A day in Munich

The Hofbrauhaus in Munich

Friday afternoon we headed 580 kilometers northeast to Munich, Germany. We had been told we were traveling on one of the 3 black weekends when a trip could take an additional 7 hours due to high vacation traffic. We were prepared for the journey with snacks, drinks and a good GPS. I guess we fared better than most as we only had an additional 1 1/2 hour travel time. Gen, our GPS, rerouted us at one point due to the dense traffic and we travelled through a few small towns, along country roads, and across a one lane wooden bridge built in 1863. We saw farmers handpicking cabbage and broccoli, trucks loaded with flats of produce, workers with hoes weeding the row crops by hand. It was great. I have to admit though I breathed a sigh of relief when after about 30 minutes I saw the sign pointing us back to the freeway.

I wasn't nervous about the drive to Germany like I was when we went to Italy. In Italy, there are signs posted everywhere to let you know the roads are patrolled by cameras watching you every moment. Doug and I do our best to follow the rules but sometimes the language barrier and speed traps make it confusing. In Germany, the rules of the road are different; there are no speed limits on the autobahn and the only rule is to stay out of the way. Not an easy thing to do. Cars come up quickly when they are exceeding 120 mph. There was one watch out though. We would be traveling for about 10 minutes through Austria and needed to purchase a toll sticker for 9.50 Euro before getting on the toll road or be subjected to a "special tax" of 250 Euro (read stiff fine). We bought our vignette sticker at a BP station 10 miles from the border just to be safe.

camping looks differently here

The drive was spectacular. It was a blue sky day with a few white wispy clouds hanging over the
mountains. We saw bison with their babies, cows dotting the hillsides, fields of sunflowers, corn and baled straw. We saw houses attached to barns truly making the cows part of the family. We saw huge perfectly stacked wood piles and fields filled with solar panels. We were puzzled by groups of people in trailers camping in the middle of fields and parking lots. We passed towns scattered among the hills and beautiful glistening blue lakes. At one point we came out of a tunnel, rounded the corner and I just stopped talking. For just an instant the snow capped Alps stood majestically before us. It was as if one could reach out and touch them.We drove through a small Austrian town that had flowers in all the window boxes. We drove through two border crossings without anyone stopping us at border control. After driving through a tunnel we entered Germany. In Germany we drove through the state of Baden Wurttemburg and then entered Bavaria. The checkered squares of golden wheat fields and deep green corn stalks stood out against the brilliant blue sky. In the distance we could see the Bavarian Alps. Munich was 2 1/2 hours from the Austrian border and time flew by almost as fast as the cars speeding past us. We played the license plate game where we kept track of how many countries (22) and Swiss cantons (23 out of 26) the cars came from. Our hotel was perfect with free parking, WiFi and breakfast, close to the bus and metro and easily accessible from the freeway.

Marienplatz with Mary's Column 

We decided to explore Munich with a free walking tour. It was a great decision. Our tour guide showed us things we never would have found without his guidance. It was a partly cloudy day but warm enough for shorts and great for exploring. The Metro, tram and trains were easy to use in Munich and we were only 10 minutes from city center.

The Clock tower has 32 figures and 43 bells

Marienplatz (Mary's square) was where we began our tour. We saw the New Town Hall built in 1908 that looked more like a church than a government building because of its Gothic facade. We watched the world famous Glockenspiel (clock) performance as life sized knights on horseback jousted celebrating the marriage of Duke Wilheim V in 1568. The second half of the performance told the story of the cooper's dance and their help during the plague of 1517. We stayed until the rooster crowed 3 times which signified the end of the show.

Old Town Hall

We heard the story about the statue in the center of Marienplatz, the main square in Munich since 1158. The statue was topped with a golden statue of the Virgin Mary. The column was put there in 1638 to celebrate the end of the Swiss occupation after a 30 year war.

Across the plaza was the Old Town Hall. It was here that Goebbels gave the speech that began the Night of Broken Glass in 1938 where 30,000 Jews were arrested and numerous synagogues, homes and businesses burned. Now the building is used as a toy museum.

The Frauenkirche

The Frauenkirche, the Cathedral of our Dear Lady, was built in 20 years; impressive since it was built in 1468. The twin towers are the highest site in Munich because city mandate does not allow any building to be taller than the towers. The Cathedral was not like other cathedrals we have visited. The outside was a large nondescript red brick building. Inside there was a double row of 72 foot tall white columns down the entire center aisle with stained glass windows along the walls. Our guide told us the legend explaining the dark footprint in the floor at the entrance. Legend says it was made by the devil while the building was constructed (or perhaps the architect did it).

We walked past the Bavarian State Opera House, the prestigious Bayerischer Hotel where we saw a makeshift memorial to Michael Jackson, and down Maximillianstrasse, the famous high end shopping street where spending 1000 euro a day is normal for some people. Since none of us were shopping we headed to Odeonsplatz, the square where so much history has occurred. The square is formed by 3 buildings: the Theatine Church, the Munich Residenz and the Hall of Generals.

