Today we visited Munich. I was very excited for this trip because we were able to see another city in Germany, which allowed us to see the difference in culture. It reminded me of America in a sense, how you can go from one city to another, and the entire environment feels different. The trip to Munich was only a 30-minute train ride, which felt much shorter. After arriving in Munich, the first thing I noticed was the amount of tourists. Augsburg is a very slow environment; the days feel less stressful, and people aren’t crowding the streets.
The biggest thing you notice is the amount of tourism and how they support that through their selection of stores. A lot of places were retail stores, in comparison to Augsburg, where most shops felt very local to the community. As you walk the streets, you can feel the diversity in the city. In Augsburg, I was amazed by the people I’d meet. Each person was from a different part of Europe, but I couldn’t tell. In Munich, you can see the difference in people and try to piece together where they’re from. You hear people speaking Arabic, Russian, and Spanish. Not saying I have the best ear, but that’s what I assumed it was
During our day there, we were given ample free time to explore the city. As you walk through the city, you feel the presence of Bavarian culture. We entered a church, which was a very beautiful sight to see. Firstly, the churches have a very deep Catholic tradition; you see it with the local saints being displayed and the architecture. We also spent time in the main square, which features a traditional show where the figures spin at the top of the building. As a student studying, I understood that this was a representation of German culture, but part of me also feels as though they do it for tourists. The locals paid no attention to the show; you just see everyone holding phones recording. So it is a touristy attraction, but it’s a representation of their culture. We ended our day by coming up a church tower, at the top we were able to see the layout of the city along with views of the Alps. As you can see above, the city still has a medieval layout, but it’s been modernized in a sense.
As we were in Munich, we were educated on the connection between the Nazi party and Dachau, which is just 10 miles away. We learned that Munich was an active place where the Nazi party gathered and started their ideology. Many party events and propaganda were spread throughout Munich in those times. The proximity of Dachau is why Munich is so important, because it was one of the first and longest active concentration camps. This was the beginning of the actions they carried out.
