A City Tour of Munich

We had purchased a guided walking tour of Munich city through the resort. This was a last minute decision as we were unfamiliar with Munich’s tourist sites and felt that the best way to see the city was via a guided tour.

Maximillian Joseph Platz

After breakfast, we boarded our bus for the northerly one hour ride into Munich. Our tour guide provided us with a lot of information about unique features of the surrounding Bavarian countryside.

Jane & King Ludwig I

The Bavarian farmers have some unusual farming techniques which were pointed out by our guide. Coming into Munich, which is the capitol and heart and soul of Bavaria, a number of interesting landmarks can be sighted, including the BMW headquarters, which played an important role in WWII in Nazi Germany, as well as the eight breweries that call Munich home.

The royal apartments

Our tour started in the Maximilian Joseph Platz, a large square or plaza where we were given some historical information about some of the early Bavarian kings who ruled from Munich.

Odensplatz detour (note gold bricks)

We walked through the courtyard of the royalty residence apartments which is a huge complex that served the royalty when they were in town. We walked to the Odensplatz via a street that was used by Münchners to avoid a Nazi checkpoint, and to the Marienplatz where Hitler gave his rousing political speeches that galvanized the masses to become sympathetic with the Nazi Party.

Odensplatz

We then walked to Marienhof Park, located in the old town of Munich behind New Town Hall.

Need meat?

Our group entered an exclusive delicatessen/gourmet shop where we could purchase fine German meats, cheeses, coffees, liquors, pastries, chocolates and candies, and a whole host of specialty items.

A little bit of everything!

Jane was drooling and wondering why we weren’t purchasing anything. You name it, they had it and it looked fine. We returned to street to spend some time viewing the plaza.

Rathaus-Glockenpiel

Playing out the stories

This brought us up close to the top of the hour, and we walked around the corner just in time to see Munich’s famous Rathaus-Glockenspiel, dating from 1908. At 1100, 1200, and 1700, the bells of churches surrounding the Marienplatz begin to ring steadily.  When they stop after 3-5 minutes, the Glockenspiel chimes start and reenactment of two stories from the 16th century delight the crowd of tourists and locals. It consists of 43 bells and 32 life-sized figures.

Church near Glockenspiel

The top half of the Glockenspiel tells the story of the marriage of the local Duke Wilhelm V (who also founded the world famous Hofbrauhaus- more on that later). In honor of the happy couple, there is a joust with life-sized knights on horseback representing Bavaria (in white and blue) and Lothringen (in red and white). The Bavarian knight wins every time, of course. After the knights duke it out, the lower half and second story starts. This story starts in the year 1517 when a plague descended on Munich. The coopers supposedly danced through the streets to lift everyone’s spirits. Because of their loyalty to duke, their dance symbolizes perseverance and loyalty to authority during difficult times.

Landmark towers of Frauenkirche

Cathedral sanctuary

We left the Marienplatz and were guided to a small park next to the famous Frauenkirche (Cathedral of Our Dear Lady) where our guide told us about the church’s history. The church dates back to the 12^th century and  today is known for its remarkable twin towers that stand over 300 feet high. Since Munich building codes prohibit any buildings in the central area to be taller than the towers, the church serves as a landmark and is visible throughout the central district. Although it was built in the late Gothic style, it was constructed with red brick and lacks the rich Gothic ornamentation. The towers were added later and do not match the architechural style of the church. Today, the church, having been heavily damaged by Allied bombing in WWII, has been rebuilt to its original specifications. We noted that some reconstruction is still ongoing.

Graves in the church's red brick

Mmmm... Schwein Knöchel!

At last! After going to church  we finally got to go to the tour’s main attraction- the famous Hofbrauhaus. Capt. Larry was in heaven, even though Oktoberfest was still 2 weeks away. We walked through the establishment and viewed the painted murals that adorned every wall. It was past lunchtime, so we decided to sample the fare. Jane ordered the sausages (Würste) and sauerkraut (Gekochtes Sauerkraut) dish, while Capt. Larry settled on one of the house specialties- a pig’s knuckle (Schwein Knöchel) and potato dumpling (Gekochte Kartoffelklössel).

Hofbrau pils!

And of course Hofbrauhaus pilsner in a huge mug.

Play me a polka!

Just as our food arrived at our table, a traditional German oompah band started playing.

Prosit!!

We started talking to a young Munich couple seated next to us who told us about their country and city, had traveled in the U.S., and were interested in our trip. The food was very filling and the beer much stronger that in the states, and when our plates and mugs were empty, it was time to go.

A beer garden breakfast

We had the next couple of hours of free time to do what we wanted.

Bavarian Maypole

We slowly made our way back to the Maximilian Joseph Platz, our pickup point, and from there we walked a few blocks in different directions doing a little shopping and sightseeing.

Need lederhosen?

Burgers and beer

We returned to the plaza at the appointed time and rode back to Garmisch.

Because of the heavy use of the laundry facilities, Jane was unable to finish the laundry the previous day, so she decided return to that. Capt. Larry offered to carry the clothes for her, and standing outside the laundry room, we suddenly heard a woman’s voice, “Laaaaaarry.” We turned in unison and found our next-door Florida neighbors, PK and Sarah, running up to us.

With neighbors PK and Sarah

Small world. Jane said that if she heard one more woman say “Larry” over here, that the Captain would have to start doing some explaining. PK and Sarah were going to tour Ireland for the summer. When discussing our travel plans with them, we had mentioned staying at the Edelweiss resort, and they said that they would check it out. Not in our wildest dreams would we have thought we would run into them, especially after our encounters with Jim and Sue Birke. We all decided to have pizza and beer, and after too many of the latter, we retired to our room.