Munich again and Dachau

Last Monday (23rd July) I made a trip to Munich for my night off. There were a couple of reasons for the visit. Firstly, I had to stop in Innsbruck to pick up my pre-ordered copy of the new Harry Potter book. Secondly, it was a good excuse to spend several hours on a train reading the new Harry Potter book. Thirdly, to catch up with a friend from Uni, Robert Hofmann, who was also in Munich this week. Fourth, to go to the opera on Monday night to see The Marriage of Figaro with Simon Keenlyside playing the Count. Finally, to muster up the courage to visit the Dachau Concentration Camp memorial site.

It was great to see Robert after a long time. Unfortunately, the production of Marriage of Figaro that we saw was a bit disappointing. The set design was very sparse, to the point where the 4th act which is set in a garden was bare walls and all white. It also felt very under-rehearsed, but I think this was because it was part of the Opera Festival which has a huge number of different operas only doing 2 or 3 performances each. At least it gave us plenty to talk about over beer afterwards!

Visiting Dachau is something that I have wanted to do each time I've been in Munich, but have kept putting off, knowing that it would be a fairly difficult experience. However, this time I was determined and set off on the train on Tuesday morning. There are buses that go from the Dachau train station to the camp memorial, but they were crowded with teenagers and it was a nice day for walking, so I set off along the path that many of the prisoners would have walked on their way to the camp. It is well signposted (mostly) with photos and information about the journey to the camp. The walk is only about 3km, but I'm sure my walk was much easier than theirs would have been.

The Camp Memorial site is building a new visitors centre at the moment but luckily it didn't mean that anything was closed to the public. Visitors enter the camp through the guardhouse through which the prisoners would also have entered. The gates have the inscription "Arbeit Macht Frei" (Work makes you free).

The Assembly area is the first place you see through the gate. Prisoners would assemble here for roll call every morning and were often made to stand for hours in gruelling weather conditions. Many collapsed during the roll call and other prisoners were not permitted to help them.

There is a museum set up in the old Amenities building (the building visible in the photo above). There is a lot of information and many photos in here about the Concentration Camp including which groups were targeted as prisoners and the atrocities that occured in the camp (such as grotesque punishments and medical experiments), but it was so crowded with tour groups, mostly of young students, that it was difficult to get around and absorb the information. One particularly sad area was the bath area where prisoners were washed, but also hung on hooks from the ceiling as a punishment. Behind this building is the prison block were prisoners were sent for further punishment. Some of the cells were only big enough to stand in.

All but 2 of the bunkhouses have been demolished and it is horrible to look at the 2 remaining and realize how many people were kept in them towards the end of the war.

The fence of the camp has been left as it was. The grassed area in front of the fence was not permitted for prisoners and there were shot immediately if they stepped onto it. A number of prisoners deliberately stepped into this area to end their suffering.

The final part of the camp was probably the most difficult to see. The crematorium was where all of the dead were taken to be burnt (I'm not going to post pictures of this as they are very depressing) There was a room for fumigation of clothing. The next room was a shower room where poison gas could be used to exterminate groups of prisoners. At Dachau, this room was not used. The last room was the crematorium itself with 4 large ovens for the bodies to be burnt. This was also the room were condemnned prisoners were hanged. Around the crematorium are large graves of ashes as well as the firing squad wall were many more prisoners were executed.

Visiting Dachau is something I am glad I have done, but it is definitely not a happy experience. It is terrifying to think of the things that happened in that place. In some ways, it was nice to see that there are so many people, especially young people, visiting the memorial site, but at the same time, the large groups of young people really didn't seem to enter into reflecting about what they were seeing and were quite disruptive to others visiting the site. (I think this means I'm getting old). It was particularly sad to see one group of boys throwing rocks at some of the others in the group just outside the camp. What can you say to them to let them know how inappropriate and ironic that is?!?

"May the example of those who were exterminated here between 1933 - 1945 because they resisted Nazism help to unite the living for the defence of peace and freedom and in respect for their fellow man." (from one of the memorials inside the Dachau Concentration Camp)

Moving again

Curses on conferences!

Porsche are having a conference at Aqua-Dome for the next couple of days, so the hotel is full and I have to move to the employees apartments again.

