Bavarian Skies and Nazis

So we’re back. Munich was delightful as usual. I do like that city. Its not Berlin, but its nice enough. We also went to the Dachau concentration camp. Yep, in one day I spent 11 hours in the car and 4 hours at a concentration camp. Fun day.

The drive to Munich was beautiful, so I’m told. I have about a 20 minutes in a car before I fall asleep. It’s a bit longer if I’m driving. Markus has tried to show me Europe via car and for most of it I have been asleep. I try and try to stay awake. I hold my head up and will my eyes to stay open. I slap my wrists, open the window, sing dirty limericks, but its no use. It’s like a 9am Art class in college. Lights go down and I’m gone. No matter how interested I might be in the content, I’m gone. 20 minutes and I’m snoring away.

Markus will occasionally try to wake me up to show me a pretty Baroque steeple, nestled into Bavarian countryside village. I’ll hold my head up for approximately 4.6 seconds while my eyes wobble around the back of my head, focus for 1.3 seconds before I lose consciousness again.

The weird thing is I still understand speed and stopping sensations. I’ll be asleep, Markus will be bebopping to his death metal and suddenly the car slows for stau (traffic) or cute girls or whatever Markus “Slows For” when I’m asleep. My reptilian brain wakes long enough to activate the passenger side brake pedal and check out the circumstances. This is usually accompanied by a loud intake of breath and verbal check. “UHHH. Stau, ok.” Then I’m totally out again. I have no idea why I do this. I mean, really, if Markus were slowing because we were going to be in a horrible head-on collision, do I want to be awake? Do I really want to know? When I fly, I have no problem taking a whole handful of sleeping pills. If we’re going to crash, I do not want to be awake watching fellow passengers get sucked out of some hole in the side of the plane like on final destination. So why do I do this in the car?

Markus likes to use this as an example of my incredible controlling nature. Even in my sleep I can’t let go. I think its more likely Markus’ driving that has me in fear for my safety while I sleep. BTW, there isn’t really a passenger side brake pedal; it’s just my right foot’s auto-response to fast speed reduction.

So that’s how I saw the amazing Bavarian countryside with its blue and white skies. On the way back it was blue and white until we entered the CC grounds. Then it got all gray, windy and rainy. It was really eerie. German skies tend to be a bit mood swingy. You never know when it will be sunny and light or shadowy and dark. It is truly a country of shadow and light. So the great mood swinger in the sky gave us atmosphere for our visit.

The concentration camp was a very worthwhile experience. Horrifying and terrible and heartbreaking and oddly inspiring. What the prisoners went through and the spirit those who survived had to have in order to survive. It put things in perspective. The bookstore however left a bit to be desired. They sold only books filled with heartbreaking photos and letters from the prisoners to their families that never got delivered. It would have been nice if they had jazzed things up a bit. Maybe a pen that when held upside down, the nazi uniform came off or a set of bunker blocks. Maybe a t-shirt that says “My grandma when to Dachau and all I got was this lousy T-shirt”. I know, I know. I’m going straight to hell, but after 3 hours in the museum looking at all the horrible, horrible things we do to each other, a little levity was needed.

Other than that, Munich was pretty quiet. No terrorists leaving on a jet plane and no obscene amounts of beer.

By the time we got home, I needed a little mindless entertainment and low and behold, the last Stargate episodes were released. Now I have to wait until next year to find out what happens!!!! Damn it.