Germany Trip (Day 3)

Yesterday we explored Neuschwanstein Castle, today we planned to explore Munich. After a good night’s sleep in our comfortable hotel room, we woke up with time to experience the buffet breakfast that is included for Marriott Elite members (Gold level and above).

The breakfast was plentiful and delicious. Cooked to order omelettes, bakery items, sausages of many varieties, bacon, ham, potatoes, eggs, juices and coffee all included.  If you are not an elite member and wanted to purchase the buffet it was €28.00 per person.

Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour

Pleasantly full after the abundant breakfast, we were ready to explore the city.  We decided to do a Grey-Line hop-on-hop-off tour which took us around Munich.  The busses are double-decker buses and in nice weather the top is open-air.  We were fortunate, it was beautiful weather so we sat up top.  When you first board the bus you get a pair of headphones. You plug your headphones in at your seat and select the language you prefer.

As you drive around the city the narration describes what you are passing and mentions attractions near each stop. Our first stop was at the English Garden to watch the surfers. This is at the opposite end of the Gardens from where we were walking the first morning. The local surfers line up to take turns surfing the wave.

Surfing the Eisbach Wave can be dangerous, as the wave is formed by a concrete ledge under the water.  Anyone is welcome to try surfing but you need to bring or borrow a surfboard. We enjoyed watching, no need to try it ourselves!

After enjoying some more of the walking paths and lakes in the Garden we hopped back on the bus and spent time riding around looking at the varied architecture of the different buildings while learning about the history of the city from the narrated audio tour.

Viktualienmarkt

After relaxing on the bus for a while, we decided to hop off at the Viktualienmarkt.  This is an outdoor food market with bakeries, fruit and flower vendors, German food stands and several restaurants. It is a feast for the senses. We enjoyed wandering around and looking at all the different stands offering different snacks and foods. One of our favorite finds was the XXXL cherries.  These cherries were almost the size of ping pong balls and super-sweet. We purchased a paper cone of the cherries and snacked while we walked around the market.

We decided to eat lunch at an Italian restaurant with the logic that we were closer to Italy there than we are when we are back home in the US. The pizza was delicious and enjoying our meal at the table with the second story open window overlooking the market was a fun way to relax for a while.

After lunch, we walked around while listening to Rick Steves’ walking audio tour on an app on my phone. The audio guide gives directions and information about various sights along the way. Rick explained that this at the Viktualienmarkt May Pole is painted in white and blue, the traditional colors of Bavaria. The seven breweries of Munich are represented on this May Pole. The bottom of the pole pays tribute to the Reinheitsgebot, the German beer purity Law of 1516 which states that beer can only have three ingredients: barley, hops and water – with nothing else added. The Reingeitsgebot originally originated in Munich (München).

Marienplatz

We continued listening to the walking audio tour while we visited the Marienplatz area, the city square in the center of Munich. We learned about the new town hall (which actually looks very old). Pictured here is Neus Rathaus, New Town Hall.  It was built in the late 1800s. The intricate details of this building were fascinating.  The statues are Bavarian kings and nobles.  This building is most well-known for its Glockenspiel. At 11 am, noon and 5 pm each day the figurines come out of the balcony and spin and dance retelling the story of a noble wedding. Although most of the buildings in the area were destroyed in World War II, New Town Hall survived the bombs and served as US military headquarters after the Americans liberated Munich in 1945.

We explored some of the churches. My favorite was St. Peter’s Church.  It was heavily damaged in World War II but was rebuilt with private donations.  The twelve apostles are represented with bronze statues.  It is said that the Nazis had photographed all buildings in great detail so that they could rebuild after the war if any buildings were destroyed.  Those photographs were used to restore the frescoes in the church.

We climbed to the top of the 300-foot spire (300 steps) in St Peter’s church where we were treated to a great view of the city. It is a tight, narrow wooden stairway that winds its way up to the top of the spire.  It is worth the climb but not well suited for people with bad knees, claustrophobia, or fear of heights.

After we finished our walking tour, we took the Underground train to return to our hotel for one more evening of happy hour buffet and self-serve local beer. On the walk between the Nordfriedhof Underground station and the Munich Marriott is a small, Express grocery store.  This was the perfect place to purchase snacks and bottled water.  I live in Arizona and drink plain water all day long.  In Germany, it is not customary to order plain (still) water at a restaurant. Sparkling mineral water is more common but ordering still water will get you funny looks at most restaurants.  Buying bottled still water quenched my thirst and solved this problem. It was often difficult to find bottles of still water as it seems most Germans prefer sparkling mineral water if the were going to drink water.

Too soon, our stay in Germany was finished and the next morning we headed to Munich airport to fly to Ireland.

 

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