Rothenburg and Dachau

A year ago today we bought our one big souvenir we had planned before our trip. It is something we use every day and I love it.

We bought it from Anneliese Friese and her son in their shop, The Cuckoo Clock Store, off the Rothenburg city square.

We picked this shop based on the recommendation of Rick Steves in his travel guide book. We even got a discount because of his book. They were so nice and helpful. We even bought my mom's gift (a big nut-cracker, something she likes to collect) and our children's Christmas ornaments (nutcrackers whose arms and legs "dance" when the string is pulled).

We walked around the medieval town a bit before enjoying a delicious lunch, boarding the bus and driving to Dachau Concentration Camp.

Here is a view of part of the city and the wall.

Here are some views of the city square. (note the second picture is from my brother-in-law Mark)

Here is one of the gates to the city. The face is where they would pour hot tar out of the mouth at any intruders and invaders.

By the time we arrived at the Dachau Concentration Camp, it was nearing dark, drizzling, and the cold and damp weren't comfortable for us in clothes and jackets and full stomachs; we could only imagine how much worse it was for all those prisoners wearing so little and being so malnourished.

To get into the camp we all walked through the same iron gate the prisoners once did with the words, "Arbeit Macht Frei" (Work will set you free).

The memorial

It is hard to imagine what all took place. Reading the descriptions and seeing some of the things used was eye-opening. May God graciously spare us from such atrocities in the future.