Germany, the Sequel
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Dachau
Dachau is in southern Germany, just outside of Munich. Most people recognize the city mainly for the Nazi concentration camp that was there. We were able to see the former concentration camp and a museum housed in the camp's administration building. This is the most solemn place I went all summer; it was certainly a grim reminder of the atrocities that happened during World War II. Visiting the concentration camp at Dachau, seeing the bunks where real people were unfairly imprisoned, and reading about the harsh conditions they suffered made the entire human condition seem unbearably miserable. How is it possible for so many people to be so irrational and so ruthless? Questions like these disturb me, but I find comfort in the fact that someday, I will be in a place where we are not imperfect and fallible.
This was the main entrance to Dachau. During the Nazi reign, all prisoners entered the camp through this gate.
TV shows like Hogan's Heroes make it seem like anyone that wanted to could have broken out of a concentration camp. In reality, the camps were extremely well secured. The entire camp was surrounded by these fences. Barbed wire stretches between each wooden post, and circles of barbed wire top the fence. About two feet inside the fence is a trench four feet deep. The ground between the trench and the fence is covered with barbed wire. Any prisoner who came within a certain distance of the trench was shot without question. Guard houses were evenly spaced around the perimeter of the camp. You can see one at the right side of this picture; another is just outside of the camera's view, next to the sidewalk.
Baumholder
This is where Brian is stationed, and I spent quite a bit of time there with him this summer. The town is small and hilly. Has your grandpa ever told you that he had to walk "uphill both ways" to and from school when he was a kid? I never believed that was possible before I started walking around Baumholder. Anywhere you go in Baumholder, you have to go uphill. If you're at the track and you want to go to the grocery story, it's uphill; if you're at the grocery store and you want to go to the track, it's uphill. Don't ask me how it works, just trust me on this. =)
Here I am with Brian. We're so cute! =)
Here we are in Brian's room on the 4th of July. There was no real celebration on post, but we had a little party with two other people. (I said "little" and I meant it!) Brian's grandma sent us these shirts from Old Navy, so we both wore them on the 4th. Wasn't that thoughtful of her?
I made an apple pie for the 4th of July. Brian and his roommate liked the pie so much I made another one. But, someone snuck into Brian's room and ate half of the second one. They didn't leave a crumb! I made one more pie, and Brian kept that one locked up when he wasn't in the room. =)
This is an un-posed shot of Justin. He was Brian's roommate during the summer. Now, Brian has his own room, and Justin lives next door to Brian. I'm glad I met Justin because he's a pretty cool guy. His sense of humor is a lot like my brother's.
Heidelberg
Brian and I went to Heidelberg twice. It's in the Neckar River Valley, not far from Mannheim. Heidelberg's main attraction is a castle that overlooks the city, although the castle ruins are not the only thing to see there. There are boats that cruise along the Neckar River; Brian and I took a three hour tour (a three hour tour). We also went into a few old churches and wandered through the town center. Even though it rained the last day we spent in Heidelberg, we had a lot of fun there.
Here's one part of the castle. These solid stone walls are more than twenty feet thick, and the French still managed to bomb through them!
Here's a view of the castle from Heidelberg, near the river. The funny towers on the left side of the picture are very old and were once the main entrance to the city.
This is a view of Heidelberg from the castle. The towers in the picture above are at the end of the bridge that you see in this picture.
Here's a view of Heidelberg with me in the foreground. (I'm sure you could have figured that out on your own, but I like to be thorough.)
That's all for this page.