Rothenburg, GermanyThe Sports Chief Photography/Garett — Rothenburg, Germany
The Sports Chief Photography/Garett

We woke up in our hotel in Munich on Thursday ready to go. Coming off a day where we didn’t get to see many new things because of driving from Italy, we were anxious to make the most of our last two days in Germany before heading back to the U.S. As soon as our morning alarm went off at 7 a.m., we hurried downstairs to continue our morning routine of filling up with continental breakfast from the hotel. I would consider the breakfast that this hotel offered the best yet. Not only did they have everything, but it was all very good. Perfect before hitting the road once again.

Before we drove too far out of Munich, we all wanted to stop in Dachau for a brief visit. A town on the outskirts of Munich, Dachau was the site of the Dachau concentration camp during the 1930s and 40s. We didn’t want to stay too long, but we wanted to at least pay a visit since we were so close and it has an abundance of history.

Dachau Concentration CampThe Sports Chief Photography/Garett — Dachau Concentration Camp
The Sports Chief Photography/Garett

We parked the car on the side of the street, just outside its perimeters. Then we entered into a huge open area surrounded by a stone wall and electric fence, with several buildings scattered around. Unlike everywhere else we had been on this trip, it was dead quiet there. We walked into one of the buildings that held nothing but barracks, toilets, and sinks. This was one example of the many buildings that housed the thousands of people who had been forced into the concentration camp. According to the signs, up to three people were cramped together into one bed and there were way too few toilets/sinks for everyone. We also visited a few memorials inside the camp perimeters before going to the most eerie sight there: the crematory. It still had the brick furnaces set up where they shoveled corpses in to cremate. The same building also housed the gas chamber room. It was disguised to look like a regular shower room to make the prisoners think they would be getting showers, before turning on the poison gas. However, apparently these gas chambers were never used to kill anyone like they were at other concentration camps. But at the Dachau concentration camp alone, more than 30,000 people were killed.

The Crematory at Dachau Concentration CampThe Sports Chief Photography/Garett — The Crematory at Dachau Concentration Camp
The Sports Chief Photography/Garett

It’s difficult to describe the feeling of being there and walking on the same ground that so many people were killed on. It wasn’t creepy or anything, but instead gave off a very somber and sorrowful feeling. As a history guy, I appreciated the historical element of the place. But at the same time, I just wanted to leave. It’s one thing reading about concentration camps in books at school, but another thing actually being there. It helps bring history alive, but in this case the history it brought alive was so horrible. However, for this reason, I think it’s a good thing the place is still standing. We cannot learn from past mistakes if we are not aware of our history in the first place. It’s the same reason why all German schoolkids are required to visit on a field trip (which I learned before the trip).

After Dachau it was time to do some driving. This time we were headed about 2 ½ hours away to a small town called Rothenburg, Germany. Even though it was farther than we wanted to drive, there was no question as to whether or not we were going. Ever since seeing it on Rick Steves’ European travel videos and hearing such good things about it, we were 100% set on going. What made Rothenburg so intriguing to all of us was the fact it is a medieval town. Unlike so much of Germany which had been destroyed in World War II, Rothenburg stood untouched. It was founded in the 13th century, so the architecture all over the city reflected that. Needless to say, it was just as awesome as we were expecting it to be.

When we first arrived, as eager as we were to begin exploring the medieval town, we first needed to find some lunch. So, we just began walking until we found something. It didn’t take long until we walked up to a small café, similar to a coffee shop in America, but with more food options. The place seemed like it would be a perfect spot for lunch, where we could get something quick for a relatively good price. We sat down and all ordered a pizza. When the waiter (who was extremely helpful to us tourists) saw us looking over the beer menu, he asked if he could make a recommendation. Of course we said yes, to which he recommended the locally brewed Landwehr-Brau Kellerbier. So, on cue we all ordered that to go along with the pizza.

