Daddy Lim and I woke up at 5ish, to walk Ah Yee and Athena to the train station. We did so, after seeing how unsafe the neighbourhood could be. Athena was half asleep and bid goodbye to Nana and Zaky, who were both briefly awake and then back to lala land.
It was a warm morning. That is, warm enough to ditch the thermal wear. I am glad that we walked them to the station, bcos while there weren’t many people on the streets, we saw many empty beer bottles. I wouldn’t be surprised if a drunk popped out from somewhere.
Goodbye to ah Yee and Athena, we really hope to see them soon. Poor Athena had to learn spelling and dictation after she went home.
We went back to still sleeping kids. We had to gather at the tour agency, which is near to the train station, by 10.45am.
Bfast!
Zaky asked me to make him ah yee’s sandwich. I kindly invited him to DIY. The cheese in Europe really looks like those in cartoons and story books.
We left the accommodation and walked to the travel agency. As mentioned, it was a warmer morning and we all went without our thermal top (only pants). The kids were in sweats that they bought in Europe. These were the only shopping we did in Europe bcos it was too much hassle to peel off the layers to try clothes.
Arrived at the agency and a big group was already waiting. The big group was split into 2 groups of 20ish people. Nana and Zaky were probably the youngest people in the group and we were the only Asians.
There was no private bus but the guide brought us to the camp via public transport - 1st a train, then to a bus. Nobody got lost.
From Google:
The
Dachau concentration camp was the first and longest-running concentration camp established by the Nazis in Germany, serving as a prototype and training center for the entire concentration camp system. Operating from March 1933 until its liberation in April 1945, it was a site of immense suffering, forced labor, and mass death. - Initial Inmates: It was initially designed to incarcerate political prisoners, including communists, socialists, and trade unionists.
- Expansion of Prisoner Groups: Over time, the inmate population expanded to include a wide range of individuals deemed "undesirable" by the Nazi regime, such as Jews, Roma, Jehovah's Witnesses, homosexuals, people with mental and physical disabilities, criminals, and citizens from German-occupied territories.
It is a memorial site and a solemn place. One of the rules is to not disturb the peace of the dead in any way.
Our guide is very knowledgeable. He gave us a very good brief of the history before even talking about the camp. I felt like I had just sat through a history lecture.
There was so much information to learn. We didn’t take many pictures of the camp, it felt disrespectful to do so.
The infamous crematorium, which also housed the gas chamber.
We had a chance to walk through the small building and it was clean, bright and airy now but the thoughts that thousands lost their lives in this building sent shudders.
The entire tour including the traveling took 5 hours. The actual tour was about 3. I thought it was a good tour; a chance to understand the wars and history. I am not a history buff but ended up googling on the wars to draw connections to the Dachau concentration camp. It was good learning for me.
It was about 4ish pm when we arrived back at the train station. We didn’t had lunch and decided on “linner” and I was ready to cook instant noodles later in the night if needed. We took some walk bcos it was Sunday and many places were closed. While walking, Zaky and I indulged in the final pretzel.
We eventually settled on a beer place that serves dinner. Last bit of German food.
We decided to head back to the accommodation and the packing started. It was our last night in the accommodation and also in Germany. We are going home!
Mummy Lim
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