June 23rd, Tuesday
After leaving the Falls of the Rhine we crossed over into Germany and made a stop in Lindau, just off of Lake Constance. Here was the origin of the Rhine River.
Our bus proceeded on through the Black Forest to Munich, Germany.
Terry asked Ernst to drive the bus past the Olympic Village (German: Olympisches Dorf) which was constructed for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich and was used to house the athletes during the games. This was also where the Munich massacre took place.
We checked n at the Hotel Tourotel and our guys (Mike and Steve) helped unload luggage the bus (strictly a volunteer job). The site seemed to be a hub of activity with a busy restaurant and shop on the lower level, but we were provided with adequate lodging.
Our hotel was near the Ringstrasse which made it easy for the college group to take the subway into Munich to the Hofbrauhaus. The Hofbrauhaus in Munich was one of the beer halls used by the Nazi Party to declare policies and hold functions. On February 24, 1920, Adolph Hitler proclaimed the twenty-five theses of the National Socialist program at the Hofbrauhaus, which reconstituted the German Workers' Party as the National Socialist German Workers' Party, known as the Nazi Party. Some of the first violent attacks on Jews took place at the Hofbrauhaus.
Our guidebook stated that Hitler and his cohorts were at the Hofbrauhaus just before they attempted the infamous Beer Hall Putsch in 1923.
Historic photo to the right: Hitler and the "Old Fighters" meet in the Hofbrauhaus on 24 February 1929 to mark the anniversary of a famous speech he made there.
A German band was playing familiar German music while we were there (sound is on the tape).
After one beer (the mugs were big) we stepped out into the night air and headed for the nearby Marienplatz.
It was late at night, but the City Hall was lit up. At the square here we took the subway back to our hotel. Very convenient transportation.
June 24th, Wednesday
In the morning Ernst drove us to meet our required local walking city tour guide. When our walking tour began we managed to be at Marienplatz around 11 am just as the famous Glockenspiel began its routine. Mechanical knights and their squires jousted to the music. The music came out nicely on the videotape.
From the square we could see the twin onion dome towers of Frauenkirche Cathedral, Munich’s most distinctive landmark.
Annette and Fred did a little exploring on their own when they came across a screaming group of young people shouting “Michael, Michael...” We enquired and found they were trying to get Michael Jackson to come to his hotel window. A little later we saw Michael Jackson as he was leaving the hotel amidst his crew of bodyguards. The crowd swarmed around the vehicle. That night we discovered that Jackson was in Munich for a well publicized concert.
In the afternoon our college group took in the tour to Dachau. Dachau concentration camp (German:
Konzentrationslager Dachau or KZ Dachau) was the first Nazi concentration camp (1933) opened in Germany, located on the grounds of an abandoned munitions factory near the medieval town of Dachau. The gate sign says: “Work Will Make You Free.” We saw many photo exhibits in the information center; then wet toured the sites and memorials.
1933 photo of Dachau on right. Between the years 1933 and 1945 more than 3.5 million Germans would be forced to spend time in these concentration camps or prison for political reasons, and approximately 77,000 Germans were killed for one or another form of resistance by Special Courts, courts martial, and the civil justice system. Many of these Germans had served in government, the military, or in civil positions, which enabled them to engage in subversion and conspiracy against the Nazis.
A prisoner who has been subjected to low pressure experimentation. For the benefit of the Luftwaffe, air pressure was created comparable to that found at 15,000 meters in altitude, in an effort to determine how high German pilots could fly and survive.
Crematorium at Dachau. Actually Dachau was a work camp. Prisoners who were to be gassed were sent to extermination camps elsewhere.
Death Train at Dachau in 1945. At the time of liberation the death rate had peaked at 200 per day The cause of these deaths was, besides the murderous SS policies, typhus epidemics and starvation which claimed thousands of lives.
Survivors welcome liberators
Survivors treated in medical center
After our somber visit we returned to our hotel in Munich.
June 25th, Thursday
Our tour today would be of the Eagles Nest of Hitler. As we drove through the Bohemian countryside, we noted that on the farms the barns were attached to the living quarters. To reach the Eagle’s Nest we had to change buses to handle the treacherous turns. When the bus parked we had to walk through a tunnel (right) to reach an elevator.
The tunnel was 136 yards long going deep into the mountain.
The so-called “Eagle’s Nest” was built as teahouse for Adolf Hitler’s 50th birthday. Perched on a mountain summit, its unusual position makes of the daring project a unique engineering feat.
