Day 18 - Wed 17 Jun 15: Munich

11-22 deg C, cloudy & cool with sunny periods 

An excellent brekkie in the hotel started our day. The problem with Munich is choosing what to see out of the numerous wonderful choices.  So, for our first day we decided on the ones we knew of:

1. Dachau Concentration Camp & Memorial,

2. 1972 Olympics Site,

3. BMW Showcase and Museum

4. Old City. 

What a day, although Dachau was very sobering, due to the fact that it wasn't a full-on extermination centre,  (although the Nazis still managed to kill over 40,000 people there by medical "research", executions, starvation, etc, etc) it didn't seem to be "as horrific" as we dreaded it would be.  Of course the grounds are very nice now with lovely gardens and memorials everywhere.  Many of the original buildings remain with some being reconstructed for effect. Most of the prisoner huts have been demolished.  

The Olympic Park was great and considering it was all built before 1972, it's still in great condition and looking futuristic even by today's standards.  We paid Euro 1 each to enter the main stadium, and we had a lovely wander round the heights, looking down into the stadium. 

The BMW Showcase is a must see for BMW car and motorcycle enthusiasts.  BMW now own the Mini and Rolls Royce so you get to see the latest and greatest in the three brands under one roof. We were a little bit over it after viewing all kinds of vehicles on three floors in the Showcase, so after coming to the Museum entrance, we decided to make a hasty exit. 

As we were all feeling a bit hungry by then, it was back on the very efficient Munich underground to the city for dinner and ice-cream; not necessarily in that order. We ended up in “Galleria”, the department store that has an in-house restaurant on the top floor.  Greg had roast chicken and vegetables, and Wendy had a steak, chips and salad, oh and a beer!  After a quick look around Marienplatz (Munich’s main square), it was back to the hotel, via the underground and bus, for a nana nap. 

Although it was a busy day, it was very productive.  We spent a whole Euro14.70 (AS$21.50) on a group ticket for 4 people for unlimited travel on the tram, bus and train for the day. Entry to the BMW Showcase was free – love those bargains!




Arrival platform for the prisoner trains, Dachau

Dachau upon Liberation

Camp gate inscribed with "Arbeit macht frei" or "Work will make you free"

Dachau now

One of the watchtowers (rebuilt)

Perimter fence and trench

Crematorium building

'Old' incinerators

Memorial walk

The grave of many thousands unknown

Jewish Graves

Church of Reconciliation

Catholic Mortal Agony of Christ Chapel

Inscription on the Chapel


Jewish Memorial



Prisoner bunks

Prisoner wash basins

Prisoner toilets

The 1972 Munich Olympic site

A typical German motorway

The Olympic swimming pool

Olympic stadium


Olympic Tower


Wendy's new BMW

Greg's old BMW

Greg's new touring bike


The new bikes Greg wishes he could have!


Bavarian Motor Works (BMW) HQ

Rathaus Glockenspiel Marienplatz

Mary's Column in Marienplatz

Alte Rathaus, Munich

Neues Rathaus (New City Hall)

Clean and efficient Munich underground


'Newer' incinerators at Dachau

Other side of the Catholic Mortal Agony of Christ Chapel

Memorial to the Dead Sculpture

Results of trials of the Dachau leaders

Part of Olympic Park

Olympic stadium

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