Europe Travel Blog: 17 December (Munich/ Dachau)

17 December 2019

In Munich, I was meeting my mom who had reserved us a room at the Aloft Munich. The Aloft is what I might describe as a hipster/ millennial hotel. Every night the lobby seemed to be turned into a club/ live music venue. The lobby also hosted a bar. Rooms in this hotel are more Americanized than most local European hotel you will find. There were ample plugs across the room. The breakfast at the hotel each morning was a selection of breads, hot foods, cereal, meats, cheeses, and espresso machines.

We had scheduled a guided tour of Dachau for today through Radius Tours. Radius Tours, which led the tour, is included in Rick Steves’ guidebook We had a half-day tour of Dachau with transportation out of Munich included. The hotel is located directly across from the München Hauptbahnhof, Munich Central Station. Getting to the station was as easy as crossing the street.

Once in the station we searched for the booth which is across from platform 32. After check-in we waited by the “Dachau” flag for our guide, Steven, to show up. Upon Stevens arrival, we were led to our train that would take us to the town of Dachau. On the train to Dachau we discovered there were two people from Columbus, MS on the tour. It’s amazing that one can travel to the other side of the work and meet someone from your home state!

We disembarked upon the train’s arrival at Dachau. Steven gave us background information on the Nazi Work and Concentration camp system. It is important to note the differences in the two. The most interesting thing about Steven is the way he presented the material. He tackles the material in the same approach I attempt to take in music history lectures. Give the facts and as little bias as possible and explore all sides to an issue. So many events in history have multiple stories, but we have gotten in the habit of only learning one.

I am intentionally not going to go into much detail on Dachau as it is something each person needs to discover for themselves. For more of my perspective, read "The Berlin Stories."

Recreation of the gate at the gate house. Translates to "Work will set you free."

Dachau truly is a landmark with masses of energies. It is definitely an emotional taxing experience. On the tour we visited the gate/ watch tower, the prison bay, the maintenance building, recreation of bunkers, cremation building, and various religious memorials.

After the tour we caught the bus back to the train station in Dachau and headed back into Munich. Dachau is a short train ride away from Munich. Dachau itself is free of charge, but they do offer audio tours and English-speaking guided tours. One of the interesting things about the history of Germany is Germany requires all children of a certain age to tour at least one of these landmarks. This helps to preserve them into the future and educate future generations about the evils associated of societal complacency.

After arrival back in Munich we took some time to recharge at the hotel before heading out to explore the Christkindlmarkt. The Christkindlmarkt is considered the most tradition of markets within the city. Sprawling out from Marienplatz, the market boasts various foods, drink, ornaments, and gifts. Adjacent to the Christkindlmarkt and in front of St. Peter’s, you will find the Neuheuser Straße. The Neuheuser Straße is quite possible the largest nativity market in all of Germany. Here you can find all types of nativity scenes in various sizes, forms, etc. From the ornate to the plane the Neuheuser Straße will most likely have it.

I began working on the Rick Steves Munich Audio tour but was side-tracked by the Viktualienmarkt. The centerpiece of this market is the beer garden, whose picnic tables are filled with hungry and thirsty locals, all in the shade of chestnut trees. At this beer garden I paused to sample a selection of the beer from one of the big seven breweries in Munich.

View of the beer garden in the Viktualienmarkt.

The May Pole which anchors the Viktualienmarkt.

After a quick pause for a beer, I headed to Marienplatz to experience the Glockenspiel. The glockenspiel is relatively new for tower clocks in Europe. It was built in the early 20th century. A Carillon in the tower chimes a tune while figures come out on the balcony to spin and dance. The clock tells the story of a noble wedding that took place on the town square in 1568. You can see the wedding procession and French and Bavarian knights jousting. After the wedding celebration, the barrel dances dance their dance and the clock finally strikes.

At the top of the tower is the Münchner Kindl, the Symbol of Munich. Munich revived its name from the monks that settled there.

New City Hall at night.

The Marienplatz is the main square in Munich. Its main anchors are the New Town Hall to the North and the Old Town Hall to the East. The Old Town Hall looks new because it was destroyed during the Second World War. While the New Town hall looks to be in the Gothic style of architecture, it is actually in the “Neo”-Gothic style. The structure was built between 1867-1908. Surrounding the New Town hall are statues depicting Bavarian kings and nobles.

A little note about the Glockenspiel: It rings twice in the summer months at 11:00am and 5:00pm. During the winter months it only rings once a day at 11:00am.

After waiting for the glockenspiel to ring and no luck, it was time for dinner. Dinner this evening was at Schneider Bräuhaus. Schneider Bräuhaus is owned by the Schneider brewery. As far as a Bräuhaus goes, Schneider is my favorite. The Schneider family is credited with top fermentation brewing of beer. This technique is used to create a Weiss beer (wheat beer). The décor puts you in a state of mind for good beer and Bavarian food. When eating here, protocol is to join a table where an open seat is! Take your pick and meet new friends!

When ordering beer here you have more than 11 beer choices to choose from, all produced by the Schneider family. My suggestion is to start with the original, labeled as “Tap 7.” The various selections of other beer served include high and lower alcoholic content. There is also a radler on the menu. Food here is a reasonable price and extremely delicious.

The oldest foodservice law in the world comes from Bavaria and is about beer! Before the Bavarian Beer Purity Law beer was brewed with many ingredients, some good and some bad. Beer before the law could include almost anything the brewer wanted to include. This was noticed by the royal family, as many died from drinking beer. The king enacted the Bavarian Beer Purity Law to combat this. The law states that beer can only contain three ingredients: fresh water, barley, and hops. It wasn’t until later it was discovered yeast is always prevalent in fermentation.

While at Schneider Bräuhaus I happened to meet a local expat, who provided great conversation for a few hours. Through him I learned more of Munich and the surrounding areas. After dinner and conversation, it was time to head back to the hotel and call it a night. The Bräuhaus was just a 10-15-minute walk from the hotel.