Hohenfels

29 April 2022.

The morning began with warm sun and the weather got only nicer as the day wore on. It was good to be out of a big city for a change and the fact we could spend quality time with family made the casual chitchat over breakfast all the more inviting. 

Susie started the first round of a major laundry project but found time to leave with the group to participate in a 10K walk sponsored by the community. While the group was out for their walk I wisely stayed at home catching up on some online chores. . . 

The walk began near Liam's school on post and meandered through fields and forests (Susie noted there were a great many paths hereabouts) until everyone stopped for lunch in a nearby soccer field. 

taking a lunch break from walking

view from the backyard of the McD home

the patio and rear of the McD home

After relaxing on the patio and sipping a little sparkling wine the group headed out for the nearby small town of Kallmünz for a walk up to the castle ruins followed by dinner at a local trattoria. That's up next!

Off to Hohenfels and family

 28 April 2022.

Thursday began sunny and chilly but with promise of warmth later in the day. True to form, Mother Nature would keep her promise.

Susie and I finished packing up while having morning coffee and prepped the apartment for our departure. At 10:40 our Uber driver showed up and off we went, happy to let him maneuver through the chaotic maze that is downtown Munich traffic. Fifteen minutes later he dropped us off at the central train station and we quickly found our train listed on the departures board. We climbed aboard and, with few travelers in our section, had our choice of seats. We settled in for the relatively short (about 2 hours) train ride to Parsberg where our niece Christina would pick us up. The train left Munich on time (they usually do it would seem).

Once outside Munich and its suburbs the train took us through lovely rolling farmlands of southern Bavaria. After passing through Regensburg the landscape turned hillier and the valleys more dramatic with the occasional rocky cliff faces popping up here and again overlooking a winding stream below. Quite a lovely ride.

At a little before 14:00 (2:00pm) and about 20 minutes outside of Regensburg we got off at the small station of Parsberg where Christina was waiting for us on the platform. A quick 10-minute drive and we pulled into their driveway just outside the lovely village of Hohenfels.

Once settled and (partially) unpacked the three of us headed back out for a tour of the army base where Glen is stationed.  After spending a few minutes getting our passes to permit us entry to the base Christina drove us to Glen's office where we got a chance to see the man at work. She then gave us a quick tour of that part of the base open to the public before returning home for the afternoon.

After catching up on all the family news the six of us went out for dinner at a nearby restaurant noted for Bavarian specialities, timed perfectly for the weekly Thursday schnitzel night with several different schnitzel specials available. Christina and I opted for a schnitzel stuffed with cheese accompanied by roasted potatoes, Kiera and Susan each had the schnitzel with a mushroom sauce and accompanying spaetzle while Glen and Liam had an Italian version with tomatoes and mozzarella, all washed down with a local beer. The food was sehr lecker and the beers equally tasty.

Once back at their house we sat up and chatted over a digestif before bedtime.

A wonderful day all round and it was a special treat to be able to visit the McDs once more in Europe.

looking down the McD's driveway in the direction of Hohenfels

Glen, Christina and Susie

Rechberger Hof

off for home

Deutsches Museum, Eataly and Hey Luigi

27 April 2022.

We had a very leisurely morning on our last full day in Munich. Sipping coffee and catching up on our thoughts and plans, I worked on blog images and notes. About midday we headed over to Sendlinger Tor. The plan was to take a tram to the Deutsches Museum. Unfortunately, I misread the metro map and got us on the wrong tram but we got off before we strayed too far afield.

The museum, which sights astride the Isar River, is probably most easily compared to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. Coincidentally, both have German submarines (unterseeboots): in Chicago the U-505 captured during World War II and in Munich the U-1, the very first German submarine. There are also numerous aircraft and other boats on display in this section. 

Covering six floors, the museum has collections covering oceanography, mining, physics, machinery, ceramics, astronomy (they even have a planetarium), mechanical toys, and musical instruments among others. Far too much to see and experience in just a day. Also, some of the collections were quite dated and there was an inconsistency in interpretative signage: some areas provided information in just German and others in German and English.

The roof of the museum provided some rather wonderful views of the city, though.

