When we got to Munich, Tanja, Snoopy, and I started on our walking tour of the city while my coworkers went to find a bus tour. We made our way along the path in our guidebook, and eventually stopped in the three main churches in Munich, St. Peter's, St. Michael's, and the Frauenkirche, as well as other touristy Munich sites. Since it was Sunday, there were services going on, and when we peeked in St. Michael's we were able to witness the mass being conducted by what I would assume was the bishop or arch-bishop of Munich complete with vestments and hat (forgive my ignorance of Catholic terms). Tanja and I both thought that was really cool to see.
As we were coming out of St. Michael's, we noticed it was almost 11 AM. Munich's New Town Hall (picture below) has a huge glockenspiel that rings every day at 11 AM and noon (search it out on You Tube if you care to see it). We ran and managed to catch most of the show as the carved figures danced and jousted and circled around while the tinny music played. Incredibly cheesy, incredibly touristy, and incredibly fun free entertainment.
Once the glockenspiel show was over, we made our way to St. Peter's. After peeking in the service there, we climbed up 300+ stairs to an observation deck in St. Peter's tower. Snoopy was such a good sport through it all. The stairs were very narrow and there were people trying to go both up and down making for a very tight squeeze in many sections. Snoopy did quite well all things considered. Here's Tanja and Snoopy climbing the stairs:
Once we got to the top, we could see for miles. A safety cage around the deck kind of ruined pictures we took of each other from up there, but the pictures I took through the cage of the city and buildings turned out well enough. Here's the Town Hall from our vantage point in the tower:
A little history of the building and city:
Much of Munich was burned during the Allied invasion in WWII, the town hall included. But most of the building survived (you can still see the burn marks on the facade), and the Allies used it as a headquarters as they pushed further into Germany. When we wander into many churches in Germany, there is usually some information about how the building was reconstructed or renovated after the war and how the artwork, finishes, and relics were preserved. Southern Germany is mostly Catholic, while because of Martin Luther, Lutheranism dominates elsewhere in the country. Munich, a very Catholic city, was rewarded by Rome and has more religious relics than any other city besides Rome. When we went into St. Peter's, we saw a skeleton of a third century martyr who was decked out in a crown and had all kinds of jewels in her glass tomb.
This monument in the Marienplatz (right outside the New Town Hall) had cherubs slaying monsters representing various evils (war, disease, etc). However, the monster that caught my eye the most was this rooster with a snake's tail. It represents the evil of Protestantism. I told you Munich was a Catholic city!
As we continued our walk, we passed by the church below that I thought was pretty enough for a picture with Tanja and then found our way to Munich's main park (same concept as Central Park in New York City).
As it so happened, the US Consulate happened to be right next to the park, which I thought was kind of cool. We read in our guidebook that the stream shown here enters a section where artificial waves are created and people come and surf in the stream. We wanted to see the surfing, and we actually saw a surfer walking down the street with his board after surfing, but I guess we didn't go far enough along the stream. Instead, we wandered around and let Snoopy enjoy the grass.
He must have had fun, because on the walk back to the train station when we popped into the Munich Residenz Palace, he found a spot of grass he liked and just laid down to relax a while (miraculously long enough for me to get a good picture of him before moving and coming over)!
And of course, since it was Munich, home of Oktoberfest, we went to the Hofbräuhaus Beer Hall. This place was huge and so touristy! There was a live brass band playing German folk music/drinking songs in true oom-pah style, people wearing their leiderhosen with funky facial hair, and a very lively atmosphere all around. I noted in the men's room that there was even a special sink for vomiting - gross! We have written before about how expensive it is to get drinks in a restaurant and the wait staff doesn't bring you tap water with complimentary refills. To bring the point home, beer (served in one-liter steins) cost more per liter than Coca-Cola (which we did break down and buy for this meal). Other than that, the beer hall was quite fun and a great experience. Check out the keg and all the steins!
Our return train trip was another four hours, and we rolled into the Stuttgart station tired and ready for bed after another successful day.
I imagine people must think that you are pretty weird going into Beer halls and ordering Coca Cola at twice the price! I love the historical descriptions you both give of these visits. Will you be sad to leave?
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