English Garden

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Phuong and I took an incredible bike tour of Munich that included a glimpse of the Englischer Garten, complete with a stop at the Chinese Beer Garden (which Phuong loved to see!).
The English Garden was beautiful. There were bikers, walkers, roller bladers, and lots of people had their dogs with them. Actually, there are dogs all over the city, and, often, people have their dogs "stay" outside of buildings while they run in for errands. So as you walk along the city streets, lots of dogs will be hanging out outside of grocery stores and such, waiting for their masters to come back. Phuong is now determined to teach Bebe such tricks.
Anyway, back to the English Garden! We biked along the Isar River, and flower petals from the trees rained down on us. There were so many things to see.... a lot of people were excited to see the nude tanning area. I was thrilled to see an area of the river that they've created for surfers! Yes, people actually surf at part of the river. It was fantastic!
We also learned a bit more about World War II during our tour. One building was even adorned with stone Nazi helmets. Our tour group rode by a street (I wish I could recall which one!) where, apparently, Hitler's followers had their first clash with the police. Some police died, and some of the Nazis died. Hitler constructed a memorial in honor of his fallen men, and every time people walked by this memorial, they were to salute in respect for his dead soldiers. Some Germans, in order to avoid having to do this, would walk along a small alleyway behind the buildings near the memorial. That walkway is now known as (I believe...) the Golden Road. With all of the things I've been learning, I might not recall that name properly. But, either way, it was interesting to learn.
There is much we haven't gotten to see in Munich, like the Hofbrauhaus, but we're returning on June 2 for a few more days, so we'll have the chance to experience more then!

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Photos

Becky on Bike
Starting the tour!

We're in Germany!
Phuong showing off her new wheels.

The Chinese Beer Garden
Where'd it come from? We're not quite sure...

Surfers in the River
Sure enough... People really do surf in the river at the English Garden.

Becky and Phuong
Here we are at the English Garden. People surf here!

Fresh Squeezed Juice
There were frishe gepresste safte stands throughout Munich, so Phuong and I tried a lot of juice! People typically stand at the stand tables in cafes; usually, there's no tables with chairs.