Deutsches Museum

Isar River

museum entrance

The display of the U-1 is unique: the sides of the hull have been cut away in order to allow the viewer to easily see the interior of a boat that would otherwise be next to impossible to walk through.

the first German U-boat, U-1

deep diving gear

simulation of a view of the ocean from a passenger liner deck

Munich from the rooftop, Frauenkirche in the distance

the maritime and aeronautical displays

Rumpler C IV c. 1916

a Wright Brothers Standard Type A, 1909

Leaving the museum we made our way through the viktualienmarkt to the Italian specialty shop and cafe, Eataly (a well known culinary venue in Italy and around the world). We found a table in the cafe amidst racks of cooking utensils and cookbooks (kochbuch) and settled in for our afternoon "hot beverage."

just one of many stands at the viktualienmark

It was a short walk back to the apartment where we began our packing preparations (one of many in the upcoming weeks) for leaving Thursday. We tried to get reservations at Junge Romer (we ate there our first night in town) but they had nothing available. It so happened I noticed a restaurant near our grocery store with the rather curious name of Hey Luigi so I went online and made reservations.

Susie ordered the Dhal, a lentil-based stew that looked more soup-like but which she claimed was delicious. I had spaghetti with meatballs which was equally tasty.

Hey Luigi

spaghetti with tomatoes and meatballs

Dhal, lentil stew

A quick three-minute walk back home where we settled in with a glass of hazelnut liqueur before bedtime.

Off to Hohenfels tomorrow so stay tuned!

From the horrific to the sublime

26 April 2022.

It was overcast with threat of rain today so we opted to wear raincoats and take the umbrella, both good choices as things turned out.

We made our way to the Sendlinger Tor metro hub where we got our day-long pass allowing us to ride any and all of the transports in the city and immediate periphery for the day. Off we went in search of the S2 train that would take us to the Dachau Memorial site.

train from the Munich central station to Dachau

bus stop at the entrance to the Dachau Memorial

After about a 20-25 minute train ride we got off at Dachau village where we took the no. 726 bus to the memorial; there were plenty of like-minded folk joining us as well as numerous school groups, even though the predicted rain had arrived.

Once inside the camp we walked to the administrative/maintenance building which today serves as the camp museum. 

While I have provided a number of images with captions, to get a much better sense of visiting the memorial you'll want to spend some time at the official virtual tour of the memorial: go here.

the large grounds in front of the administrative building, facing the barracks

inside the old administrative building, now the memorial exhibition site

 

the admin building from the barracks point of view

the prisoner road separating the two lines of barracks (all gone now)

site of the barracks with one of the seven watchtowers in the center distance

looking back up the prisoner road toward the administrative building

another watchtower on the right and more barracks locations

wall surrounding the camp. . . buildings beyond are today a Carmelite convent, built in 1964

looking back up toward the admin building

example of original ditch designed to present escapes

site of the original crematorium

reproduction of the crematorium and punishment barrack X (memorial website photo)

"to honor the dead, to remind the living"

site of the original gallows close to the crematorium and gas chamber

gas chamber designed to resemble showers

room where the bodies were stacked before being removed to the crematorium

two of the four ovens used to burn corpses (reproductions)

The rain continued in a steady downpour as we made our way back to the bus stop. So much suffering had taken place in such a small amount of space for such a long time we simply felt overwhelmed by it all.

From the camp we returned to the village station via the no. 726 bus. After a few minutes' wait we were back on the S2 train heading toward Munich. We left the train at Marienplatz and wended through the back streets of the old town in search of the Dallmayr Deli where we planned to have lunch. 

And so we did. Besides the extensive food section the deli houses a bar and grill on the first floor and the cafe on the second; we opted for the latter. Settling ourselves into a cozy booth we ordered lunch: Susie had quiche Lorraine and I had Vittello Tonnato, washed down with two glasses of Sancerre. Given what our morning was like, enjoying such a delicious lunch somehow seemed wrong and yet it was so necessary (for me at any rate) to remind myself of being alive, of needing to enjoy the life we are given, however long or short it may be,

the first floor food area

In search of further uplift, from Dallmayr we walked the 20 minutes or so in light rain to the Alte Pinakothek, the city's preeminent old world art museum holding numerous Manets, Rembrandts, Tintorettos and so much more.

"The Day's Work Done" 1900 by Max Slevogt

"Judith with the Head of Holofernes" 1820 by Simon Vouet

The galleries were filled with what seemed like an endless number of works of art, mostly of religious themes broken up by the occasional portraiture. We couldn't see everything and eventually we had to go and so we did. Leaving the museum we walked to the nearest tram station and took the no. 28 back to Sendlinger Tor. From there it was a quick 5-minute walk home.

Later that evening we went next door to the vegetarian restaurant, Botanista for a light dinner.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Munich before heading to Hohenfels and the MacDs for a few nights.

I hope you are well, healthy and happy. 

Stay tuned!