Dürnstein has been one of the highlights of our trip. About an hour outside of Vienna by train, Dürnstein is a small town in the Wachau Valley that is known for producing wine.

While that alone would have convinced me to visit, that is not what drew me to Dürnstein. What actually drew me to Dürnstein are the castle ruins overlooking the town that date to the medieval period. 

Normally an Austrian castle would not interest me (at least on paper - one Google image search had me convinced that I was going to Dürnstein), but my interest was piqued because this particular castle rang some bells. 

Right before I began researching places to visit, I finished a historical fiction novel by Sharon Kay Penman (The King's Ransom if anyone would like to check it out. It's the concluding novel of a fabulous series about the early Plantagenets). In the novel, she mentioned Dürnstein quite a few times as Richard I (Richard the Lionheart) was held here after being captured by Duke Leopold of Austria as he was travelling back to the Angevin lands from the Holy Land.

Effigy of Richard I 

While I had come across Dürnstein in other books that I have read, it was fresh in my mind thanks to having finished this novel. After realizing the connection, I knew that I had to visit the ruins and I am so glad that I did. 

As can be seen in the above photograph, the ruins sit on a cliff above Dürnstein and it creates quite a picturesque scene. In addition, there are great views to be had from the ruins itself.

After exploring the ruins, we decided to take a different trail back, which was totally worth it. The trail took us above the ruins, so we were able to see them, and the surrounding landscape, from above. The view was stunning and I am so glad that we took the time to hike up the rocks. 

 Aside from my excitement over the historical significance (at least to me) of Dürnstein, I was also excited to be in a wine valley, so we definitely had some local wine before we boarded the train back to Vienna. 

We decided to go to the Klosterkell which, according to their website, is located in an old monastery cellar. I didn't know that at the time, but it makes sense and makes the place better than it already was. In addition to the great environment, the wine was fabulous! Richard and I even tried a G'Spritzer, which is wine and sparkling water. It is a popular summer drink in Austria and it was pretty refreshing, especially after our hike. 

  

The Klosterkell was a perfect way to end our day in Dürnstein and I am glad that we had the opportunity to visit this area while we were in Vienna. 

During the 1920's and 1930's, Munich served as a background to events that surrounded the rise of the National Socialists.

The courtyard of the Alter Hof. While it does not have any connections to National Socialism, it was painted by Hitler (according to our tour guide). 

Hitler had moved to Munich in 1913 before the outbreak of the First World War. Being that he was in Munich when the war started, he fought in the German army as an Austrian citizen. Following the end of the First World War, Hitler returned to Munich where he involved himself in politics. By the early 1920's, he was the chairperson of the National Socialists and he staged the Beer Hall Putsch. 

While this is not the Beer Hall where the National Socialists began their coup, it is another famous beer hall in Munich. 

The Beer Hall Putsch was a National Socialist coup against the Weimar Republic. The National Socialists, who were agitated with the Treaty of Versailles and the government that upheld it's terms, wanted to march through Germany to Berlin to overthrow the Weimar Republic and begin their own regime that would restore Germany to it's glory. 

Area that use to have a memorial to fallen National Socialists 

This coup failed and led to the deaths of some National Socialists. Hitler himself was sentenced to prison for 5 years, although he only served 9 months of his term. It was during this time period that Hitler wrote Mein Kampf which restructured National Socialist tactics. Following his release, Hitler decided to take political power legitimately instead of attempting another government coup. This avenue took more time, but it worked since the National Socialists took power in 1933. 

Feldherrnhalle, which sits in Odeonsplatz and is where many parades where held. Hitler used this area for this function. 

After the National Socialists took power in 1933, Munich became an important city for them since it was basically their birthplace. Hitler erected a memorial to the east of Feldherrnhalle (both the site and the building are shown above) that memorialized National Socialists who fell during the Beer Hall Putsch. Munichers had to salute the memorial as they passed it, so Munichers used this memorial to form their own type of passive resistance to the new regime. The Munichers who wanted to resist would re-route their tour down an alley before coming to Odeonsplatz. Hitler somehow learned that Munichers were doing this and punished the ones that he found.

The golden trail is a memorial to the Munichers who resisted 

Hitler also opened the first concentration camp outside of Munich, in a town called Dachau, in 1933. This was the second concentration camp that Jon and I have visited and I was surprised by the differences between Dachau and Buchenwald. 