So much for the 5 star room for a couple of days...

How will I cope?

Typical Austrian Behaviour

Apologies for neglecting my blog a little recently, I have been struggling with my new addiction to Facebook...

I am fascinated at the moment by the over-the-top punctuality of Austrians (and I am probably including a lot of Germans in this as well).

At this gig, I play 2 sets before dinner and 3 sets after dinner. The restaurant is immediately next to the bar I play in and the logic is that people come in for before dinner drinks and then for after dinner drinks.

Dinner is available in the restaurant from 7pm to 9pm and is included in the cost of the hotel, so it never ceases to amaze me how the German and Austrian guests flood into the dining room at exactly 7pm. Often they wait in the bar just outside the door to the restaurant until it is open. It strikes me as so strange. I would be the one waltzing in around 8.30pm or so (or more often than not, getting there at 9.10pm and finding they weren't serving any more...) It's not as if they are going to miss out.

Very strange...

New Room, New View

The night before last the hotel was full, so I had to move into the employees apartments for one night. I came back to the hotel and am now in a new room, so I have to put up a pic of my new view. The buildings in the picture are the buildings of the Aqua-Dome Thermal Spa. The pyramid thing connects 3 pools and there are more pools in the glass area - all with special features like spa jets, or salt water to soak in. One even has a gush of natural sulfuric water direct from underground! As you can see, the weather has cleared up. 30 degrees today!

Snow in the middle of summer???

So last week it was cold and rainy and there was snow on the mountains... i thought it was meant to be summer over here...

Aqua-Dome

Well, this is probably the biggest blog update ever. I have only just organized the internet in my hotel room and so am uploading 6 blog entries all of which are quite long… I hope you’ve got some time for reading!

I am now back at the Aqua-Dome, and just to make you all a little bit jealous, I have included some pictures of the view from my hotel room and of the room itself. It seems that I get to stay in the proper hotel room this time instead of the apartments 3 km away, and it is really rather luxurious. And only a short walk from the Thermal Pools and Gym! It’s going to be a great month!

Back on Track

Once again, I am writing on a German train. I have just left Amsterdam and, while it has been a great month in the city, it is strangely comforting to be back in Germany. The Dutch are not known for their customer service, but buying my train ticket yesterday convinced me that some places are so incompetent only to show how incredible the German train system is. In Amsterdam, I had to line up for about 15 minutes to be given a ticket to line up for another 45 minutes to be served by someone to buy my train ticket. In Germany, I can buy almost any ticket from a machine or by minimal queuing in the ticket office. Sure, Amsterdam Station has ticket machines, but they only accept coins, which is not so practical for a train ticket costing more than 100Euros.

The trains are so clean and fast and easy to travel on. The seats are comfortable. There is space for luggage. My reserved seat is clearly labeled so that no-one else sits in it and it is easy to find. My seat even has a power point so I can plug in my laptop! I particularly love the Reiseplan (journey plan) that they give you listing all of the stops with times accurate to the minute as well as lists of all the connections available from each stop. The photo is not particularly legible, but it gives you the idea.

I was planning to be on the night train from Amsterdam to Munich, but unfortunately it was full, so I stayed an extra night in Amsterdam and left at 6.40am. I am in Munich for an hour and a half before catching a train to Innsbruck where I will stay overnight before leaving on Tuesday morning for the Aqua-Dome (my next gig in Laengenfeld, Austria – the gorgeous village in the alps where I worked last October). I am really looking forward to going back to the Aqua-Dome and reconnecting with the people that I worked with last year.

Utrecht

Saturday 30^th June

On my last day in Amsterdam, I headed to the nearby town of Utrecht as my friend Brent was performing in a free concert of the Bach B minor Mass in the Utrecht Dom (Cathedral). Although I slept a little later than planned, I still got to have a bit of a wander through the town before the concert and visit one of the museums which really intrigued me.

The Museum from Musical Clock to Theatre Organ is a slightly odd collection of all varieties of automated mechanical musical instruments. From chiming clocks to pianolas through to street organs and enormous theatre organs with orchestral instruments inside, all of these instruments play themselves. Some were very cute, including animated figures as well as the music, and some were hilarious, like the player piano that also contained 3 Violins that played themselves! The grand finale was an enormous organ that played a Robbie Williams song (Let Me Entertain You) and Rock Around The Clock.

