Munchen

When we arrived in the morning, we had a few free hours to eat, nap and explore.

There was a little of all three. First some of us went to the Rathaus-Glockenspiel, the New Town Hall from 1908 in Marienplatz, the center of Munich (Munchen). Every day there are times when the clock goes off and the figures rotates with music playing. Exhausted, we headed back to the hostel and took a nap before going off to our first Munich destination, Muncher Sanitatmuseum. This museum showed the history of the Red Cross, which will soon be the red diamond. We learned about the first paramedics and their tools they used for rescue. Some of these tools included oxygen machines, ECGs, trauma bags, gurneys, and so much more!

(One of the first ECGs...BP cuffs attached to extremities)

Definitely nerded out at that museum! That night, we headed out to get some delicious Thai food followed by a couple drinks at the hostel!

I got a Dunkel (dark) German beer then headed to bed.

The next morning (May 26th) we headed to Deutsches Museum, a 7 floor science and technology museum. We had the most amazing guide there...he was a physics teacher and absolutely hilarious! We saw a model of the titanic and learned that the fourth smokestack wasn't even a functional smokestack...it was for show!

We learned about the King Louis XIV and the garden of Versailles. There were so many fountains and such a lack of water that there had to be people near each fountain that would signal to turn on the water when the king got close and turn it off when he left. This allowed them to have enough water while giving the king has illusion of luxury.

We then went to a demonstration on Tesla coils!

It was such a cool thing to see!!! After that he took us over to the Industrial Revolution section where we learned about the progression of the windmill and steam engine.

It was interesting to see what drove the advancements. We ended the tour in one a replica factory during the industrial revolution...having done my co-op in a factory setting, it was fascinating to see the difference and similarities. After the tour, we had some free time to explore the museum. We started in the oceanography section and got to see some exploration vessels, submarines, and torpedoes.

Then we hit up the nanotechnology section...so cool!!! Walking down into the nanotechnology room, we had no idea how interactive and encompassing it would be. It was absolutely amazing! It covered everything from research to manufacturing, and there was a section on carbon nanotubes.

Having done research with carbon nanotubes as transistors this past year, it was fascinating to see them along with their manufacturing process as we made nanotubes at Platteville was different than the way they did.

Overall, the exhibit had many interactive features such as: touch screen glass displays, booths to sit and listen in multiple languages about the history, and buttons to automate the machines! I definitely could have spent much more time in this exhibit! Next we went in to the mining section...I was told it put the Platteville Mining Museum to shame (not that I've gone yet). We got to walk down into a replica mine and see the ways they've mined over time.

Next we checked out the metals section. I was very familiar with everything in this room...thanks Engineering Materials! Lastly, we checked out the Renewable Energies room where we saw quite a few exhibits on Nuclear Fusion.

That night we had pretzels for dinner...I ended up having more pretzels during my stay than I'd like to admit. The next morning, we woke up earlier than we had been to go to Dachau, the first Concentration Camp. 

There aren't words that can describe the eerie feeling you get when you walk in the gates of Dachau.

Hearing the stories growing up you really don't realize what a large scale everything was on, but everything was put into perspective Friday. The first sight is the open area where roll call was taken at the beginning and end of each day.

We learned what the prison was like and saw some cells.

There were radiators in all of the rooms, but none of them were functional as they were only a part of the propaganda (trying to show good living conditions). The manipulation that occurred via propagation in order to get political support was absolutely disgusting. There were trees everywhere...it seemed almost beautiful, until you remembered why they were there.

All the buildings and trees had been built and planted by the prisoners. We saw some of the barracks that the people lived in and the conditions they endured.

     

(Original foundations of barracks)

     

The hardest part personally was seeing the crematorium.

The guide told us that the prisoners building the second crematorium realized what they were building during the process. They recognized the gas chambers being put in and knew that only meant mass murder. To try and stop these from getting used, they built the structure as slow as they possibly could to try to delay the horror. Seeing humanity shine through, no matter how much the Nazis wanted to dehumanize them, was truly touching.

We walked through the museum where some artifacts were there, such as tools to remove gold teeth, photographs and drawings, and lockers.

It was a moving sight and I would highly recommend it as it's important to not forget the victims and what happened not all too long ago. When we returned to Munich, we did some shopping near Marienplatz.

After shopping, Liz and Adam took the whole group out for a drink at Hofbräuhaus, one of the oldest, most famous beer halls in Munich.

Upstairs is where Hitler and the Nazis had planned the holocaust. Downstairs today though, it was full of energy. There were people yelling and singing, a band playing, and people in traditional German garb. It was great fun! The next day was our free day...we made this one much more relaxing than Amsterdam's. We walked to the open market and enjoyed the diversity of each stand. I bought some dried mangos!!!!! We grabbed lunch at an authentic German cafe. I had the brat with curry and a pretzel...so delicious!

We took a stroll through some beautiful areas of town after lunch. From there we made our way through part of the English Gardens...so beautiful!

I wish we had parks like that in Platteville, WOW! Walking through the park, we saw some surfers...yes surfers in a river in the center of Munich. After that we headed back to do some shopping and grab some coffee. I had an Americano from Aran: Brotgenuss & Kaffeekult...not as great as I hoped it would be (Badger Brothers for the win), BUT the rhubarb cake was delicious. 

On our way back to the hostel, we stopped to watch the Glockenspiel. 

We all grabbed some drinks at the hostel bar and relaxed for the night. The next morning we returned to the science and tech museum! Our first stop was pharmaceuticals.

One of the first inhalers...how would you like that Robert?

After, we got some free time to wander around the museum...I checked out the Physics room first!

After wandering through Physics, we went upstairs to the Planetarium to watch a space video and then wandering through the Astronomy section.

Photo of female assistants...AKA scientists who didn't get the credit.

After the museum, we all headed out to a burger joint recommended by the hostel...it was SOOOO good!

The next morning, we all headed to the BMW factory!

     

Pictures were not allowed within the factory, but let me tell ya, there were some impressive assembly lines and control systems going on! He said there were about 800 robots and 1 person was in charge of 2 robots. The whole system was amazing...I wouldn't mind having a job there! :P Afterwards, we hiked up to the Olympic Stadium. We saw a nearby hill and decided to climb it for a better view!!

That night, before heading to the observatory, we got some traditional German food.  I knew I travelled for a reason...that reason is food! For dessert I had a piece of rhubarb cake!

The weather was gloomy that night, which didn't allow for any visibility with the telescopes. We did get to sit through another planetarium showing though! The view of the night sky was breathtaking...definitely want my own planetarium now. That can totally fit in a tiny house, right? Each of the workers at the observatory were a riot! They all had their quirks and unique senses of humor. The last guy in particular livened up the group by singing as we walked between telescopes!

On our last day in Munich, we went to the Max-Planck Physics Institue. My inner nerd definitely showed here! We learned a lot about the ATLAS project at CERN and some of the less known projects as well. I talked to the guy in charge of our tour and he gave me some insight on how to get a tour of CERN...hopefully that can happen on my journey through the area in July!

For dinner, we all went to the little Italian bistro on the corner. The food and company were amazing.

The next morning was particularly rough. Everyone met down in the lobby at 7:15 and was packed and ready to go. Once I found a place to store my luggage, I walked everyone to the train station. After many hugs and tears, they were on the way and I officially started my solo journey!