Easter - Germany Week 11

              This past week was very chill when it came to class. I had a physiology exam, but other than that, classes were normal as ever. It was also a short week because of Easter, so that was really nice.

              Thursday after we had all finished with our classes, Darby, Lois, Camella, and I set out to find the RV and Darby’s family. We loaded up and headed southeast towards Munich. On Friday, we happened into the town of Rothunberg. While there, we visited the St. Jakob’s Lutheran Church. It was so cool to be in a really old church that was also Lutheran, rather than catholic. We wondered around and enjoyed the little town. Although a rough looking wall surrounds the town, Rothenburg is so colorful and quaint. There were fountains around the town that were decorated with hand painted Easter eggs to celebrate the holiday. There were so beautiful! Rothenburg is also the home of the Schneeball, or Snowball, pastry, so of course we got some for everyone to try. Sadly, most of the shops were closed because it was Good Friday, but had they been open, I am sure we would’ve spent hours there. We decided to load back into the RV and head to Munich, where we got in just in time for dinner. Lois had already visited Munich, so she acted as our guide of the city. She led us to the Hofbräuhaus, which is a giant, world-famous restaurant in Munich. The place was packed and we barely squeezed into a table that was already occupied by two other ladies. Conversation started and we learned they were Americans from North Carolina, so that was a cool coincidence. We ordered and were shocked when the beer came in liters. So naturally, Camella and I split a liter of beer. We enjoyed wonderful German food and great conversation. The atmosphere of the place was just so great to absorb and enjoy. Afterwards, we walked around and went into some churches. I’m glad I spent at least a little time in some churches on Good Friday.

              Saturday morning, we got up and went to the Easter market. Wow, it was wonderful. There were so many stands with handmade gifts and things. I knew this would be where I got a lot of gifts to take home. We each explored the tents and collected our goodies. We also went to some other shops around the market, where I finally got a gift for my mom that she has been asking for since I told her I was going to Germany. I am super excited about it, but I don’t know how I am going to get it home. We then went to Marienplatz to watch the clock on the Rathaus strike the hour. The hour passed and a nearby church’s bells rang. We continued to wait, as Lois said that sometimes it tolls after the hour. Finally, we hear bells, and for minutes that seemed like hours, we watched the clock waiting for something to happen. Eventually, the figures on the tiers started moving around as the bells tolled. It was a very long performance and was really cool, especially thinking to when it was new and what people watching it back then thought.

Afterwards, we lugged our treasures back to the RV and headed to Dachau, which is a concentration camp memorial site that is not far from Munich. I don’t know what I expected from this visit. I had mixed feelings because I think it is so important to visit at least one if you are in the area because it is an important historical and cultural experience, but to think about what happened there and the people that suffered and died is really hard. I was looking forward to the experience, but that quickly shifted when I had to force my self to walk through the gate that read “Arbeit Macht Frei”, “Work sets you free”. When I saw the gate, I stopped in my tracks and turned to the nearest person and said “I don’t know if I can walk through that”. It took a lot just to enter the camp. We slowly wondered through the camp and the building that they called the “Bunker”. We watched a video that showed terrible images and explained the history of the camp. Although this camp was built as a work camp rather than a death camp, there was still so much death. It was hard to fathom how human beings could treat other human beings so inhumanely. With heavy hearts, we walked out of that gate, leaving the camp behind but keeping the memories in our minds. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

We climbed back into the RV and headed to see the Neuschwanstein Castle. We got up really early Sunday morning to make sure that we got to the castle early to get tickets. We got tickets to tour the Neuschwanstein Castle and the Hohenschwangau Castle. We started with Neuschwanstein, which entailed a short hike straight up to the castle. This castle was so beautiful. It is the castle that the Disney Sleeping Beauty castle is modeled after. We got to the castle and marveled at the view of it against the mountains. Before our tour, we had time to hike to the Marienbrücke. I tried to cross the bridge, but my fear of heights got the best of me. The pictures I saw had a beautiful view of the castle though. While we were up there, it also started snowing like crazy. So we had a white Easter, which was a big change form the shorts and tank top weather we usually have for Easter in Texas. We toured the two castles and they were so extravagant and gorgeous, but I think the outside is plenty to see. We headed back to the RV for the night to prepare for the drive back home the next day. We spent a lot of the night playing dominoes and chatting and enjoying each other’s company. Monday morning, we drove home and said our goodbyes to Darby’s family. It was so nice to spend Easter with them and I am so thankful for that, however, not being home for Easter intensified the homesickness. Can’t believe there is only one month left. I am ready to be back home but I am not quite ready to leave Bonn.