The pizza was really good, and I’m not much of a pizza guy to begin with. But it was the beer that left us all impressed. We all loved it. Without a doubt it is one of the best beers I’ve ever had. The style was in between a Helles and a dark beer, and was very smooth. It was even cooler that it was brewed just a couple miles away from where we drank it. Then, we began exploring.

The Wall at Rothenburg, GermanyThe Sports Chief Photography/Garett — The Wall at Rothenburg, Germany
The Sports Chief Photography/Garett

Rothenburg is a very small town, one that is easily walkable, so that’s exactly what we did. Once we parked our car upon arrival, we didn’t get back in it until we left the town that night. The first thing we did on our exploration was to climb the steps to the wall. The wall in Rothenburg is famous for tourists because it was built as a fortress for the town back in its medieval days. But the really cool thing about the wall, and what makes it such a hit for tourists, is the fact you can walk around the entire town inside of the wall. One side of it is closed in with little window-like openings to view any approaching enemies, while the other side is wide open to take in the views of the town. We didn’t walk the entire length of the wall, but I would say we walked the vast majority of it. It was definitely one of the cool experiences of our entire trip. One note, however, is that the wall would be difficult to walk for people much taller than 6 feet. The ceiling in many places is very low. I guess people back in those days were mostly shorter than the average height of people in today’s times.

Our main goal in Rothenburg was to explore, take in the medieval sights, and take plenty of pictures. It was very easy to accomplish that. Like Venice (but not quite on the same scale), every angle you turned gave you a good opportunity to take a photo. Our other goal of Rothenburg was to go inside its many shops they are famous for and buy some cool things to take home. Like our first goal, this was very easy to accomplish as well.

It was in Rothenburg we bought our beer steins that we had planned to purchase, and other neat things such as glasses/mugs, paintings, and Christmas decorations. There were several Christmas shops scattered throughout the town. We didn’t know this before the trip, but Germany is where the ‘decorating Christmas trees’ tradition began. Germans have a rich tradition of celebrating Christmas and the town of Rothenburg (aside from having multiple shops fully dedicated to Christmas year-round) is transformed into a Christmas winter-fairytale every December (according to its website).

Since I was in a town famous for its Christmas tradition, I felt obliged to buy a few things to take back home. A small, tree-hanging ornament of a German Santa Claus was the first thing I bought. The other, and the one I was most excited about, was a nutcracker. I learned the nutcracker originated in Germany and is a very famous Christmas tradition there. The one I bought is a fully-functioning nutcracker, although it is too small to use. It’s only intended for decoration. I really wanted a bigger one, but those would’ve costed me anywhere from 50-100 Euros. A nutcracker was something I didn’t even know I wanted until I got there and all of a sudden I had to have one. The traditional aspect of it just reeled me in.

A Cellar in Rothenburg, GermanyThe Sports Chief Photography/Garett — A Cellar in Rothenburg, Germany
The Sports Chief Photography/Garett

The night was beginning to fall and we still needed to get to our car, drive the 2 ½ hours back to Munich, and find supper. On our way back to the hotel while we were re-fueling the gas tank, we decided to just eat there. Inside the gas station, there was a McDonald’s and a deli. I had a sandwich from the deli, which was delicious after a long day of driving and exploring. It was nice getting back to the hotel and not having to worry about dinner.

It had been a complete day. We started early and ended late, but we did everything we had set out to do that day. We took our showers, settled in for the night, and tried our best to get a good night’s sleep before our last day on the trip. It would totally be spent in Munich, just a 20-minute subway ride away, and will be covered in my Day 7 blog.

Barracks at Dachau Concentration CampThe Sports Chief Photography/Garett — Barracks at Dachau Concentration Camp
The Sports Chief Photography/Garett

Furnaces at Dachau Concentration CampThe Sports Chief Photography/Garett — Furnaces at Dachau Concentration Camp
The Sports Chief Photography/Garett

Garett

Travel Blog: European Trip (Day 6)