Ornate carvings inside the Theatine Church 

We entered the Theatine Church and sat in a pew for a moment staring at the white domed ceilings, the ornate carvings, the huge paintings high on the walls. It was built in the opulent Baroque style so there was quite a bit to take in. This church had been built in the 15th century and the outside was covered in scaffolding for remodeling. The scaffolding itself was a bit of a marvel.

Directly across from the church was the Munich Residenz, the former palace of Bavaria. I was surprised at how large it was. There were four 400 year old statues of brass lions with shiny noses in front of the palace. Residents and tourists touched the lion's nose for good luck as they walked past.

The Lions at the Hall of Generals 

The Hall of Generals completed the square. The memorial was built in 1844 to honor the generals who fought in the 30 year war and in the fight against Napoleon. Many parades and speeches have taken place here including ones by Hitler. I learned the right hand salute is now illegal in Germany but during WWII people were required to salute the memorial and were imprisoned if they didn't. Directly behind the memorial is a street the German resistance fighters would take to avoid walking past the memorial. Munich has placed gold bricks in the street to remember these fighters.

3 floor beer hall from the 16th century

We headed to the Hofbrauhaus for a bit of a break. The famous beer hall was built in the 14th century so the royal court could have beer. They were the only ones who could drink this beer. Now, 10,000 liters of beer are consumed inside this building every day! That's a lot of beer. Beer has been such a part of Munich's culture there is even a Bavarian Beer Purity law which allows only barley, water, hops and yeast to be used in the brewing. One third of all the beer in Munich is consumed during the 16 days of Oktoberfest. Wow! Inside the Hofbrauhaus we listened to the Bavarian band, watched men dressed in lederhosen and women in drindls, and saw signs hanging over tables celebrating groups of people who have sat at the same table once a week for at least 3 years. We even saw lockers where people store their mugs. It was quite an experience.

Munich's Maypole story

We ended our tour in the fresh food market called Viktualienmarkt. People were sitting under the trees at long wooden tables with a mug of beer in hand, some dressed in traditional clothes, all having a good time with family and friends. The market was filled with individual carts and booths selling fresh meat, fruits, honey, vegetables, spices, wine and tea. The Maypole in the center of the square told the history of the town - Bavarian monks made good beer, there was a plaque, dancing and beer drinking went together, and there are 6 beer companies in Munich.

Since our tour had concluded Doug and I went to explore Munich on our own. We found the Holy Ghost Church which was holding a modern art exhibit called Clouds. Thousands of white strings hung from the ceiling which symbolized clouds. Numerous white strings were strung onto a wooden frame set on the floor. People were encouraged to tie knots into the string and let go of those things weighing them down. We went back later in the evening to experience the music and light show. It was a lovely experience.

Resting at the Angel of Peace

I wanted to see the English Garden so we started walking. We walked through Maximillian Park, along the Isar River, and sat at the Angel of Peace statue. On the map it looked like we were just at the edge of the English Garden and we had already walked for an hour and a half. So we turned left and kept walking. We passed the Bavarian National Museum with beautiful red window boxes, and saw an entrance to a park. We had found it. It was worth the walk.

These surfers were crazy good

The English Garden covers 910 acres making it larger than New York's Central Park. We sat for a while watching people skillfully surf across a man-made wave. As soon as one person was kicked out by the wave the next surfer entered the wave. The surfers lined up on both sides of the wave and were so fun to watch.

The park was so much fun

The Chinese pagoda in the English garden serving German beer was our next stop. It seemed so multicultural. The park was beautiful with streams and pathways, trees and flowers, large open green spaces, people riding horses and bikes, birds singing, dogs playing in the streams, and of course beer.

A Hofbrau beer garden surrounded the Chinese pagoda. A band was playing Bavarian music, kids played on the playground and people sat at long wooden tables for a drink and a meal. We saw a lot of bridal parties, bachelor parties and a wedding reception in the hour we were there.

Peasant's feast with roast pork, pickled pork and sauerkraut, yum!

On our walk back to the center of town we stopped at the Munich War Memorial and walked through the Old Botanical Gardens. We headed to an Augustiner beer hall for dinner where we had pork roast, pickled pork (ham) and sausage. I had the best sauerkraut I have ever had in my life. It was warm with a slightly sweet taste and I loved it.

We got to see the Sendlinger Tor, one of the last remaining gates of the old city built in the 1300's, before we headed back to our hotel. We had walked over 20 miles and it was time to call it a day.

Munich's history is wide and varied but it has a totally different feel than Berlin because of how the city chose to remember WWII. The city was heavily bombed in WWII but has been rebuilt according to how it looked in the 1800's. The memorials were present but subtle; an honest remembrance of Munich's past. We know there was more to discover in this old city but we will have to leave it for another day.