Adventures with Karissa and Stacy

Stacy Anderson and Karissa Vieth came to stay with us from October 27^th to November 3^rd.  We had quite an adventurous week while the girls were here. We spent a day exploring Wiesbaden, a whirlwind day in Paris, an evening at Heidelberg Castle, a sobering day at Dachau, and a partial day in Munich. 

Hanging out with Stacy and Karissa in Paris

Paris

On our day trip to Paris we spent time exploring the Notre Dame Cathedral; took a stroll along the Seine River; enjoyed a lunch of French Onion soup, coffee, and crepes; and spent time shopping under the Louvre. While visiting the infamous Eiffel Tower we were soaked by a random rain shower. Following the rain a beautiful double rainbow appeared behind the Eiffel Tower. 
 

French Onion Soup

In Front of Notre Dame Cathedral

Double Rainbow behind the Eiffel Tower

Eiffel Tower and Rainbow

 Heidelberg Castle

Heidelberg Castle is a famous castle ruin and landmark. The earliest castle structure was built before 1214 AD and later expanded into two castles around 1294. One a Gothic masterpiece the castle has encountered turbulent times: It was plundered and burned by the French army in 1689, struck by lightning over 100 years later, and its red stones were used to build new houses.  The Castle of Heidelberg was never restored to its original glory, but the ruins have a ragged charm of their own. 

Remains of the Ludwig wing, completed in 1524

Heidelberg Castle Courtyard

 

Ironically enough our castle tour guide was French.  During the tour our guide pointed out the different architectural styles created over centuries after the castle was destroyed and partially rebuilt multiple times. According to our French guide Mark Twain once visited Heidelberg Castle inspiring him to write a chapter of Huckleberry Finn. The last stop of our castle visit was the wine cellar which houses the largest barrel in the world, holding 55,345 gallons of wine. 

Worlds Largest Wine Barrel

Castle Courtyard with the Otto-Heinrich building on the Left

Heidelberg Castle

Dachau Concentration Camp

The "Jourhouse" or Main Entrance to Dachau

In March of 1933, just a few weeks after Adolf Hitler had been appointed Reich Chancellor, a concentration camp for political prisoners was set up in Dachau. The camp served as a prototype and model for the other Nazi concentration camps that followed. Over the 12 years of use as a concentration camp, Dachau administration recorded the intake of 206,206 prisoners and deaths of 31,951. The camp was divided into two sections: the camp area and the crematorium. The camp area consisted of 32 barracks, including one for clergy imprisoned for opposing the Nazi regime and one reserved for medical experiments. An electrified barbed-wire gate, a ditch, and a wall with seven guard towers surrounded Dachau. 

 25,613 prisoners are believed to have died in the camp primarily from disease, malnutrition, and suicide. The crematorium was erected in 1942 to dispose of the deceased. In early 1945, a typhus epidemic in the camp caused by poor sanitation and overcrowding, followed by an evacuation, in which large numbers of the prisoners died. 

Guard Tower and Barbwire Fence

  

In April of 1945 American troops liberated survivors. In the postwar years the camp help SS soldiers awaiting trail. After 1948 the camp help ethnic Germans who had been expelled from Eastern Europe and were waiting for resettlement. Dachau was also used as a US military base during the occupation and was finally closed for use in 1960. 

Dachau Memorial

The Memorial Site on the grounds of the former concentration camp was established in 1965.  Today as visitors walk through the camp they follow the path the new arrivals took when they first arrived at Dachau. Two of the barracks have been rebuilt and one shows a cross-section of the entire history of the camp. The original barracks were torn down due to their poor conditions these 32 barracks are now indicated by concrete foundations. Visitors are taken on a journey through the buildings and are allowed to view the ovens used to cremate bodies hiding the evidence of many deaths. The memorial includes four chapels for the various religions represented among the prisoners. On a cold and cloudy Friday, November 1^st we spent the day at Dachau Concentration Camp learning first hand what life was like for those imprisoned there. This was a very real and sobering experience for all of us. 

A barracks where as many as 2,000 prisoners slept

Dachau crematorium ovens

The Gate the Prisoners Entered "Work will make you free"

 

 

Prison road marked ares where the barracks stood on either side

Munich

On Saturday, November 2^nd we spent part of the day exploring the city of Munich. The city was first mentioned in 1158 and was the host of the 1972 Summer Olympics. Munich is one of the economically most successful and fastest growing cities in Germany.  During our time in Munich we explored the New Town Hall, St. Peter’s Church, and Frauenkirch. 

New Town Hall

The New Town Hall was built between 1867 and 1908. The building hosts the city government including the city council and offices of the mayors.

Inside St. Peter's Church

 St. Peter’s Church was built in 1468 and consecrated in 1494. The parish church of Saint Peter is the oldest recorded parish church in Munich and presumably the originating point for the whole city.

"Devil's Footprint" Inside Frauenkirch

The Frauenkirch was constructed from red brick in the late Gothic style. The cathedral can hold approximately 20,000 people and is among the largest hall churches in southern Germany. From the main portal the view seems to be only the rows of columns with no windows and translucent "walls" between the vaults through which the light seems to shine. The spatial effect of the church is connected with a legend about a footprint in a square tile at the entrance to the nave, the so-called "devil's footstep". According to legend, the devil made a deal with the builder to finance construction of the church on the condition that it contains no windows. The clever builder, however, tricked the devil by positioning columns so that the windows were not visible from the spot where the devil stood in the foyer. When the devil discovered that he had been tricked, he could not enter the already consecrated church. The devil could only stand in the foyer and stomp his foot furiously, which left the dark footprint that remains visible in the church's entrance today.

Munich's Marienplatz and Central Square