As all good things must do, this twelve-day trip to Germany & Austria must come to an end. It was back to the Munich area for the big 50th anniversary of Klaus Volk cuing and an alternative trip to Dachau concentration camp. What an experience! Then on to Salzburg, Austria the next day. Then we headed home.
September 26 – Michaeli-Markt Grassau, Klaus Volk’s 50th Anniversary Dance & Dachau
What a full day we had on this Saturday.
Michaeli-Markt Grassau
In the morning we drove over to Grassau, the village we stayed in three years ago for a village market experience. Of course, Lin rekindled his love for the ice cream shop, but this time we had coffee to warm us up.
We revisited the beautiful church, Mariä Himmelfahrt (Parish Church of the Assumption of Mary) and lit a candle. Then we returned to our hotel and dressed for the day we had ahead of us. Also, we enjoyed a concert by a local group playing beautiful Bavarian music.
Dachau Concentration Camp
Because of road construction, we had to choose an alternate route which made us fifteen minutes late for Dachau. We had two and one half hours there—we read a legend that suggested you needed six hours there, so we had to rush.
First, we headed towards the back part of the gigantic camp. We had planned to go to the crematorium, but thank God, we missed it. Later, we found out that it was down a road to the left, outside the camp. We both passed that road and maybe subconsciously chose not to witness that horrendous place.
Instead, we saw the three religious memorials: the Protestant, the Catholic and the Jewish. As we walked by the Catholic memorial, a priest was celebrating Mass and many people attended. When we got to the Jewish memorial, we walked down into it and it felt so somber!
When we left it, we both noted that many of the attendees were younger people. In fact, we talked to a couple from California and complimented them on being there. Lin added, “Thank you for being here. You have to keep this memory alive because many in my generation deny it ever happened.”
From there we walked down a wide lane, An Anglican priest had people gathered around him doing a service too. This wide lane had the thirty-three barracks on each side, but none of them are standing today. We did go into a replica that showed how crowded they were in bunks and how dire the bathroom accommodations were—no privacy at all.
Then we went into the main building that now houses exhibits. It would have taken hours to go through it. We did see a map that showed the web of all the concentration camps the Nazis had over eastern Europe and it was mind blowing! There were 100s.
Lin and I bought two books about Dachau. I also bought a miniature book of Psalms in English and Hebrew—how appropriate!
There was much discussion about whether to go to Dachau or not. I knew I had to! Mom and I visited Auschwitz in 1999, and that left a lasting impression on me. I taught Anne Frank’s story in my language arts classes for many years. I knew this story, but seeing it first-hand touched me deeply.
Klaus Volk’s 50th Anniversary Dance
After our trip to Dachau, when we got to the place for Klaus’ dance, Rosie, John, Lin and I decided to go on an adventure for dinner. We walked over a mile away and had Persian food. Luckily, there was an ice cream parlor across the street.
Then we went back for Klaus’ dance. By that time, my leg hurt and none of us wanted to dance, but we enjoyed the festivities. Klaus and his wife danced a demonstration dance to “Hallejuah” that was great.
The square dancers enjoyed the dancing. Then Stephanie, Klaus’ daughter, had a surprise for his 50th anniversary. She had several people dress up in dinosaur costumes and they danced. It was obvious how much this dance community loves Klaus!
It was a late night home on the bus but what a rewarding day it was!
September 27 – Salzburg, Austria
Thankfully, we got to sleep in. Then we drove to Salzburg, Austria. Our tour guide, Ingrid, led us on our walking tour. There’s a lot of construction going on in Salzburg, so it looked so different to Lin and me.
First we went to the Mirabell Garden and Palace where they filmed some of the “Sound of Music.” What a highlight that always is!
Then Ingrid took a group up to the funicular to ride up to the fortress above Salzburg. We did that last time and decided not to. Then she led us and another group back to the Salzburg Cathedral for an amazing organ concert. What a meditative experience it was!
Then we wandered around Salzburg, ate lunch and shopped. I ran out of steam after walking through the St. Peter’s cemetery and the city. Rosie, John and I grabbed a seat on the steps across from St. Peter’s church near where the Mozart dinner would be. One of my favorite memories from three years ago was the bells across the city ringing at a certain time. They did it again—at St. Peter’s church right across from us! It was amazing and I recorded it again, but it’s too long to put here.
Lin went off and walked another 94 steps to see something.
When he returned, we went inside the St. Peter’s Church and listened to Mass in German. It was beautiful.
We ended the evening with dinner and a Mozart concert inside a monastery, St. Peter’s Abbey. We enjoyed songs from two of Mozart’s operas. The crowd laughed at the humor and sat spellbound at the beautiful voices and music. What a magical night!
However, it was another late night!
September 28 – Packing & Last Dance
Needless to say, we slept in. We packed and enjoyed the last dance of the trip. Yes, we did get to dance. We had to have our bags to the lobby by 4:00 PM. That was a trick for sure.
That evening we had our “Auf Wiedersehen” banquet where everyone had the opportunity to share their favorite memory of the trip. I loved hearing everyone’s ideas.
We tried to get to bed early because we had to get up early to drive to Munich, but we didn’t.
September 29 – Flight from Munich to Madrid then Panama City
It was up at 4:00 AM and a full breakfast. Then we left at 5:00 AM. When we got to the airport, our bags weren’t on our bus, so we had to go to a different terminal to get them. Then Curtis and Trevor walked us over to our terminal—I had trouble keeping up with those two.
At the Air Europa counter, the agent told us that our upgrade didn’t work on the Madrid to Panama City leg of the trip, but we would get a refund.
So, we were late leaving Munich which made us arrive late in Madrid. Then the passport verification machines weren’t working. Lin figured them out and rushed through before the gate closed. I tried to do the same, but I got caught half-way through, so I forced my way through. A Spanish Border Patrolman got angry, waving his finger at me and asking in Spanish why I forced my way through. I told him in Spanish because his machines weren’t working. Reluctantly he waved me on.
Then it was a race to our gate with Lin ahead of me, waving his red hat so I could see him, but we made it. And yes, we were cramped for the ten-hour flight. It was grueling and exhausting.
I’ve tried to get the refund from Air Europa, but their response has been ridiculous so we lost our money.
Our trusty Uber driver, Joel, met us at the airport and took us to the hotel. We slept well that night, but another early morning.
September 30 – Flight from Panama City to David
We got up early again to catch the 7:55 AM flight from Panama City to David. Everything worked out and our ride to Boquete met us at the David airport and took us home. We received a warm welcome from our neighbors after our 49 day adventure! I suffered from the jet lag more this trip than before, so it took several days to get over our flight!
Finally,
I hope you’ve enjoyed my travelogue of our trip this month of October. From Dachau to celebrating a beloved German cuer to lovely Salzburg, I leave you with a mixed flavor of Germany.
Some bad news we received yesterday: Hitler’s Eagles Nest—we just visited it—has burned down.
https://www.newsweek.com/adolf-hitler-eagles-nest-retreat-fire-today-destroyed-who-police-arrest-12614012
What a heartbreaking story!
🇩🇪 As our German adventure came to an end, Lin and I returned home with wonderful memories of castles, Alpine views, Oktoberfest, square dancing, and friendships renewed. Every journey reminds me that life is measured not just in time, but in the moments we treasure.
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