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Published: June 19th 2008
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Another great day in Germany. We all love this country, and agree that Munich is a great place to visit. When we initially setup this vacation, we thought 3 days in Munich would be enough, but there is way more to see that we were able to fit in. We leave in the morning for Florence by Train, and we are literally across the street from the train station (see picture from our hotel window)....
We slept in this morning, and for all of us it was our best night sleep so far. We had a late breakfast (except Rhiannon who opt'd for yet more sleep), and hit the streets before noon. We walked west into the center of town, and I was surprised my how small the center of town really is. I'm sure Munich is spread out, but we were able to walk from one side to the other pretty easily. We first checked out the Frauenkirche Cathedral. The Cathedral was built between 1468 and 1488, and the towers are almost 100 meters tall. We purchased the tickets to take the trip to the top of the towers where we had an incredible view of the entire city.
Garbage Truck in Munich
Charlene got a little homesick, but we managed to push on... We spent about 15 minutes up top, and then headed back down. We then went to check out the actual Cathedral, and it was huge. Micah had warned us (back in Prague) that it was big, but I was completely awestruck. The sunken area behind the main alter had all kinds of interesting documents dating back to 1300 or so. I took lots of pictures, and we left after about 30 minutes or so. We then headed over to another older building that had been converted to office space. Outside it had the appearance of an older Palace, but after gaining entrance we discovered it was actually commercial offices (kind weird). Anyway, we continued east, and found the location of the Hofbrauhaus where we decided to have lunch. This place was pretty neat. We had heard that the place can pack upto 1,500 people during peak times (probably Octoberfest). The place had a real touristy kinda feel, but we all had great meals, and the beer was pretty good too. They have a band that strikes up to play music every 15 minutes or so, so that was cool too. Took more pictures, and bought a big mug.
We
Cathedral Towers
Almost 100 meters tall... then headed toward the Residenz Museum and Theater. We bought tickets to go in, and took the main Museum tour (the Treasury Tour was extra, and we were glad we skipped it - the Museum Tour was long enough). The tour was pretty long, and the camera died about 10 minutes in (mental note - need an extra battery before we hit Florence). We learned that much of these structures were destroyed during WWII, and what was on display was mostly reconstructed representations of the original. We left with a kind of sad feeling that all the beautiful artwork and architecture (a lot of which dated back to the 13th and 14th Century) was destroyed in a relatively recent war. The Rezidenz was actually occupied by the Royal Family until 1921 when it offically became a Museum.
After the Museum we headed back to the hotel. Did some window shopping on the way, and Tyler and I went on a side excusion to find a Book Store with English books. Tonight Germany plays Portugal in soccer, and we're all sucked into it now, so will end todays post here. Tomorrow we take the train over the Alps into Italy.
Hope to get some good pictures on the way, and will send an update when we get to Italy....
Doug
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Paul
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Thanks for the ride
Hi Doug, Charlene and Family: It's facinating traveling with you, on your adventures through Germany and the Czech Republic. We're enjoying the pictures and descriptions of your day. The TravelBlog is a great way to share your experiences and thoughts in a new culture. I will need to do the same when Lani and I head to Europe next month. All is well, here at the Progressive ranch. Keep the journal and pictures coming. Give my best to the Pope and tell him I'll send pictures of our Bodega Bay camping this weekend. Travel safe.