
On our way out of Austria we stopped by Swarowski Crystals. This is where the crystals for Katie Holmes' wedding dress were made. This is also the largest factory and showroom of Swarowski. Let's just say the ladies got a lot of crystal. Our Contiki Tour Manager then surprised us with the news that we were going to Dachau Concentration

After the Concentration Camp, we drove what seemed a simple 15 minute drive to Munich. It was crazy for me that a concentration camp had been so close to one of Germany's most popular cities yet people still claim that they knew nothing about what was going on. Munich was lively and full of people. Everyone was walking around. There was tons of shopping. H and M stores everywhere. We spent quite some time trying to find the perfect bratwurst sandwich which we did find eventually. There were people selling fruits and vegetables in the market outside and people were just sitting on benches and enjoying themselves. I saw the world famous Glockenspiel which was really nothing but a kookoo lock that was covered with construction. There was also a really interesting church in which it is believed is the devil's footprint. I put my foot in there and good thing it did not match up.

That evening, I had a very interesting experience. We went to a really famous beer hall where Hitler had given many of his speeches. On the ceilings you could see swastikas that were covered with flowers to hide them. I wondered how many people still felt like him. The night was full of lively entertainment and beer drinking in the beer hall. We had an all you can eat buffet with a lot of bratwurst, coleslaw, and potatoes. On one side of our table sat Romanians, on the other Russians and I was sitting in the middle with the Americans. This was a very odd experience for me since I am Moldovan (which is very similar to Romanian) and I had always thought that I was Russian (since Moldova was part of the Former Soviet Union for a long time), yet I was sitting with the Americans because I am American. And furthermore, I was sitting in a place where 65 years ago I would have not been allowed in and would have been killed for being Jewish. It was a very odd and puzzling experience. I felt like I was a part of so many worlds and the Russian and the Romanians didn't even notice me. The old men were too busy asking our blonds to dance. I don't think they had a clue that I had anything to do with them. During the evening though, I too danced some sort of a line dance and had a good time. Following the dinner, many went out to a street with 21 bars and clubs in it but I stayed in that night. It had been a very memorable day.
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