GERMANY: DACHAU

 May 25, 2025

We visited Mauthausen Concentration Camp in Austria in 2012 and Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp and Treblinka Concentration Camp in Poland in 2019, so we assumed we were more or less prepared for a visit to Dachau. However, I learned that you can't actually be "prepared" to face horror on the scale of a concentration camp.

Historians believe over 1.1 million people perished in Auschwitz during its less than five years of existence, 800,00 to 925,000 Jews were gassed in Treblinka in just over a year, and 90,000 to 120,000 people were killed or died from the horrific conditions at Mauthausen during its seven years of operation. In contrast, "only" 41,500 or so people died in the Dachau concentration camp and its extensive subcamp system, and that was over a period of twelve years. Auschwitz-Birkenau and Treblinka existed primarily as extermination centers--the "final solution to the Jewish problem." Mauthausen started as a labor camp, but eventually became an extermination center as well. Dachau was a prison camp--a place in the beginning for the Nazis to intern their political opponents; then groups regarded as criminals such as Jews, Romani, homosexuals, and Jehovah's Witnesses; and finally, foreign nationals from countries that Germany occupied or invaded.

We arrived in the city of Dachau by train, and I was kind of surprised that there was a city--I had only heard of the camp. A map at the station highlights "Historic Old Town," "Dachau Palace," and  ways to experience nature near the town of 50,000. The last thing on the list is a "Place of Learning and Commemoration"--the concentration camp.

We had a private guide who showed us a map of the major concentration camps in Germany itself--most of which I hadn't heard of--along with the subcamps and Aktion T-4 centers. There are so many.

Grafeneck, where our grandfather was murdered on May 21, 1940, is on the map.

It was gloomy and rainy at Dachau, appropriate weather for the experience.

The Dachau concentration camp was opened by Heinrich Himmler in 1933, the first concentration camp established by the Nazi Party and the longest to be in operation, from March 1933 to April 1945 when it was liberated by American forces.

GERMANY: PFORZHEIM CEMETERY, DOWNTOWN, ENZ RIVER, WALLBERG

 May 23, 2025

When we got up in the morning, we knew we had a big day ahead that involved meeting cousins we didn't know we had because our mother chose to keep their existence a secret from us, if she even knew about them (and we are pretty sure she did). The day would also include a visit to the Pforzheim cemeetery, a trip to one of the archives that our researcher used to uncover some of the information that had been in hiding for 85 years, a visit to the street where our mother and her family lived until 1945, the installation of a Stolperstein in our grandfather's honor, and more.

But since parking is an issue in Pforzheim, and since the cemetery had a big parking lot, that is where we began. We could park our two vans there and walk to our other destinations during the day, then pick up the vans at the end of the day.

A map of the cemetery at the entrance had this information: "Pforzheim's main cemetery is considered one of the most beautiful park cemeteries in southern Germany. Eighty percent of its total area of approximately 33.4 hectares (82.5 acres) is protected as a historical monument. These areas are characterized by stately tree stands and . . . garden design from the imperial era. From 1877 to 1945, the basic strcture of long avenues and numerous neatly trimmed hedges, which still characterize the cemetery today, gradually emerged.The historical fabric is still largely intact."

I love cemeteries, which I've said many times in this blog. Every grave and monument represents a life and a story, and that seems especially apparent in a cemetery as beautiful as the one in Pforzheim. If I understand correctly, plots are leased for a specific period, usually 20 to 30 years, rather than purchased outright. If the lease is not renewed, the remains are moved or cremated and the site is "recycled" for another burial. Beautiful, well-maintained gravesites are a staple of German culture. Visiting the cemetery is almost like strolling through a botanical garden. Each grave is distinct from the others around it and artfully decorated as if it is a separate room. Take a look at these examples:

IRELAND, DAY 6: SLIGO'S YEATS TRAIL

July 9, 2024

After I spent a few minutes with the statue of Yeats in Sligo, we got on the "Yeats Trail," which takes visitors to several sites around Sligo that are somehow connected to the famous author.

Our first stop was Sligo Abbey, now in ruins but once a flourishing Dominican convent founded in 1253 and operating until 1760.

The Abbey is the setting for two short stories by Yeats: "The Curse of the Fire and of the Shadows" and "The Crucifixion of the Outcast."

Unfortunately, we arrived at 9:10 AM and it didn't open for tourists until 10:00--too long to wait.

IRELAND, DAY 4: THE SKELLIG RING AND RING OF KERRY SCENIC DRIVES

 July 7, 2024

It was 1:00 and we were hungry. We had bought some snacks at our last gas station stop and were ready to eat them.

Bob found a grassy knoll where we could sit down and enjoy the cool weather and a few treats.

What a view! It was the perfect background for eating gingersnaps dipped in milk.

Our next stop was Ballinskelligs Beach (aka Ladies' Beach), a secluded beach with fine white sand hidden beyond some rugged black rocks.

Further on, we stopped at another viewpoint. Gorgeous, right?

Our longest stop was at Derrynane Beach, which had a sandy beach on a cove with gently lapping waves and quite a few people in and out of the water. It almost felt like California.

We hiked up a road to where we could see a cemetery. 

All kinds of kitsch decorates the graves.

The Irish really know how to treat their dead--and the survivors who visit the graves. This is the view from the cemetery. What a beautiful place.

A little further on, and on its own little island accessible from the beach when the tide is out (which it was), we came across the ruins of the 6th century Derrynane Abbey, built on a monastic site founded by St. Finnian of Clonard (one of the fathers of Irish monasticism) during the 5th century.

The abbey is in ruins now, but at one time there was a Romanesque church with two connected structures here

The abbey has its own graveyard, with some markers being very old . . . 

. . . and others more recent. These two are from 2009:

I'm always intrigued by what people leave on graves. It's part of the mourning process, I guess. 

Many of the markers mentioned several people. This one has four.

Mary O'Connell (d. 1836), wife of "The Liberator" Daniel O'Connell, is buried here. In fact, Daniel O'Connell's ancestral home is just up the road, but we didn't stop there.

Photo from here

We couldn't dawdle too long as the tide might close off our passage back to the parking lot.

Every now and then we would pass through a small town or village. This florist shop is in Sneem, a village with fewer than 400 people. They must buy a lot of flowers. Either that or this wonderful florist serves a much wider range than this village.

More soul-touching vistas.

Coming up, "Ladies View," but ladies, please don't leave your purse in your car!

According to The Irish Times, this is one of the most photographed places in Ireland, and the Daily Edge says it is one of Ireland's finest Instagram spots. The name Ladies View stems from the admiration of the view by Queen Victoria's ladies-in-waiting during the queen's visit to Ireland in 1861.

Back on the road. Gotta love the tunnels. They look like something out of The Hobbit.

We ended up in Killarney, a beautiful town of about 14,000 inhabitants located in County Kerry on the edge of Killarney National Park. Apparently they had a Fourth of July parade in honor of their friendship with the U.S., but we missed it!

However, we were there in time for our reservation at The Tan Yard. On the outside it looked like a sports bar, but inside it was all elegance.  We started off with a plate of breads, cheeses, and tepanade:

Our waitress suggested the locally-sourced tempura vegetables, which were delicious. I had a side of gruyere mashed potatoes to go along with . . . 

. . . what I described in my journal as "the best duck I have ever had." Bob had rib-eye, which was good, but not as good as my duck.

I really liked the looks of Killarney and wish we could have spent a day there. We'll have to go back, right, Bob?

We drove another 13 or 14 miles north to Castleisland, where we spent the night in the River Island Hotel.