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Published: June 14th 2017
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Geo: 48.1391, 11.5802
For some reason, neither Steven or I had high expectations of Munich, seeing it as a place to find Grandad Stan and spend a few hours. Boy, were we wrong - we will come back and spend more time, though not in Octoberfest, when the population swells from 1.6 million to 6.4 million!
We enjoyed breakfast overlooking the 200 year old Viktualienmarkt (food market) then wandered to Marienplatz (the central square since 1150s!) where we had booked a free walking tour. This was wonderful - our guide, Scott, was a young journalist from Perth with an interest in history (and a wife in Munich).
We saw the glockenspiel on the Neo-Gothic Neues Rathaus (town hall) chime and reenact stories from the 16th century. We also learned the history of the beautiful golden Maria & baby Jesus, erected in 1638 to celebrate the end of Swedish (Protestant) occupation during the Thirty Years' War.
The wind was bitingly cold as we stood in front of Frauenkirche (known as one of the windy-est coldest spots in Munich, I've since read) - they are restoring the towers which was a shame for our photo. Basically, all but the towers were bombed in WWII -
the Allies used the towers as navigational aids, so they were preserved. We then went to Odeonsplatz, where the Feldherrnhalle Hall stands, a gift of the Bavarian King to the people, connected with their freedom of speech, with statues of great generals underneath the three archways. Apparently this is where Hitler gave many of his speeches. The lion on the right with his mouth closed facing the church, Theatinerkirche indicates that you should not speak against the church, while the lion on the left with its mouth open (allowing speech and criticism) faces the Residenz Palace. Next time we come, I want to visit the Palace - and, if it is not winter, the Englisher Gardens.
We then walked past Max Josef Platz and the State Theatre, and heard about the good and liberal King Max Josef who lowered taxes on beer, free beer for the homeless and built the theatre which had the first fire sprinkler system (and yet still burnt down twice - they used beer to put the second fire out!). Then past the Hofbrauhaus, where we had some time to grab coffee and look at the tourist shops.
We saw the Alter Hof, once the home of
the Bavarian royal family, dating back in parts to the 12th century, with its oriel Monkey Tower - it was apparently the site of a royal kidnapping; a monkey belonging to the Court snatched the young Ludwig IV and carried him off up to the top of this window where the two sat for several hours before the monkey was lured back down (with beer!) and the baby was saved from harm.
From there, our tour led to the Alter Peter or St Peterskirche - we heard how the crucifix on top was placed in the wrong direction by drunken Munich boys one night. We saw the Viktualienmarkt where we heard about the MayPole shenanigans of the Munich locals. Then, as the tour ended, we ducked into the Church of the Holy Ghost on our way to lunch in...another beer cellar!! Good food again, though we didn't attempt the 1l beers this time.
From there, we retraced our steps somewhat, popping into the splendid white interior of the Theatinerkirche. The church was built in Italian high-Baroque style in the 1600s to celebrate the birth of a male heir to the throne. Then to the Frauenkirche, with its quite modern interior (rebuilt
after 1945, of course). Then we discovered the Neues Rathaus interior - staircases that looked like something from Hogwarts, and we also discovered the Law Library, one of the most beautiful libraries in the world!
Then, Georgia, Matt and I went up the Rathaus tower, with its stunning views over the city at sunset, whilst Steven and Tom explored St Peters (with its creepy bejeweled skeleton in the patron saint of spinsters!)
We returned to the hotel, grabbed all our bags, metroed to the train station (where we bought supplies for a train picnic) and trained to Salzburg - only a 900m walk to our hotel.
My goodness, we slept well that night - 14km walked!!!!
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