My Excellent Adventures in Europe

[douglaslam]

It was my first trip to Europe and the UK. I don't feel I am qualified to talk about my experiences because so many of our members are far more better informed than I am on Europe.

My daughter and I flew out on May 31 on a Malaysia Airline flight for Kuala Lumpur. It was a long, long flight. It took 8 hrs. and 45 mins. to get to KUL, then spent time waiting for our connecting flight to London. It was a further 13 hrs and 07 mins in the air for London. Further delay at Heathrow, finally got to Frankfurt on a Lufthansa flight. A total of over 30 hours in the air or in the transit lounges.

That's not all, from Frankfurt Airport, we got on a train for our destination Munich. It was non-stop go, go.



Our A380 Airbus for the first leg of our journey from Sydney to Frankfurt. We were seated on the upper deck. The seats are quite roomy for Asians like myself. However well-appointed or luxurious the Super Jumbo is, it makes little difference to the economy class passengers.



On the train to Munich. Frankfurt Station is linked to the airport. It is weather proof, all enclosed from winter cold winds.The fares cost, from memory, 107 euros each. We had to get off at Mannheim for another train.

I found the countryside very clean and tidy except for the graffiti.

One off-putting thing is the selfishness of the passengers.Rail travel is popular, and passengers all have bulky luggage, and they hogged the vacant seats with their bags or whatever. It is so annoying.



Alighting the train after arrival at Munich Station. We got on a suburban train for a short ride to our hostel.




This is our six person dorm in Munich. We have the bunk beds next to the windows. This hostel / hotel is very big. It costs little under 40 euros / person / night. It is booked and paid for before departure by my daughter.

It is very clean and secure. After check-in, we were issued with clean bed linen. I never thought of checking in star-rated hotels. This would do me very nicely.

I found out on our first night,we shared the dorm with a young Dutch fellow, and a Chinese working in Italy.



It was still bright in late evening. On my first night out, I am checking on the European arm of my business empire.




At Marienplatz, Munich. This is a very well known landmark in Munich. Very impressive and imposing, and very well maintain. Full mark, China can learn from it.





It is European summer, even late in the afternoon / early evening there is still plenty of daylight.

This is what people come to see in Europe, older buildings and cobblestone pavement.




We found Munich best known beer hall, the Hofbrauhaus to dine. It was full of tourists like us. We were waiting for our meal to arrive, but could not resist having a big pretzel from a man going around all the tables. It is a bit salty. This is a selfie.




This is the quintessential German touristy dish we are ordering on our first hit out in Munich. We have the pig's knuckle and white sausages. The white round thing looks and chews like a rubber ball.

The bill comes to 26.7 euros. Because there is a tradition of tipping, so my daughter told me, I get my 20 euro note, and leave the rest for a tip.

We were eating out at the famous Hofbrauhaus after we checked into our hostel.

My daughter's superior sense of direction got us going. We travelled the subway from the rail terminus. There are no barriers at the stations, we pay by our honesty.

[douglaslam]

Tuesday ,June 2, marks our first full day in Munich, we went to the Bavarian town of Fussen to see two well known castles. We left our hostel not long after 6 for the early train to Fussen. We bought our supply of food for the day. Fruit and greens were missing from our diet, so we had mixed fruit salad and salad plus two rolls each with delicious fillings. The bills came to just over 20 euros. The two hour return train ride for two came to 77.4 euro, which was booked in advance.

In less than 10 mins. we were into the open countryside. A striking feature of the Bavarian countryside is that I did not see any brown patches of dry grassland, any waterholes or dams. It was lush and green throughout.

We got to the township of Fussen in about two hours. And caught a short 5 km bus ride to the foothill and buy tickets to see two very famous castles.The castles and the alpine landscape are big tourism draw cards. We arrived early, even then there was already a long queue for tickets.



This is the Bavarian countryside from our train. It is so, so soothing to the eyes.



Wild flowers are in full bloom everywhere you go in this Alpine landscape. Over the hills, it is Austria.



We arrive at the township of Fussen. It is the end of the line, but there is no station to speak of. Instead, there is a crane on site to elect a tower crane for construction. The ever increasing number of tourists demands a complete rebuild of the old station. I have no idea what the old station looked like.



From the station, we caught a short 5km ride on a bus to the foothill of the mountains. Here, we see many horse-drawn carriages taking the tourists to the castles. We choose to walk, we needed the exercise.




