The Old Folks Meet an Old Friend and Make Some New Ones Too.

The Siegestor

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Originally this monument commemorated great victories by the Bavarian army, but when it was heavily damaged during WWII it was partially restored and now serves as a monument to the ravages of war and the commemoration of peace. It divides the Maxvorstadt and Schwabing districts.

A Godsend

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Just when I needed one most this portable toilet appeared halfway between our subway stop and the Englischer Gartens.

Chinesischer Türm

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The Chinese Tower in the middle of the Englischer Gartens.

The place to be on a warm Munich day

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There were plenty of seats to be had in the Englischer Gartens. It was a bit early for dinner but in an hour or two this place would be even more packed with Munich residents stopping by for a Hofbrau beer and dinner of Steckerlfisch (grilled fish on a stick), Hendl (roasted chicken), or Schweinshaxn (roasted pork knuckle). Had we not committed ourselves to meet up again with Jurgen we might have stayed all night.

And I'll have ein Mass Lager

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Too much of a good thing had me switching from the wheat beers to a simple lager. My 65 year old tummy can't process all that gluten.

A river runs through it

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A tributary of the Isar river runs through this immense city park. The Isar then flows into the Danube further north. At another location in the park the current of the water is so strong that surfers can ride their boards on it,

Everybody else is doing it. Why not us.

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The selfie craze just might be the most annoying tourist trend ever. Wherever we went solitary individuals would break out their phone extended on a long stick, force a smile and then snap a photo of themselves "having fun". Can you imagine going to one of these people's homes and looking through all their travel photos with their face plastered in front of every attraction? Europe is beautiful. Why ruin it with a picture of ugly old me?

There's always time for one more beer

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After visiting the Apple store with Jurgen and setting him straight over what IPad he needed, we relaxed again outside with a beer. Not exactly an active vacation so far but it beats sitting on a beach in the hot sun with sand getting stuck in all my crevices.

Not quite the look I was going for

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It looks like short pants are in this summer but with a sports jacket? The English prep school look doesn't work for me. Fortunately I found khakis elsewhere in Kaufhof.

Sunset over the Marienplatz

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After dinner with Jurgen and his tour group the two of us took an evening amble through the center of Munich. Even though my feet were beginning to kill me the walk was quite relaxing in the cooling evening air.

Next time

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On our route toward the Hofbrauhaus we were passed by one of these bicycle cabs. He had Bavarian oompah music blaring for his clients as he wheeled them over the cobblestone streets past all the same tourist attractions we eventually passed. I bet he has beer in those saddlebags.

No thank you

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We passed our fair share of tacky souvenir shops on our walk. We had no interest in any of this junk. We had plenty of it already at home after 40 years of travels throughout Germany.

I remember when these sold for less than $20.00 each

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Now the average nutcracker will set you back more than $100. That is unless you can find a store selling the Chinese knock-offs. The smokers are a tad cheaper but don't buy any of this stuff in Munich. Prices are significantly cheaper in the rural areas.

The view across Max Josef Platz

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On our EF summer tours we always go to Bucherer's when we are in Lucerne, Switzerland. It's a store specializing in Swiss watches and jewelry. Until now I thought it was unique to Lucerne. Here is a Bucherer's in downtown Munich. We also saw them in Nuremberg and after that in Karlovy Vary. This is where the rich folk go for their souvenirs.

Part of the Residenz

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The largest city palace in Germany, the Residenz was the former home of the Wittelsbach monarchy. It's a huge complex of 130 rooms and ten different courtyards. One of these days we need to tour it. Like most everything else in Munich this is a reconstruction built after the Second World War.

The Theatine Church of St. Cajetan

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Being so close to the theater district when I read the plaque on this baroque church I thought it said it was a "Theater" church. Maybe a refuge for misguided actors. Not the case. It was built by Elector Ferdinand Maria to honor the birth of his son and heir in the late 17th Century. Church scandals cause it to become secularized for many years but it is now run by the Dominican order. They are still rebuilding parts of the church destroyed in WWII.