February 2000
My roommate and I were in Europe with a EuroRail pass to anywhere we wanted to go. At this time, he was still a smoker. That comes up in a way that made me want to strangle him.
See, the train only takes you so far on your path to see Dachau, the site of the first concentration camp during World War II. Where the train lets you off, there's a bus to take you the next leg of the trip. Well...my friend was rationing his expenses to the penny. As a matter of fact, from the moment we landed in Europe, he turned very Rain Mannish. He was counting his pennies. He was counting each and every train stop OUT LOUD as the trains went from stop to stop. "Our stop is 9 stops from here, our stop is 8 stops from here, our stop is 7 stops from here" and so on. Now, we've talked about this since the trip and he explained that being in a foreign country made him nervous...so hopefully, since we've discussed it, me writing about it here won't upset him as he remains, to this day, one of my best friends. But, that day...we got off that train, still a couple of miles from Dachau...and I see the bus. Naturally, I'm thinking we are supposed to hit the bus for the next leg. My friend says he sees a change collector in the bus so assumes it costs extra and isn't part of the EuroPass. Now, here comes the penny counting. He says he can either buy a pack of cigarettes OR buy that bus ride with the remainder of his allotted money for that day. And why not just walk it? I agreed . . . because it really didn't look like THAT far of a walk on the map...
He buys the cigarettes. We start walking. And walking. And walking. The bus keeps driving by, back and forth, mocking us. My friend is NOT smoking those cigarettes. Then, the rain starts. Cold rain. Very cold. And our walk continues. Walking along, tired, wet, rain coming down. I told him he better smoke a cigarette soon or I was going to strangle him.
Finally, we make it to Dachau. What a depressing place. I mean, you expect that since it's known for atrocities during the Holocaust. But knowing that and seeing the remnants of the place where it actually happened is different. People were killed, burned. As for the historical aspect of the place, they did a good job with displays and tours. But, if you go, be ready to be hit with a stark presentation of a terrible moment in human history. The cold, dreary rain helped add to the mood of the place though.
When we were finished and ready to head back to the train. I shot for the bus. I saw no change collection mechanism and was not sure (and still am not) what my friend thought he'd seen. So, I asked the driver how much to ride. "It's free with a EuroPass..."