The concert was really great. Brent sings in the regular cathedral choir and they often perform free Saturday afternoon concerts as well as singing at the services in the Cathedral. They performed with full baroque orchestra (including a theorbo continuo) and some excellent soloists. Although a lot of the faster sections were swamped a little by the cathedrals bathroom-like acoustic, it was a fantastic performance.

The cathedral itself is quite plain, but interesting, as the bell tower is a small distance from the main body of the cathedral. Apparently they used to be part of the same building, but due to poor workmanship, the middle section of the cathedral collapsed, never to be rebuilt, leaving 2 separate buildings.

A Perfect Day

Wednesday 27^th June 2007

Last Wednesday was a perfect day. One of those days with lots of really nice surprises and that gave me a little piece of all of the things I really enjoy. And the best thing was that I was aware of how perfect it was while it was happening. I was reading a Paulo Coelho book at the time (which I hated, but still had it’s impact on me – check out www.booksontour.blogspot.com) and he talks so much about living in the moment, and I must admit it was nice to realize that I was doing just that. Taking advantage of opportunities and being open to surprises.

I started out by making myself actually get out of bed at a reasonable hour (which is quite unusual when I am working over here – I justify it as needing lots of sleep to rest my voice…) and set out to do some things on my “To Do Before Leaving Amsterdam” list (how geeky does that sound?!?). It was mostly boring stuff like buying a new suitcase to replace the one that broke on the train journey here and phoning the next venue to confirm arrival details. Very dull. But it is so satisfying to cross things off that list. I had achieved things already by lunchtime.

I then headed to the Concertgebouw (which has been one of my favourite places to visit while I’ve been here) for the free lunchtime concert. The programme stated that it would be Mariss Jansons conducting the Concertgebouw Orchestra but did not state what they would be playing. As they were doing a concert that night (and these lunchtime concerts are a little like an open rehearsal) I assumed they would be playing the orchestral repertoire from that concert. Also on the programme that night was a Mozart Piano Concerto with Mitsuko Uchida, a quite famous Japanese concert pianist. I figured it was unlikely that she would be performing in the free lunchtime concert. But I was wrong. They played the Mozart with her. And it was amazing.

I was sitting next to some young tourists (American, I think) who had obviously been told that a free lunchtime concert in the Concertgebouw was a good thing to do in Amsterdam. It really amazes me how closed minded some people are. We were witnessing internationally acclaimed performers playing sublime music at a level that I am quite sure most people never get to hear in their lives, and the girls next to me were using their mobile phones to write messages to each other about how boring the concert was. I know that not everyone in the world appreciates classical music, and there are only some of us that are as passionate about it as I am, but it amazes me how people can sit in a concert hall and not at least be impressed by the technical ability of the musicians or by the incredible sounds that were being made. Of course there are personal tastes and preferences, but I wish people were open enough to find out enough about music to critique it intelligently and find the amazing things in a performance rather than just write it off as boring…

(enough ranting…)

After the concert, I visited some of the Museums that I had not yet seen in Amsterdam (I have to take full advantage of my Museum Card, after all!).

The Hermitage is an Amsterdam outbranch of the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg. They have regularly changing exhibitions with pieces from the enormous Russian collection. The exhibition I saw was art from Persia (Iran). While it is not the kind of art that I would normally go out to see (ceramics, calligraphy and metal works) it was really beautiful and excellently presented. It was one of those exhibitions that broadened my mind a little (probably as a counter to the girls in the concert…)

From Art to something historical, I visited 3 sites related to Dutch life in World War 2. Firstly, an Auschwitz monument to commemorate the Jews exterminated in the death camps by the Nazis. It is built over the place where an urn of ashes was brought to Amsterdam from Auschwitz and buried. The monument is a series of cracked mirrors on the ground to reflect “the sky that will never be the same after witnessing such terrible events”.