This is the Hohenschwangau Castle, the first castle we are going to see. The short-lived King Ludwig ll used the castle as his hunting lodge and summer retreat. No photos were allowed on the conducted tours.



This is the second castle, Schloss Neuschwanstein, also built by King Ludwig ll, but he did not live to enjoy it.

There was a very large number of Asian tourists, Chinese, Japanese and Koreans among them. No one can ignore the importance of Asian tourism. They came by the coach loads. many arrived like us by train.



Looking down from the grounds of the first castle, we get a panoramic view of the surrounds. There is a lake and a car park which stand many coaches taking in tourists by the thousands each day.



Admissions are tightly controlled in designated groups. It costs 21 euros for me, and 23 euros for my daughter to see both attractions. It is not the weekend or school holiday, yet the number of tourists are quite staggering.




We are catching the 1810 train to return to Munich, which leaves us a fair amount of time to explore this small Alpine township of Fussen.



We visited a supermarket and did a bit of shopping for our food supply. This is the cheese shelf. The prices are incredibly low when compared to what we are used to pay for similar kind of cheese back in Sydney even allowing for the declining Australian dollar.

[helen]

Thanks Douglas - Awesome photos - reminds me of out trip last year. The weather looks good.

[douglaslam]

Helen, after my brief visit to Europe, I now have a better understanding why the Europeans love their summer so much. The summer there is quite unlike summer in Asia which is hot and sticky. Our Australian summer is characterised by a very intense sun. I think I'd like to visit Europe again before too long.

I have a little time to upload a few photos. It is all about Munich.



This is Munich Central Station. There are hundreds of bicycles left here by the commuters. Munich, as are most European cities are bicycle friendly. You won't see scenes like this in China now.



We are on a full day bicycle tour of Munich. It is the first of seven such tours by us. This is our ''Superior'' seven hour tour group. David in the centre is from Texas, he brings up the rear to see that everything is OK.

Our guide is American. He stresses cycling is safe. We must ride in single file and observe traffic signals at all time. I am prepared because I brought a hat with me. It costs 36 euros from memory. There were about a dozen of us in the group.



We went to many well-known sites, too many to mention. This was the Chancellery which is now a government office building. It was heavily damaged by Allied bombing. The glass ceiling is a post War rebuild. It symbolises transparent government.



This is the inside of Munich's best known cathedral. It is cool inside and very majestic. This is just one of many such cathedrals and halls with soaring high ceiling I will be seeing as the tour goes on.



This is the Cathedral from the outside. It is undergoing a major renovation.



Front view of the main building of the Nymphenburg Palace. The Palace and Park is very popular with tourists. To either side, it is a long extension of rooms and courtyards. — at Schloss Nymphenburg.



This is a very large, and I mean large garden which is part of the Nymphenburg Park and Palace. Either side of the trees are more wooded open spaces. Don't get lost.

[douglaslam]

On with my time in Munich and bicycle tour of the city. It was an excellent introduction to Germany. The German love their summer months and eating outdoors.



We are at the 1972 Olympics precinct. I remember the 1972 Olympics particularly well not because I am a great fan of the Olympic Games, but also for the tragic hostage-taking and killing of the Israeli athletes by the Black September terrorist group.

The main stadium is only used occasionally like pop concerts. Here, we are at the swimming centre. Unlike the main stadium which is next to it, the swimming centre is in daily use. It is in a similar design to the stadium. The whole Olympic site was built on top of building rubble from Allied bombings in World War Two. The rubble mounds though covered by grass, are very obvious.

Munich was heavily bombed by Allied forces. Over 70% of all buildings were destroyed or damaged. The city planners chose to rebuild from original plans and drawings rather than building anew. The city retained its character and soul. Hole in the wall shops in the town centre were reserved for shops, for affordable rent, which serve traditional German fare rather than multi-national chain stores which churn out nondescript food and drinks.



Only minutes away from the Olympic site is the BMW world. It is a square mile of ultra modern spacious showroom, office tower, a museum and manufacturing plants. We only had time for the showroom, not the museum or anything else.



I wonder why the Minis and Coopers are on display here.



If you can't afford to take home a Rolls-Royce, an BMW, a Mini or even a motorbike, then perhaps an exclusive line of BMW merchandise can be a substitute. I didn't even bother to go in the shop. I had no interest in it whatever.



