Bayern Region Travel Guide

Dachau, like Auschwitz or Birkenau, is a sobering and saddening experience beyond compare ... Dachau, I think, was the first concentration camp ... conveniently close to Munchen ... it is smaller than many other camps built later but this is where it started ... as you enter its gates you are frozen with shock and the true import of the holocaust sinks into you ... the 'systematic' nature of the atrocities is what shocks most and Dachau is a prime example... how could humans possibly do this to each other while still being able to live and enjoy otherwise normal lives ... there is a wonderful essay by George Steiner that talks of a concert hall in Munchen where, at the time, people could be sitting and enjoying Mozart while, at the same time, screams of people being put on trains for Dachau could be heard there... something about human nature that can aspire to beauty and life in the thick of misery and death ... and there is Chomsky's argument too that human atrocity is inherent, nothing new in it by way of time or geography, almost every nation across history has inflicted the grossest barbarism on others ... and though the signs at the camp read 'never again' ... globally, things continue, with a variety of atrocities, not just physical or political but also economic and social ...

Munich is a beautiful city, especially if it's spring- or summertime. Then, of course, it's time to visit some of the numerous beer gardens of Munich. I can especially recommend the ones at the Wiener Platz in Haidhausen, which belongs to the Hofbräukeller and the Max-Emanuel beer garden in the Adalbertstreet, very close to the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich. Both of them lie rather central and are easily accesible by public transport. Although they are located amidst of Munich, you will be able to experience a fantastic atmosphere there. They are like recreative oases in the jungle of a large city. Once you are inside the garden, you can enjoy your "Maß" of beer and every Bavarian delicacy you can imagine. Needless to say, that you can meet nice and friendly people there - not only from Bavaria - but also from all over the world to make friends with.

Beside the castle in Nurnberg, you should really visit the Documentation Centre Nazi Party Rally Grounds (Docu Centre). It is built in the former Nazi Congress Hall. There are great exhibitions with materials from the Holocaust gathered from all over the world.