Mauthausen

Yesterday I went to the Mauthausen Concentration Camp with Corrina and Becky. After a crazy trip, which included a train ride lasting two hours longer than it should and thus missing the connecting train and having to take a grand prix like taxi, we arrived at the camp at 3pm or so. The camp was remarkable. It looked more like a castle from the outside. However, it was a very dreary and depressing site. You really need to be ready before visiting such a horrific place. I could smell death in the crematory, even 60 years after the camp was liberated by the U.S. Army. You can help but hope that those responsible for the atrocities there met a brutal end at the hands of the Allied courts. After the camp we had a crazy walk in the rain to the train station, thanks to poor directions. The train home was fast, and we arrived back in good old Vienna at 9pm or so.