September 11th – 25th, 2024
September 11th – 25th, 2024
by Richard Bergmann
We are on our last day of planned itinerary activities before most of us head home tomorrow. It starts on the bus with Ayold outlining the “day of today” and we are on our way to Dachau concentration camp. My eSIM card data plan isn’t cooperating today and so I’m feeling lost without my google maps to follow the route we are taking – something I’ve been doing throughout the trip as I’ve always needed to know the routes we are travelling and today is no different so I resort to asking Evert the route details.
Ayold plays a video about Dachau which is the same video they show at the memorial site so this will help save us some time when we get there. The bus grows silent and remains silent the entire length of the video. The mood seems reflective and somber as we head into the site.
Dachau was one of the first concentration camps that was started in 1933. Initially it was used to oppress political dissidents and minority groups. The words on the iron gates “Arbeit macht frei” are the same words I’ve seen at another concentration memorial. The lies that hard work will set you free and the evil is unfathomable. The Jewish community was severely impacted by this evil as were others that I knew less about such as political opponents, criminals, “asocials”, hemosexauls, and Jehovah's witnesses. It is believed that 41,500 people were killed at this camp and I’m feeling in no mood to take pictures, especially as you come up to the death chambers and crematory area.
We leave the site in that same reflective tone, and it takes some time for the mood to lighten on the bus, but we are now in Munich for the afternoon of unscheduled free time. Yes, hard to believe but Ayold actually gave us a few hours of time to explore the city and look around. I spend a few hours exploring the city and doing a self-guided audio tour. I find it interesting to get a general sense of the key sites when time is short, to try to get some taste and flavor for what made the city it is.
We all meet back up for a traditional Bavarian dinner where we debrief with each other on the afternoon’s free time and sites we saw. We are now coming to the end of our time together, so we use the chance on our walk back to the bus to take some group shots and say goodbyes and in some cases “until next time” as we have several travelers indicating interest in future tours which is exciting to see.
So, after 4 countries and countless heritage and other sites that we’ve seen, I return home with an expanded view of the Anabaptist heritage. Many on this trip have asked me as the new owner, what my thoughts were on this experience. Let me say it this way – this experience was an absolute blessing to participate in. I had the privilege to meet various groups and families from across North America and Holland who all have a story to tell and that I can learn from. Our tour leader Ayold has a deep passion and interest for Anabaptist history and his dry Dutch humour adds a unique flavor to his stories and approach. I’m encouraged with the mix of previous TourMagination clients and new travelling clients on this trip and have heard numerous examples of interest in future tours / referrals to friends and family.
With that said, two weeks on the road can be a bit tiring so it’s time to get back and catch up on some work and family time. I’m so thrilled to be on this journey and I can hardly wait to engage our other tour leaders on their experiences and stories they have as I have so much to learn.
Until next time!
