interesting! There is an area on the east side that was turned into a man made beach. It had volleyball courts and a dance stage set up as well. We then found out there was an international sand sculpture competition nearby and we decided to check it out. It was amazing what artists could do with sand! I can´t even build a sand castle without it toppling over. I was really impressed with this side of town. After all the oppression, the arts in Berlin (as well as the people) really seem to be flourishing.

We then made our way to Checkpoint Charlie. This was the best known crossing point between the East and West. There is now a museum near there that tells some of the creative ways people tried to get over the border. Since it was over €12 per person to get in, we decided to go to the main attraction instead. Checkpoint Charlie has been reconstructed to look a lot like it used to, including guys in American military uniforms taking pictures with tourists. People can even get their passports stamped there with all the stamps used in the soviet days.

We then went to the Jewish Museum. I have to say, this is definitely one of the most interesting museums I have been to. The architecture was designed with the museum in mind. The architect (who is Jewish) wanted to convey how the concentration camp victims must have felt: confusion, isolation, and a bit of nausea. The floors were tilted, walls were uneven, and doors were confusing to open. We got lost frequently. To my husband who likes everything to be neat and orderly, it was his version of hell. There were steps that lead to nowhere and huge rooms that was completely dark with the exception of one small window at the top. It was very unsettling, but the architect did an amazing job at designing it. Joe got tired halfway through, so he went outside to rest and I stayed a little while longer to see more of the museum. I didn´t see it all. It was a huge museum. After we left, we went back to the hostel and I called my sister on the phone because it was her birthday.