This is as close as I can get to a Rolls-Royce. Rolls-Royce cars these days are made by BMW. Again, I have little interest in it. I am not a petrol-head. I don't even own a car.



On display is a large range of BMW motorcycles. The whole showroom is glitzy, there is even a webcam which takes your photo and sends it to your email account.



Our tour group takes a meal break at a large beer garden within the English Garden.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Englischer_Garten

It is so called because it was designed by an Englishman. This Wiki article would give a comprehensive description of the garden.

Beer halls and beer gardens are a German institution. We tried the beer hall in the first night. This particular beer garden is one of the two largest in the city. It can accommodate over ten thousand merrymakers in the peak seasons like the Oktoberfest.

I like the beer garden atmosphere because I too enjoy eating out of doors. Germans love eating out in the warm summer sun after their long, cold winter. I can order my meal from the brasserie without knowing one word of German. I simply point and nod , and I'd have my order filled. Prices are reasonable, and there is a large selection of beer to go with the meal.



This is the Chinese Tower. It is a re-creation of the original which was destroyed in a fire during the war. The Tower was built because there was one similar in the Kew Gardens.



There is a river running through the city and into the Garden. On both side of the narrow width of the river, sunbathers are seen on the grass area, soaking up the warmth.

The flow of the river just below a busy bridge is modified to simulate surfing conditions. This is a little bizarre for an Australian to see people static-surfing the river.



These surfers are serious about what they are doing . They queue patiently for their turn to crack the waves. And there are no shortage of onlookers.



This is one of the river beaches. We would appreciate our wide-open, fine sandy beaches more after seeing this.



It was close to the end of our tour when we made a stop at this building. This is the Bavarian Legislature. It was once a school for the intellectual elite. Among its old boys was one Max Planck. Max Planck was a Nobel Physics laureate. He was a pioneer of quantum mechanics.



There is a small windowless kitchen in the basement of the hostel It is here we prepare and eat our meals. We bought the food from a supermarket nearby. I also had a chance to compare grocery prices of the goods on the shelves. There no meat counter similar to what we are used to in Australia. We bought croissants, salads, peaches, kidney beans, baked beans, yogurt, rollmop ( a Norwegian preserved raw fish in a small glass jar.) and others. We are preparing our meals for tomorrow as well. To the right, there is the refrigerator.

Tomorrow, we are going to visit the Dachau Concentration Camp and in the afternoon, we are off to Freiburg by train for the main event, a wedding.




This kitchen is not a place for you if you suffer from claustrophobia. It is small and there are no windows.

[douglaslam]

It is Thursday, June 4, our last day in Munich We are leaving for Freiburg in the afternoon. Before that, there is the Dachau Concentration Camp to see.
Was it morbid fascination or plain curiosity on my part that brought me to such a ghastly monstrosity? I have seen so many documentaries on Nazi atrocities, read books and articles on the evil deeds of Hitler and his henchmen that I had to see for myself this testament of man's inhumanity to his fellow beings. The time we allowed for ourselves was not quite enough. But I did walk away with a better understanding of the magnitude of the crime committed.

It is free admission for all visitors, even the shuttle bus is provided at no cost. If there were charges, then I knew nothing about. Guided tours are full or untimely. We chose to have an audio aid which we carried with us. By pressing an appropriate number, we got a recorded explanation to what we were seeing.

I always longed to see a concentration camp. The worst of them all ( how could one be less evil than another?) Auschwitz is too impractical for me to visit on the current trip.




Arriving at Dachau station. Again, it is a mixed lot of visitors. A bendy ( articulated) bus (or two) are waiting to take us to the site. Doing it on our own, it costs but a few euros each. We even brought our own lunch



This is the gate leading to the Camp. Its official name is Dachau Memorial Site. We all enter through this gate. This gate is an exact replica of the original. The original one was stolen in November 2014. I remember reading the theft and watching it on TV news, then I did not pay much attention to it. I did not think I would be making a visit in less than 12 months.

The German writing says Work Makes You Free. How insulting!




Once through the gate, we are at this big open space, the roll call ground. Roll call was a daily ordeal. The inmates were make to stand for an inordinate length of time in silence under any weather condition and no matter how sick you were. No exceptions, even the dead had to be dragged out.

Punishment or open humiliation was also meted out here.

To the right, is the former maintenance and workshop, which is a long half rectangular shape. It now houses the museum.




There are many monuments dedicated to the victims. This one is close to the main gate.