The entrance to Dachau 

Dachau was much closer to the town than Buchenwald was, which was the main surprise for me. It seemed as though Buchenwald was meant to be kept out of the way whereas Dachau was a short bus ride from the train station. In addition, Dachau touched me differently then Buchenwald did, which I did not expect. 

Memorial within Dachau 

While I have made it a point to not dwell on National Socialist history while in Germany, it was hard to avoid it while in Munich. Being that it was where National Socialism got going, there are many places that are associated with that time period and it was enlightening to see them first hand. While they are a small part of German history, they are still part of it and it is important to remember that time period, especially since it is recent history. However, it is also important to not let that time period define a country whose history is varied and rich. National Socialism was a blight on German history and should be remembered, but so should the rest of German history.  

Our time in Munich was a lot of fun and Munich is a very pretty city. We were able to explore it through a free walking tour and it was definitely worth it since without Dr. Gommlich I had no idea what any of the buildings are. 

New Town Hall

Our tour began in Marienplatz, which is Munich's central square. The plaza is surrounded by the New Town Hall, which was built in the early 20th century and the Old Town Hall, which was first built in the late 14th century. 

Ironically, the New Town Hall is actually older than the Old Town Hall since the Old Town Hall is a reconstruction. Due to heavy bombing during the Second World War,  the Old Town Hall was destroyed, so what you see today is a faithful reconstruction of the building. Interestingly, the New Town Hall suffered minimal damage... 

Base of the Mariensäule

Following the Marienplatz, we toured Munich for close to three hours with our guide. As I said earlier, our tour guide was great and we saw the major sites of Munich with him. My favorite spots by far though were the churches. 

"Grave" of Ludwig IV, Holy Roman Emperor at the Frauenkirche 

The churches were spectacular and there was a lot of variety. The Frauenkirche, which I was unable to get a good picture of because they are working on it,  is a cathedral that dates from the medieval period. 

Theatine Church 

The Theatine Church may not be the prettiest color, but it is an impressive church that is across from the former city palace. It was built in the 17th century as a Baroque style church; however the facade was completed in the 18th century and is in the Rococo style. While the outside is not the prettiest color to look at, the inside is absolutely stunning:

The inside of the church is decorated in all white except for the pulpit, which is an amazing contrast. 

For me, the churches were one of the best things about Munich, although I also loved the exterior of the buildings. They are built differently than the buildings in Dresden and definitely feel more southern.  Between the beautiful surroundings and the amazing wheat beer, Munich was a great place to visit. 

As I hoped, there is wifi on our bus to Munich. We have spent the last day and a half in Berlin and we had a good time revisiting the city with Alexandria and Richard. While the entire visit was enjoyable, I found it exciting that we found a beer that Jon really likes:

My favorite part by far though was visiting  the palace of Sanssouci.

The palace was built in the 18th century by Frederick the Great of Prussia and it was built next to a vineyard. It it is a very small palace with only 12 rooms as Frederick used this palace as his summer residence. 

As summer residences go, this was a pretty nice one. I wish that I could post pictures from inside the palace, but sadly you have to pay to take pictures. While I did pay the 3 euro to take pictures, the rules stipulated that any pictures taken inside could only be used for private use and could not be posted. 

However, the gardens were beautiful and the palace is actually in a park that houses several other palaces. We did not visit any others in order to have time to see Berlin, but it was pretty impressive to see them though the gateways. 

All in all, I loved visiting Sanssouci and had a great time going to Berlin again. Our hostel was near the original American checkpoint, so we were able to see that: 

And it was wonderful to see some sites, such as the Brandenburg Gate, as the sun was going down. It was beautiful and I am glad that we were able to experience it! 

 

Last Night in Dresden

Today marks the last day that Jon and I will be in Dresden as students. We will be back later in the month, which will be awesome, but it will be very different without our friends...

However, I am very excited to travel with Alexandria and Richard for the next week or so! Tonight we are in the Lollis Homestay here in Dresden, which has been pretty nice so far. 

We have had an amazing, if busy, time though and I have so much to share with everyone! Besides continuing to talk about Edinburgh, I also have other places  in Germany to talk about, such as Weimar and the Bastei. All of it has been amazing and I can't wait to share it with you all! 

I can't find any pictures from Bastei or from Weimar on my phone, so above is a picture of Dresden that I took today. Anyways, I will try to update the blog, and keep everyone posted as to where we are going, as Jon and I travel. We have a lot of bus rides ahead of us, so hopefully we will have wifi on the bus. If not, I am sure that we will have some down time here and there where I can post some pictures and talk about what we are doing!