Day 13 – July 9: 14 hours in Munich

Because we picked up our rental car earlier than planned in Vienna, we had to get the car returned to Munich by 9 am to not have to pay for an additional day.  This meant our earliest start to the day.  The plan was to have our bags in the car ready to go by 7 and pop into the hotel breakfast when it opened for a quick bite before taking off.  But when we popped in, it turned out to be the most amazing breakfast spread we’ve seen so far!  Fresh squeezed orange juice machine where you squeeze your own serving; honey dispensers with three different types of honey; bread pudding and vanilla sauce -- the list goes on and on.  It was sad to have to rush through and we were a little later than we wanted to get on the road, but we did make it to Munich within the grace period time. I really enjoyed driving in Germany -- we got the nicest car I am likely to ever drive and I love how nice the German drivers are!

We walked our bags over to the train station where we would be leaving from at 11 pm for an overnight train to Amsterdam and stacked them in a big locker for the day.  Then, with guidance from my South Pas/Mountain View friend and Munich-native Petra, Jim’s ex-Blue River co-worker and Munich-native Kathrin, and Rick Steves, we headed out to see as much of Munich as we could in 14 hours.  

We walked toward the old town center stopping first outside St. Michael’s Church (which is one of the first great Renaissance buildings north of the alps) to read about the history of Munich from 1100 as a salt trading post to the center of Bavarian empire to the present.  It is hard to remember when walking the city that it was mostly in ruins in 1945.  The city made the decision to rebuild it to its old splendor rather than start fresh with a brand-new modern city.  Much of it was complete in time for the 1972 Olympic Games but there is still postwar construction happening. 

We stepped into the church which has a beautiful interior, and, most importantly to us, is the final resting place of King Ludwig II.  People who still love "Mad" King Ludwig continue to leave fresh flowers by this tomb in the crypt.  If we had been close to a flower shop, Rachel would have left him some flowers.

We wanted to get to Munich’s main square, Marienplatz, in time for the famous glockenspiel to do its thing.  When we got there we were surprised by the crowds.  Turns out it was Pride Day in Munich (which seemed fitting given that there seems to be little debate now that King Ludwig II was homosexual).  It was hard to tell who was there for what but the square was overrun with tourists and festival-goers, entertainers and loud music.

All the commotion stopped and all attention in the square turned to the glockenspiel when it was set to go at 11 am.  It celebrates a noble wedding that took place in the square in 1568 in four parts, the most exciting of which is the joust.  In all it takes about 15 (slow) minutes to complete the show and most of that time is waiting for the next thing to move. Jim and Rachel both took videos if anyone’s interested.

Petra highly recommended the 300-step climb up to the top of St. Peter’s church overlooking the square, but the line for tickets was long and the thought of the claustrophobic stairwell with all of those people did not appeal so we moved on to the Viktualienmarkt, a wonderful outdoor market full of produce and other goods.  And, of course, a beer garden.  Our favorite thing to learn about the market is that because this prime real estate right in the heart of the city would be too expensive for these vendors, the city has chosen to charge them just a percentage of their income enabling the market to survive rather than be taken over by fast-food chains. 

We walked through the indoor Italian market behind the outdoor one and over to the Jewish Synagogue and Museum, both of which are windowless and uninviting.  The synagogue is actually closed to non-worshippers and we didn’t have time to explore the museum, but now wish we had. 

Asam Church was fun to peek into.  It was the private church of two architect brothers and a site they used as a showcase of their work.  So it had all the available options in one place…making it and them seem a little “Rococonuts”.   The illusion of the dome on a flat ceiling was particularly impressive.

We had made arrangements to meet Kathrin for lunch near the Theresienwiese fairgrounds where they were already starting to build structures for this year’s two-week Oktoberfest celebration in late September, which has been an annual bash since the 1810 marriage of King Ludwig I.  It would have been an easy metro ride to meet her but it didn’t look that far on the map and we decided to walk....it was further than it looked.

Kathrin is currently living in Montreal where her husband is an assistant professor and they have a newborn baby (a life I remember).  They are both from Munich and she was home visiting her mom and in-laws.  We had a fun visit and nice lunch in a traditional biergarten (not one just for tourists).  My favorite thing about a biergarten is that you are allowed to bring a picnic lunch and sit at the tables as long as you order drinks.  I could see choosing that option often!

After a lovely visit with Kathrin and her adorable, smiley daughter Amelie we needed to get back on our Munich-in-one-day tour. We decided to take the metro back into town and stopped at the Odeonsplatz, the center of the royal families Munich vision and the place where Hitler was leading his followers to bring revolution to Germany when he was arrested and sent to jail (where he wrote Mein Kampf).  After he was in power it was the spot where he placed a memorial that people who had to salute as they passed by. Some chose rather than salute Nazism to take an alternate path down Viscardigasse instead.

We went through the elegant Hofgarten behind the Residenz to the entrance of the English Garden to a place where local surfers line up to take turns riding the one wave in the river. Once they fall they are carried quickly by the current downstream but get back out and get back in line.  It seems like such a fun way to surf since you don’t have to wait on the perfect wave…it is always there.  But also so dangerous as you are surrounded by concrete.

When we walked back through the Hofgarten we walked into the 400-year-old centerpiece Renaissance-style temple known for its great acoustics and were treated to a demonstration of those acoustics by a violinist.   We also passed the gravel boules court with teams competing in a game that was difficult to figure out (though they seemed to know who won).

We were heading toward the Hofbrauhaus (past the Residenz, National Theater, and down Maximlianstrasse) when we decided we had time to get back to St. Peter’s Church and climb to the top before it closed.  This time there was no one in line for tickets!  The climb up through the narrow staircase is difficult but the views are worth it!  Actually, it was a little much for me being on such a narrow ledge with views of the city straight below, so I took a quick look and headed in.  Jim and the girls enjoyed the overview of all that we had just walked.

We walked back to the Hofbrauhaus to get drinks and a really large pretzel in the world-famous beer hall – one of the seven breweries in Munich.  It was touristy but a stop we felt we needed to make.  From there we just wandered the streets without a true destination in mind and found dinner in an Indian restaurant (we’ve had a ton of pizza lately!).  We then walked back to the train station to await our overnight train adventure to Amsterdam.  We had four of the six berths in our compartment and were joined by a man heading to Dusseldorf.  He was a great nighttime companion – spoke very little English and was so quiet I barely noticed when he left early in the morning.  It is now the next morning and we are pulling into the Amsterdam station…the girls and I feel well-rested and ready to start the day.  Jim had a much harder time sleeping on the extra-firm mattresses – he’s a little bit princess and the pea.