Ich Bin Ein Auslander

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Munich. Land of beer, sausages, more beer and history. Well, maybe not so much history. From early on during our visit in Munich, say our first breakfast for instance, we were introduced to the first two (make that three) highlights of the city. Unable to find anything that struck our fancy, we stumbled into a beer garden in the morning and found ourselves a couple sausages, sauerkraut and potatoes. I kept myself under control, however, and turned down the 1 litre mug and opted for the half litre for the sake of propriety. Our first day was spent meeting one of Emily's old friend - Eva - who did an exchange to Delta Secondary nearly 8 years ago. Surprisingly enough, the three of us attended a beer garden where I tried a litre of beer mixed with lemonade (Refreshing enough, but don't recommend it). Em drank an entire litre of pure beer and she was drunk by the end of it. After a nice stroll through the English Gardens - and bravely overcoming the colony of old naked men sunbathing - we called it an early night. As we returned to our cozy abode, the rain came down. A large downpour mixed with violent flashes of lightning and thunder kept us entertained. When we were lucky, the lightning drowned out our neighbour across the street's neon red "exotic dance" sign. Em loves storms, so she was very happy. Fortunately, the next day was sunny and cloudless.

On the history front, we sought to find some traces left behind from the third reich and Hitler's regime. Being a Nazi stronghold, Munich was 80% destroyed by allied bombing. As reconstruction proceeded, the new Munich government attempted to erase the memory of their more recent past and instead promoted the great Bavarian spirit, which of course meant more beer and sausages. Two landmarks stand out: The first is a small plaque drilled into the ground in an unmemorable spot that commemorated the lost lives of four bavarian police officers killed during Hitler's failed putsch. Second, is a small path along a narrow alleyway that has golden cobblestone bricks laid in the middle of the street running down the middle. This golden path is pretty. That was our first impression. However, our tour guide enlightened us - The path commemorated the Munich people's small acts of passive resistance against the Nazis. During Hitler's reign, every Munich citizen was forced to heil Hitler everytime they passed the point where the putsch failed. Instead of heiling, many citizens dashed down this corridor, named "Dodger's alley" in protest to the Nazi regime. Despite this act of resistance that many people in the West are ignorant of, the city only constructed a pretty path that most tourists would have no idea of its significance. The history of the city is, therefore, very blurred. Reaching back to a previous past of beer-brewing monks, noble German rulers and, of course, sausages, Munich has decided to distance itself from its more turbulent past. While there ought not be a judgement on the city for their decision, it presents itself as an intriguing contrast to Berlin.

Enough of that now. In sum, Munich: Beer, Sausages, Beer. Good times had by all.

PS. On our way from Munich to Berlin we stopped in Nuremburg, which was Hitler's rallying point in WWII. This was where he would give speeches on that marble platform, and the troops would march by. Also, after the war ended, they had the Nuremburg War Crime Trials here. We saw a museum on them. It was very intense, a lot of the Nazi's claimed they would do it over again if they could, one commmited suicide, most were hanged, and two were found innocent.

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Photos

Leaking breasts
In the palace in Munich.. this was an interesting display. There were actually four of them

Our finished one litre beers
...at 2 in the afternoon...

The Hofbrauhaus
Famous beer hall in Munich. It seats about 6000 people!! Here I am trying to finish my one litre beer.

English Gardens
These gardens were huge and beautiful, with 3 beer gardens to complete! Also, the river runs through it, where you can see people can sit on the grassy bank, or swim down with the current. At some points you can even go river surfing!

Church of Our Lady
The famous church in Munich, where the current Pope used to reside before he came to Rome.

New Town Hall
This is actually the older of the 2 town halls in Munich, but since this building was one of 2 left standing after the war, they rebuilt the old town hall, even though now it's technically newer, they dont change the name.

Nuremburg
Marble platform where Hitler made speeches and troops marched on past.

Comments

[I.Ow]

Just love it
Hi: Em and Kevin Still enjoying the blogs and can't believe what great writers you both are. I know it must take up a lot of your time, but we sure are enjoying it. Would love to go to some of the places you've been to. Can't wait for you get home and share more stories and pictures with us. Take good care and enjoy every minute. Saw Tim yesterday. Your mom and I put him on the bus for his camp at Slave Lake. It was nice to see him in the company of all his friends. Anyway guys, have a beer for us and bless you both. Love and kisses I.Ow and Uncle Ted