My second stop was the Hollandsche Schouwberg, a theatre that becoming a collection point for Jews waiting to be deported to the work camps and death camps during the war. All but the façade has been demolished, and an obelisk has been erected where the theatre stage once stood. There is also a wall containing the surnames of all of the Jewish families that were killed by the Nazis. Approximately 80% of Amsterdam’s Jewish population was killed in World War II. It was the most efficient extermination in all of Europe. It is a moving memorial.

The third stop in my little historical tour was the Resistance Museum which has excellent displays showing what life in Amsterdam was like before and during World War II and the various ways in which the Dutch people resisted Nazi authority. The museum is very well laid out and explained with a range of interactive and multimedia displays. It really challenged me to wonder how I would have reacted if I were living in such a situation. Would I be brave enough to stand up for something going on in my country that was so wrong even if that could mean risking my job or my life.

That evening, I went to the opera. Doctor Atomic is a new opera by composer John Adams and Peter Sellers about the creator of the Atomic Bomb and the lead up to the first tests in New Mexico. I was lucky enough to get half price tickets and had a good seat, but I hated most of this opera. I felt it was over-directed with lots of really irrelevant movement and sets that distracted from the plot and performances. The singing was excellent, but I found the music and plot uninteresting and irritating. There were times when I wanted to stand up and shout at the characters to just “shut up and get on with it!”. I really hope that I wasn’t writing this off in the same way that the girls next to me had written off the concert that afterenoon, but I am fairly sure that I am able to justify my opinions rather than just make a blanket statement. While it may seem odd that I disliked something so much on a day that I am calling “perfect”, I actually really enjoyed how passionately I disliked it. I felt really alive and intelligent.

I finished up the evening in a bar close to my apartment that I have been to quite a few times during my stay in Amsterdam. Finally, I found myself having conversations with the bar staff and other people in the bar and felt that I was making some social connections here in Amsterdam.

So, all in all, it was a perfect day. I achieved things, experienced great music and art, expanded my knowledge, reflected on historical events and was moved by them, appreciated the passionate feelings of not enjoying something, and was sociable with some good people.

I hope there are many more days like this!

More Museums

Thanks to the fabulous Museum Card (best deal ever!) I checked out a few of the other museums in Amsterdam in my last days there.

Rembrandthuis

This was Rembrandt’s home, studio and art dealing business for most of his career (until he went bankrupt and the house was turned over to debt collectors). It has been restored as authentically as possible from the list of furniture and possessions seized by the debt collectors and contains some artwork (though very few Rembrandt paintings) and the largest collection of…. (Drum Roll)…. Rembrandt’s Etchings!!! Yes, I have seen yet another collection of Rembrandts etchings (this is my 4^th in the last year I think). At least at this one, I was able to work out how etchings are done (they are engraved into a copper plate and then pressed onto paper with ink) and it even included a few of the original plates which sets it apart from the other exhibitions.

Jewish Historical Museum

This museum is set up in the 2 old synagogues of Amsterdam and details the history of Jewish people in the city. I went on a day when my brain wasn’t really equipped for museums, and so didn’t really enjoy this one so much. There was a cool exhibition on the actress Sarah Bernhardt, though.

Oude Kerk (Old Church)

The Old Church in Amsterdam is not much younger than the new church, but is still the oldest church in the city. It is no longer used as a church and was stripped of most of its churchy items by the Calvinists. Some points of interest though, was the grave of Rembrandt’s first wife, Saskia, and the choir stalls which each have a wood carving based on an old proverb. Some are quite interesting… I’ll let you try to work out what they mean…

Promised Photos

I did promise to put up a photo of the plastic urinals that mysteriously appear on Friday and Saturday nights. Hilarious! Regrettably, I left Amsterdam before gathering up enough courage to use one. Maybe next time.

Also, I think I found my perfect photo to demonstrate the ridiculous numbers of bikes in this city! This is the bike car park outside Amsterdam Centraal Station (see, Dutch is just like English, but with extra vowels…)

Finally, I thought people might be interested in seeing photos of Maxims, the bar I have been working at here in Amsterdam. When I finally get around to settling back in Melbourne and hopefully setting up my own piano bar, I’d like to think it would look fairly similar to this. The piano is the curvy thing at the end of the bar with stools around it.