Laundry, more Chinese and Dachau

I finally did my laundry yesterday! They do not have washing machines in home4students, they also don't have a laundry service to pick it up for you (poor choice). We are responsible for our own laundry and have to do it the grown up way. So I packed my duffle with about a week and a half worth of dirty clothes and made my way down to the Bubble Point, which is right next to my new favorite chinese restaurant. It definitely took awhile to figure out how the laundry worked at the Bubble Point. There are a ton of machines and a separate place to put your money in. It took about an hour and 8 euros later until my laundry was complete.

I think I have found my new regular spot in Innsbruck. For the third time, this week, I went to Chinese Waldorf. It is just so good! However this time it was packed with UNO students. My fellow classmates have started to discover my secret place! Anyways it was still just as good! I ordered the vegetable rolls, chicken with broccoli, a large beer and a small beer. I don't know if it is just because I am in Austria but beer is good with everything. Maybe its just the German in me that's finally coming out.

soooooo good

Today class was equally as boring. I'm just counting down the seconds until I leave for Verona tomorrow. I was let out early of my geology class to go on a field trip to Dachau. A little background on Dachau, it was the first concentration camp during the Nazi regime. All other concentration camps were based off this one which is a two and a half hour drive from Innsbruck. I was a little hesitant about going but I'm glad I signed up in the end. It isn't a common thing  to see a concentration camp and it is definitely a unique experience. 

       

Aerial view of Dachau

Before we even pulled into the parking lot I started to get chills and just knew we were there. These were chills I had never experience before. It all became very real when we walked up to the front gate with the famous saying Arbeit Macht Frei, work will set you free. This gate is probably one of the most photographed gates ever and I got to see it, touch it and walk through it just like the other hundreds of thousands of men and women did. There were over 200,000 registered prisoners at Dachau and an estimated 50,000 deaths. Walking where they have walked before was speechless and overwhelming. The dirt we walked on was mainly made up of ash from bodies, the plants and trees were once nurtured by their blood. 

Back in the late 1930s

Now

Arbeit Macht Frei (Work will set you free)

The first thing we did after walking through the gate was go to the grave filled with ashes and we all placed a rock on top of the grave. It symbolized protection against anything evil. The genocide professor with the school led us through the tour of the camp.

The barracks in the late 30s and Early 40s

where the barracks would have been now

There are three memorials at Dachau. One for  Protestants, Catholics and the Jewish prisoners. Of the three the Jewish Memorial was so beautiful. It really captured what feelings the prisoners must have had. To enter the memorial you had to walk underground in this all black brick room and there is one small hole at the top of the memorial that lets in natural light. 

We continued our tour by going in the gassing chambers and furnace rooms. Which was a little too much to handle knowing what really went on in these rooms seventy years ago. Then we walked to this wall where they would kill the Russians and apparently had a constant river of blood running along it. 

On a lighter note tonight I am staying in to pack and study for my German test tomorrow. I probably won't post anything until I get back from Italy! 

Ciao until then!