No. of Recommendations: 2
The emotions which are elicited during the walk through the massive museum attached to the site can be almost overwhelming. Those who doubt if the Holocaust took place should reassess their opinion after touring this place. The history of Germany between the two world wars makes one ponder the twists and turns of human nature and while history does not repeat itself, makes one try not to find too many rhymes in our times.
I went to Dachau when I was 12. A bit too traumatic for that age, IMO, but never left my memory in the 50 years since. This had followed visiting my uncle's grave in the endless white crosses in Normandy, and a burning hatred started to form for the Germans. The third stop was a German cemetery, (Dad was a history buff,) where that hatred was replaced with a different emotion, as I stood in front of the headstone of a 12 year old boy who had been killed fighting the war in the Nazi army. No one actually wins a war, and the sacrifices made are much too much. The other life long impact was a complete hatred for beer, after visiting a brewery to tour the production operation. The smell made me so sick to my stomach, which is triggered every time I smell a beer. I would sooner die of thirst than drink one, and can't even handle it on DH's breath, so he wisely has learned to choose other beverages as well.
We traveled all over Europe that year, via a 17' van camper. While Germany was clean and organized, it was not my favorite country. Loved Norway, what was then Yugoslavia, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece. Newspaper wrapped fish and chips in England were absolutely killer, but why put mint in peas? Disgusting! Spent a month in Malaga Spain living with a local family and attending intensive language lessons to prep Mom for her Summer studies towards her Masters in Spanish in Madrid, two months in France at a summer camp, my 16 year old brother and I flying there from the USA on our own, while Mom worked on her second Masters degree in Paris. A little too much togetherness and way too many museums, but a great way to start my foreign language education and learn to try everything and anything. I confess to this day I am more about experiencing local life in my travels than museum hopping. Am very picky about what churches I go into, as DH discovered this Summer in Montreal. I found that the interactions with the locals were what stuck in my memory most from that year, not the tourist spots, and I lean more towards sitting at a curb-side cafe table sipping a glass of something to people watch, or simply taking off on foot to explore.
I really look forward to continuing the travel adventure with DH, assuming the sale of our house goes through as contracted, allowing us to become Global Citizens. A bit more complicated by his need for meds, but we will start with recurring returns to the US to restock, until we can figure out how to obtain meds overseas. Where there is a will, there is a way!
IP
