Visit to Munich

Saturday the 20th of August. The only thing right about that day was the fact that I chose to visit Munich. Well actually it was not that bad in the sense that I saw the most important thing to be seen at Munich - The Deutsche Museum, the largest technological museum in the world.

The Deutsche Museum

• First thing you get to see as you enter the main hall is the Marine Navigation section. There you'll find ships with sails. A quarter of the hull, of the biggest ship there, has been cut open for us to see what it is like inside. If you climb down the stairs(of the hall not the ship) you will find a number of marine navigation equipments - propellers, anchors, a whole section showing generations of compasses. There is also a lateral section of a U-boat.
• I went to the Aeronautics section next. This is divided into 2 parts - Historical & Modern. There are a few old aircrafts and a few new ones(full size). Many aircraft engines are also on display.
• After this I went to the Astronautics section. At the entrance there is a demo setup of a hydrogen rocket. A few people tried their hands at it. It shot up with a big sound. There was also a rocket engine and a few dummy models of the Columbia and other US space shuttles and other man made satellites.
• The section that interested me the most was the section on Microscopes. A collection of microscopes from the earliest times to the latest electron and optical microscopes.
• The diesel engine section had one engine designed by Rudolph Diesel himself.
• The power machinery section was very good as well with huge big power generation equipments of the olden and modern times.
• There was one entire section on Albert Einstein with descriptions relating to the Special & General theories of relativity, measurement of the speed of light, Michaelson-Morley experiment for proving the absence of ether etc.
  
• There were other sections like the hydraulics, textile engineering, printing technology, musical instruments etc. Which I was was unfortunately unable to visit as there wasn't much time. I already had spent half a day at the museum.
  

The Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site
This place is mind blowing. I reached late at around 16:15 and it closes at 17:00. I still had time to do a quick run around the entire site. Since I was late there was no guide available. But they have a system of a self guided tour in which you are given a map and a large telephone like equipment. The map has numbers denoting important locations in the camp area. When you reach a particular place you look up the number for that place and dial that number on the instrument. A description of the importance of that place is then given. They have also maintained a museum and with photographs of the prisoners, the responsible officers at that time, doctors who administered gas into the gas chambers, secret letters, recorded experiences etc. I gives a different feeling when you are actually there, standing and imagining about the horrific events that happened many years ago at the place right under your feet.

The sadest part about both these visits was that I went alone and there was nobody to take my pictures. I have shot videos of both the places though.

Lots of information here :
http://www.muenchen.de/home/60093/Homepage.html
http://www.munich-insider.com/en/