It was used by Hitler as a house to show off to guests or visiting dignitaries, but he visited it probably only 20 times. The elevator that transports people to the Nest has highly polished brass sides and Venetian mirrors that was designed to soothe Hitler who suffered from claustrophobia.
Eva Braun , Hitler’s mistress, visited the retreat. Here on the right, she is seated by a marble fireplace that had been Hitler as a gift from Benito Mussolini. Today there is a restaurant here and tourist can sit around the fireplace.
We left Berchtesgaden for a short trip to Salzburg. If you look at Salzburg on the map and trace the red line downward, the line will run into Berchtesgaden. Oddly enough, we drove north to reach Austria,
After clearing customs at the border we arrived at the charming city of Salzburg. Our bus parked on the south side of the river so we crossed over a narrow bridge to the historic city. We walked down Getreidegass, one of Salzburg’s most popular shopping streets, and admired the wrought iron signs on the businesses.
Our required local guide started us off at the Austrian Baroque styled University Church which had been constructed along side the University. The church was begun in 1687 and consecrated in 1707.
From there we proceeded to the Residenzplatz and to what is considered the most beautiful Baroque fountain this side of the Alps -- the Residenzbrunnen.
Commissioned in 1660, it is likely the artist was influenced by Bernini’s Triton fountain in Rome.
Three squares surround the beautiful Cathedral of Salzburg (1628), The exterior of the church is decorated with statues of saints.
When our guide asked if we would be interested in a tour inside, we gave a resounding yes. I videotaped the ceiling, altar, balconies, various ornate decorations ...
... and one of the most famous organs in Europe with 120 stops and ten thousand pipes. Some say Mozart played this organ, but that has not been established. The rich sound of the organ came out very well on the video tape,
As we were about to leave the Cathedral, I videotaped the baptismal font, a 1321 bronze basin with bishops and abbots in the relief supported by lions which form the base. Our guide said that Mozart was baptized here.
Construction of the fortress began in 1077. The Investiture Controversy influenced the expansion of the castle, with the Salzburg Archbishops taking the side of Pope VIII. The only time that the fortress came under siege was in 1525, when a group of miners, farmers and townspeople tried to oust the Prince Archbishop but failed to take the castle. The fort was surrendered without a fight during the Napoleonic Wars. Castle may also be seen in photo (background).
Our Sound of Music fans probably enjoyed the picturesque Petersfriedhof, the oldest cemetery in the city. This is where a portion of the Sound of Music movie was filmed.
Our guide was eager to keep moving so she wanted to by-passe Franziskanerkirche, a Franciscan church.
Ernst, Terry and Fred left the group and went into the building to see the high altar. You can hear the organ music on the videotape.
We caught up with the rest of the group at the birth place of Mozart, number 9 Getreidegass.
Mozart has his square in Mozartplatz and here homage was made to him with a statue in 1842.
Everyone managed to find the footbridge over the Salzach River to get back to our bus. Then Ernst drove us back to Munich.
June 26th, Friday
Our wonderful visit of Germany was about to end. Ernst drove us trough the beautiful countryside en route to the Austrian border. When we reached Innsbruck (“the gem of the Austrian Tyrol”), He parked the bus across from the Court Palace. At the end of the 15th century, as Emperor Maximillian I held court in Innsbruck, the Imperial Palace had already had today's dimensions. Empress Maria Theresa renovated the existing palace and gave it its monumental baroque style. Behind the Court Palace one can see the Tyrollean Alps. That’s the Leopold Habsburg perched on a horse in front of the palace.
Before eating lunch we were caught up with the beauty of the Heibling House, originally a Gothic residence built in the 15th century. The facade was redecorated with late Gothic stucco work in 1730.
Across from the Heibling House was the Golden Roof,a late Gothic bay window with 2,657 gilded copper tile. Built to serve as a court box during the reign of Maximillian I (1494-96). Here the Habsburg ruler looked down on his knights and spurred them on in their tournaments. Those who remember European history may recall the line from him and Ferdinand/Isabella Spanish line to eventually produce Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor at the time of Luther.
It was a short walk to St. Jacob's (James’s) Cathedral, a Baroque cathedral built between 1717 and 1724 to replace an older church. Then back on the bus and onward toward the Austrian/Italian border.
GO ON TO 1992 FRED’S DMLC TOUR PART IV ITALY & GREECE
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