Little Energie but Big Experiences

Since being in the Alps, my body has been extremely, and I mean completely, relaxed. I feel as though I'm melting into the floors and there is nothing I can do to avoid the inevitable, sleep.  It's an act of god that I'm not already asleep on my keyboard. Whether it was the fresh air, delicious Frühstück, or hiking everywhere, my energy levels have hit rock bottom. Oddly enough, the lull I'm finding myself in has lead to great pictures (if I do say so myself) and great reflection time.

This morning we went to a memorial site at the concentration camp in Dachau. I won't write a whole lot here because most of what I experienced wasn't words or facts, it was the place itself and the feelings attached with it. That may sound somewhat "meta," but there's so much that pictures and videos don't show that the actual grounds do. The camp is so close to the city itself. I think people who haven't been to a memorial site like this one often forget how integrated into the community a lot of the concentration camps were. They weren't a mysterious place in the mountains. These atrocities happened behind people's houses, places of worship, restaurants, etc. You'll notice none of the pictures I'm posting are from Dachau. In fact, I didn't take a single picture there. I have nothing against taking pictures at Dachau, but I felt it was better to walk through the grounds without distracting myself with what to take pictures of. In addition, for me, it seemed more appropriate to listen and reflect, rather than be a tourist walking from building to building. Even though I'm not sharing much right now, I'm completely willing to talk about my experience with anyone who wants to listen.

In the evening, the group and I saw a Theatrestück titled "Buch." For an american like myself, the three hour length was quite long. Regardless, I thought it was a wonderful show and the actors were simply amazing. It wasn't a typical show because the first 30 minutes involved standing and being incorporated into the performance. Afterwards, they pulled out benches for us but then took them away and brought in different benches after a period of time. Clearly we were jumping out of our seats for this show. Overall, I loved how different it was from anything I've ever seen in the States. Even though some of it didn't make sense to me, the artistry was great in my opinion. I especially loved the use of sound and music throughout the performance. They had so many unique sounds: from banging on the ribcage of a constructed elephant to slapping coats on the ground. I won't pretend that I didn't walk out of that theatre exhausted, but it was worth it.

To end the night, I ate a Croissant with a Wurst inside. Whoever thought it was a good idea to shove a piece of Wurst in a Croissant had humanity's best interest in mind.

With that, I'm going to doodling in my sketchbook and hit the hay.
~Zachary