This is one of the exhibits inside the museum. It is painfully obvious to see what it was used for.




Photos of human guinea pigs used for medical experiments. Young health persons were chosen and thrown into icy water to simulate downed Luftwaffe pilots shot down over the North Sea. The evil doctors would monitor body function and organ breakdowns under extreme cold.

The one on the left was infected with malaria.

[douglaslam]

Another building nicknames The Bunker. It was a jail within a jail. The Bunker is next to the maintenance building. There are many small cells down the the corridor.



A typical cell. Some prisoners were made to stand up or kept in total darkness for days, weeks or months. I did not find such a cell.



The famous words Never Again. Of course we all know better similar things happen under different guises. This is one of many monuments in the Camp grouds.



This is one of the watch towers. Any inmate who got close to the barbed wire fence would be shot. Many inmates did choose to die a quick death that way.



Bunk beds. These are probably reconstructed because in the early post war years, there was a sever housing shortage. The Camp was actually used to house displaced persons





Toilet facilities inside the barracks. Privacy?

[helen]

Thanks for the photos Douglaslam. The scenes would have been eerie and chilling.

[douglaslam]

Helen, we went on a warm, bright, sunny day, and the memorial site was very well maintained. Thus, it dulls the senses of this sinister, menacing and terrifying aspects of what the camp experience must have been for the inmates daily.



The roadway within the Camp's perimeter. It is a nice sunny day with birds chirping, tree branches swaying in the gentle breeze, and a brook flowing freely by. It is the best that nature has to offer. I guess on similar days, the inmates would draw strength and inspiration from nature and fight on to survive.



This is the gurgling brook that runs besides the perimeter road.



This is outside of the Camp confines. What looks like a derelict rail platform, it was probably used for arriving prisoners.



Another view of the crowded accommodation. The Camp had a population of over 40,000, the size of a small town. You can imagine just how crammed conditions were.



This is the barrack from the outside. Only two of them are remaining intact. The others were all demolished with only the foundations showing. It was in 1965 that the Camp was made a permanent memorial



Rows of former barracks with just the foundations visible.



This is Camp Road. The barracks used to stand on each side. Here the prisoners had a brief respite to mingle after the afternoon roll call. At the far end is one of the religious monuments.



This is a Christian monument which can be seen from the Camp Road. There are also others such as the Jewish one.



This innocuous looking building belies its sinister purpose it was built for. It houses the gas chamber and crematorium used for killing.



From memory, I think this was a room where the prisoners were asked to strip off their clothes for a shower. Of course the prison were not taken for a shower. They were here to be killed.



And this is the gas chamber after the prisoners were stripped off supposedly for a shower.



This is an incineration unit.

[lolly]

Douglas,  it was 1973 when we visited Dachau (in our mid 20s).  It is a very sobering and quite depressing experience.  Makes you rethink all you "thought" you may have understood about that horrific period in world history.

As for the wonders of the European landscape,  you can easily see how people want to return time and time again.

Looking forward to now hearing how the wedding wrapped up your newest travel adventure.  You will have lots of wonderful new memories to add to your lifetime experiences!

[douglaslam]

Hi Larraine, it was an eye opener for me and my daughter. We both appreciate the European summer, and we think highly of Germany. We should have included Berlin. Going back to Europe is on our mind. But I don't think my daughter can put up with me because I was so reliant on her for direction, booking accommodation, transport and tours.

On the day of our visit, Dachau was anything but menacing because the fine warm weather, the crowds, and other stuff. I wonder if I could stand the the shock and harsh surrounds of visiting Auschwitz on a cold, bleak winter's day

After Munich, we went to Freiburg for the wedding. It was quite an occasion. Then we set off for Salzburg, Vienna, Paris and London. I also took in Oxford on my own.

I also set off in Jan. 1973. I thought of going to Germany, and work as a guest worker there. I had a workmate who could help me to settle in. But the pull of family and Hong Kong was so strong that I ended up staying there for about three years.

Henry, we managed well on our own. I came back with more than half the euros and pound sterling in cash that I took with me. We did not go on a shopping spree. All online bookings were paid by my daughter on her credit or debit card. I spent nothing on gifts and souvenirs. I travel light. We did not eat out at expensive restaurants, food was bought from supermarkets. We did buy pastries, snacks etc., which were not expensive. We did Europe on the proverbial shoe string budget and missed nothing. Douglas