Again, after 4 trains (it isn't as bad as it sounds), we arrived in Munich on Sunday afternoon. A short walk from the train station brought us to our hotel - Hotel Royal - quite nice for 70 Euros per night. After unloading our packs (which seem to be getting heavier even though we are buying very little), we walked to the Marienplatz - the centre square in Munich. What a bustling place! We found out that it was Munich's birthday so the entire square was set up as a beer garden and had live music. BUT we were on a mission - to find the world famous Hofbrauhaus! Only a few blocks away, we came across the holy grail of beer - the Hofbrauhaus. We sat down and ordered 1 litre jugs of beer each, some bratwurst, some weisswurst (really seemed like bratwurst but boiled), sauerkraut and kartoffelsalat (potato salad). What a feast and Jan finished her entire beer. So proud. It was quite hot as we walked back through Marienplatz so we stopped for a beer and bratwurst (not kidding - even though it was only a few blocks from the Hofbrauhaus) and saw the famous Glockenspiel do its thing. Back to our hotel and an early night.
Great breakfast at the hotel (included in our room rate) and off to a do a walking tour. We met at Marienplatz and then walked through the Viktualienmarkt which is a market of fresh goods from meat, to fruit, to bread, to cheese ... We then stopped at St. Peter's Church - it was here that our guide let us know that only 2.5% of Munich survived the bombing in WWII, but unlike other cities, it rebuilt in the original styles so it still looks like an old city (to be honest, it is a bit disappointing to know that most of what looks old was really rebuilt last century). Then off to Frauenkirche (the Lady's Church) which was where the last pope spent time preaching before becoming Pope. We then went to Odeonplatz another square made (somewhat) famous by Hitler as this was where he was arrested for basically disturbing the peace (although 4 police officers were killed) before he came to power. Just off Odeonplatz is the Theaterinkirche - another old church. Then off to the Palace and Palace Garden which are now really occupied by various arts groups. Then off to the English Garden which is 30 km long (bigger than Central Park in NYC). We walked through a very small portion of the park observing some nude sunbathers (apparently quite common) - mostly 80 year old men. We stopped at some state building but the tour guides comments were lost on most of us as we were standing on a huge ant hill - the ants decided quickly to start crawling up our legs. We ended the tour at ... the Hofbrauhaus - oh well, when in Rome (or Munich) - Jan and I had a beer. We walked through Marienplatz and Viktualienmarkt and found a small restaurant with a salad bar - believe me it tasted great after all the bratwurst. After lunch, we shopped a little and stopped about half way back to the hotel for a beer. It was about 30 degrees today. A little more shopping and back to our hotel. We went back out around 8 pm for a walk and to find a cold beer. Surprise we found some! Off to Salzburg, Austria tomorrow.
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| Glockenspiel in Marienplatz |
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| Bob in Hofbrauhaus |
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| Jan in Hofbrauhaus |
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| Beer Garden in Marienplatz |
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