Rest day in Munich

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After breakfast we went Into Munich with Richard, Dave and Bob. We went by tram and underground. We first walked to the Marienplatz, the central square and had a coffee while waiting for it to be eleven o'clock, the time for the Glockenspiel performance to start. The performance lasted twelve minutes and included thirty two life size figures and lots of music.

The glockenspiel in the tower of the New Town Hall on Marienplatz is world famous. Here you can find out when you can see it and what story the colorful figures tell. It is one of the largest carillons in Germany is located approximately at the level of the roof of the town hall. Two events from Munich's city history are depicted in the Spielwerkserker: The main theme is the marriage of Duke Wilhelm V to Renate von Lothringen, celebrated in February 1568, on the occasion of which a knight's tournament took place on Marienplatz. In the competition, the Bavarian knight triumphed over his Lorraine opponent. In addition to the royal couple and their court marshal, a total of 16 figures belong to this scene. On the lower floor the coopers dance; the barrel makers are said to have been the first to venture out onto the streets again after a severe plague epidemic and cheered up the population with their dance. The dance of the Munich Schäffler has taken place every seven years since then.

After that we found a tour bus to take us round the sights. There were three different routes to do. We did the City tour first and then took the Olympic tour and got off at the Olympic park where the Olympics were held in 1972. We had lunch here and then got back on the bus for the rest of the tour. Then it was the Schwabbing tour which took us out to the Nynphenburg Palace and Schwabbing which is a trendy area with expensive shops and restaurants and the English Gardens.

We had all had enough then so we got the underground back to the hotel. There was a little confusion which way back yo the hotel but we got there in the end.

Meanwhile Lorna had got up early andvkeft the city by train to meet a friend in the Bavarian Alps, which are south of Munich, and was sending amazing photos of snow capped mountains.

Tonight'smeal was at a Vietnamese restaurant near by and was superb. After checking over the bikes we had a drink with Dave in the bar.

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