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Published: October 25th 2007
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Night Lights
Walking to the hotel from the train station. Gutten tag!
After spending more time than I had anticipated in Nuremberg, I got into Munich in the early evening. The hotel was just a few blocks from the train station, and from there it was just another 10 minute walk to the town center. I spent the whole first night walking around the city, seeing things at dusk and then in the dark. Marienplatz is the main square in Munich, and it is impressive. The most famous icon in Marienplatz is the Rathaus-Glockenspiel. Three times a day the huge display comes to life with bells, whistles, music, and 32 life-sized characters that reenact different stories from Bavarian history. It’s one of those things that is so well known that you have to see while you are there, but it’s not something that will change your life. The architecture around the glockenspiel is amazing - some of the structures have been around since the Middle Ages, and it shows. The whole square is alive 24/7 with locals, tourists, street performers, and vendors. My favorite shows were the German musical groups singing American songs a cappella. In just a stroll down one street, I heard very unique renditions of everything from
Guitar Hero
He knew everyone's American favorites. "Bye Bye Miss American Pie" to "Hit Me Baby One More Time."
Day two in Munich was largely spent on another lengthy bike tour. After having such a great experience in Berlin on bike, it definitely seemed like the best way to see the whole city. The Munich tour did not disappoint either, as the guide was incredibly informative and funny and we really did see things I would have never stumbled over if I were wondering around on my own. The highlight of the day, however, had to be meeting not one, but two Drake alums. I was walking down the street wearing a blue and white “Drake” bag on my back when a guy my age stopped me and asked if I was from Drake. He graduated just before I was a freshman, but he too was a SigEp so he knew a ton of the older guys from school. We hung out for the afternoon, and while sitting in a beer garden - of all places - a middle-aged guy with his family spotted my bag and came up to us. He graduated from Drake in the early 1980s with a degree in Politics and Journalism.
Piano Man
He switched from classical, to rock, to pop without a breath. No one seemed to wonder how he got the baby grand to the middle of the sidewalk. We talked to him for just a few minutes, but it was crazy - really a small world!
On my last day here in Munich, I got directions to the outskirts of town to see the last few landmarks I couldn’t miss. Olpiapark, the venue for the 1972 Olympic games, is a sprawling complex still used today for sporting events. I’ve never visited an Olympic park before, so that in and of itself was cool, but I really was interested in the history of the site - the Munich Massacre. Those of you old enough to remember it happening, or read about it in history class, 11 members of the Israeli team were taken hostage that September and subsequently killed by a Palestinian terrorist group. Olympic Village, the housing area that the athletes were abducted from, is today used mainly as university student housing, but the apartment building the Israelis were in has been left untouched. Spread throughout the park are a few memorials to the tragedy, but otherwise you would never know how the whole world stopped and held its breath 30-some years ago, waiting to see what would happen in Munich.
Right down the road from
Glockish
This is one side of the town hall building where the Glockenspiel is housed. Because of construction, the actual glockenspiel didn't look all that cool in pictures. the Olympic area is another German landmark I was happy to see - the BMW World Headquarters. Designed to look like a 4-cylinder engine, the tower itself is an engineering marvel. Next to the tower is the official BMW Museum, full of the history of the company, current production line-up, and prototypes. (Jealous, Mark Friedman?) After seeing nearly every person in this country driving a Beemer, it was cool to see the HQ of the company. One thing is for sure, Bavarians love their domestic cars, and it shows.
Munich has been a blast - it’s a very cool place to have a good time, and still has a lot to offer for us nerds who always get a kick out of an impromptu history lesson. Just one more city to see in Germany, and then I am out of this great country I have enjoyed so thoroughly. The rest of Europe will have a tough act to follow.
Until then,
PEACE
Travel Trips For The Complete Dumbass #12
“Great care should be taken while operating a bicycle.” While the streets of many European cities are ideal for navigating by bike, that isn’t to say that
Marienplatz
All of the architecture in the main square looks distinctly Bavarian. you won’t encounter your fair share of obstacles. Buses, cars, pedestrians, and buildings can appear seemingly out of nowhere at any moment. That is particularly true while you are on a bike tour that includes an extended stop at an authentic German beer garden. It is always a good idea to re-orientate yourself with your bike and you sense of equilibrium after one of these stops before hitting the road again.
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