Days 37 and 38 - Outer Munich and Dachau

 On Thursday, Achim (an acquaintance of Giles and Linda from motor homing in Sicily, and who lives in Munich) decided to take us in his car on a tour of lesser known Munich sites.

Now, Achim is not the type of person you usually meet. He has irrepressible energy and boundless enthusiasm, and is a retired German Army Colonel who used to command a force of Leopard tanks - however this has not transferred to his car driving skills - they were......less than adequate, but we survived. He saw service in Kosovo and Afghanistan, and had the "honour" of escorting the last Russian soldier out of Germany. Quite a character.

He took us to the Royal Palace of  Schloss Nymphenberg, built in the late 1600's, and which is larger than Buckingham Palace. Unfortunately you can only see the grounds, but they were impressive:





It is very easy to get out of Munich into the countryside, and you are rewarded with views towards the distant Alps:




After a late lunch in a Bier Garden (as opposed to a cellar), and a treasure hunt for ice cream, it was back to the camp site for some proper tea - yes, I do drink it, and so does Achim.

On Friday we had a booked trip to Dachau, a concentration camp on the outskirts of Munich, under the guidance of a great story teller from Roscommon, called Keith. This was different to the visit to Auschwitz in Poland. Here they are very eager to treat Dachau as a cemetery, and not a concentration camp. The story told was no less horrific than that at Auschwitz, just perhaps a bit more sanitised and not as full on. Both leave you appalled, but Auschwitz also leaves you with immense sadness. Think of Dachau as the book, and Auschwitz as the X-rated movie. Both are recommended.

Lunch was again Bavarian, with a selection of simply delicious BBQed wursts, sauerkraut, and rosemary infused roast potatoes, washed down with an ice cold Bavarian Hell (Pils) or two. Lovely!

Munich is a fantastic city to visit, and our time here so far has been really enjoyable. 



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