Munich, Germany
Munich Connection
By Mar Nur
PUBLISHED: AUGUST 2009

LEARNING LESSONS. A visit to the Dachau concentration camp shows "how evil humans can be... There’s an eerie feeling going from one room to another, and the energy emanating from it will give you goosebumps.  So pay your respect, move on and learn lessons from it," Mar Nur says.

After spending over two hours in Pinakothek, we went to Marienplatz, the heart and soul of the Altstadt (Old City). This is where the late-Gothic new town hall called Neues Rathaus can be found.  It has towering spires and a blackened façade with amazing gargoyles and statues, including a magnificent dragon climbing the turrets.

The greatest attraction of Neues Rathaus is the three-level Glockenspiel (carillon). Two levels portray the Schäfflertanz (Cooper's Dance) and the Ritterturnier, a 1568 knight's tournament held to celebrate the marriage of Duke Wilhelm V.  It jams up with tourists craning their necks to look at the animated Glockenspiel.  If you want to see the show at eye level, head to the top floor of the Hugendubel bookstore or snag a table at the Café Glockenspiel. The carillon has been ringing across the Marienplatz since 1903, and from November to April, it chimes at 11.00 AM, noon, and 5.00 PM.

There was a parade of fire trucks at that time in Marienplatz, and to much of my delight, firemen from all over Germany were present as well. I asked one of the guys if I could climb inside in and try their uniform, and, luckily, he said yes.  I wanted to stay longer, but Oli (by then he’s Oli to me) wanted to show me the Englischer Garten (English Garden), so I had to say goodbye to my German firefighters.

The English Garden is one of Europe's oldest landscaped public parks. The land was designated for soldiers without work, and they were given sections of it to work on. It was the beginning of summer, and it seems all of Munich is out in the garden doing outdoorsy stuff like cycling, horseriding, swimming, sunbathing, and surfing.  Yes, I said surfing.  The artificial white-water rapids flow though the park, giving Müncheners the chance to surf. Nude sunbathing is permitted in designated areas and it is a spectacle itself.  I wish my parents were with me just to see their reactions – it sure would have been PRICELESS!

The garden has a Japanese tea house, Chinese pagoda, and Greek temple. It also has a couple of beer gardens. We decided to have a beer (€7 each) and once we started, the golden liquid just kept coming.  Truth be told, I am not a big fan of beer, but I really got into it.   I was too drunk and sun stroked to worry about carb intake.

Speaking of beers, one must come to Munich to experience one of the biggest festivals in the world, Oktoberfest.  I kickstarted my eastern European trip by getting absolutely drunk-blind in Oktoberfest.  My plan of staying for one night became three nights. I started the night by meeting fellow travellers from CS (Couchsurfing), but always ended up socialising with lots of strangers.  That is the great thing about this festival, everyone is out to have a good time.  The only thing I didn’t like is the aftermath in the morning. 

Any trip to Munich is never complete without going to the Dachau concentration camp where it is believed that more than 30,000 inmates died at the hands of the Nazis.  To see how evil humans can be will shake our soul to its very core, and one can only hope that this will never happen.  There’s an eerie feeling going from one room to another, and the energy emanating from it will give you goosebumps.  So pay your respect, move on and learn lessons from it.

When visiting, be vaccinated with tetanus/diphtheria and measles (if under 30 and no previous booster).  And, oh, take plenty of sunscreen and a small medical kit containing remedies for ailments, such as coughs and colds.

For more information, contact the German National Tourist Office at (02) 92678148, email gnto@germany.org.au, or visit www.germany-tourism.de.