Dachau and Regensburg

Yesterday was Amazing!!

Some of the national guard Sergeants from New orleans have become our friends. They have been awesome making sure we are taken care of and helping us out. Yesterday we went with them on a moral trip becuase someone who calls himself "the mayor" (I think he is just in charge of the barrack) invited us which was really awesome.

First we went to Dachau. It is the concentration camp that America found during WWII. It was such a moving experience and I found myself holding back tears as I moved through the different rooms. One building was all the history with pictures and documents from the camps running. Next we moved through the camp and got to see all the barracks they lived in. They were so small. The beds were only 5 ft long and stacked 3 high with no ladders. The bathroom was just 15 little bucket type things. It was really sad. The saddest parts were the crematorium and the gas chamber. Prisoners were told that they were going to take a shower and would take off there clothes in one room and then go into a room with shower heads and it was actually a gas chamber and they would die while taking a shower. The next room was the crematorium. So they were moved from the "shower" and burned and there ashes were buried. They also had firing ranges (a lot) where they would line them up and kill them in large amounts. They had a lot of memorials throughout the camp and some burial sights that just had the numbers of how many ashes were under them. The germans, from what i hear, accounted for each death and had to document each prisoner they had. Which seems like a lot to me if they were just going to torture and kill them anyways. They were beaten, starved, and force to stand still for hours on end. They even had to build their crematorium. It was an experience I am glad I had and I am glad America found this camp in 1945 and it was stopped and learned from.

Next we needed to get a little happier since we were all feeling really down from Dachau. We went to Regensburg, which is where the pope is from!!!! We were able to see and walk through his cathedral he went to. And under the cathedral was a tomb where old bishops and higher ups were buried. Some of them in the 1400's!! Wow. We got there really late so we were not able to do much looking around becuase everything closes at 6 in germany. We did see someone in Laderhoisen (spelling??) though!! So cool. And we had an authentic german dinner in a biergarten. It was really good. It was called Schienbraten. mmmmmmm Pork with beer sauce and really crunchy sourkraut. Except there was this thing. i dont know what it was called but it was best translated as a potato ball.... ewww it tasted like gelled potato. If you ever come to germany do not get one... it was GROSS! overall it was a great trip and I cant wait till next weekend... we are either going to go to berlin or on a castle tour witht he base where we get to see 3 castles throughout germany!