Black and Blue

Woah. Who would have thought that sleeping in a hostel would be the best sleep, even sleeping-through-the-alarm-quality? Not me.

I'd like to personally thank Rick Steves for guiding me through Munich. Without him I would have gotten hopelessly lost. Oh wait. I did. Like I said, give me a map, recipe, instructions and I can guarantee that I will not follow them 100%. Eh, it made for a more thorough tour of Munich!

Cow peoples

After literally dragging myself out of bed, I meandered my way out to the Marienplatz where the famed glockenspiel is. On the way there a group of German students were having some sort of rally that had to do with a giant John Deere (when I say giant I mean normal size for ag people) bulldozer... thing.. with a couch on it and a stuffed cow. It's a little sad and strange to say it felt slightly like home.

Weaving my way through the crowd past the Karlsplatz I ended up in the pedestrian mall which is more or less a zoo. There were Asians playing some sort of authentic music, I suspect Korean but I'm not so sure. Awaiting the glockenspiel chime at 11am was certainly not much better. I have never ever heard or seen so many Italians in my LIFE. They were chanting on and on (through the bell chimes, mind you) about their team. Though it it was a new experience hearing an entire plaza full of grown men drinking liters of beer in the morning singing about some team. The Italians have invaded Munich and they are aggressive.

Music fest

Glockenspiel and the giant statue that's under constant watch. Intense.

Back view of the glockenspiel

creepy gargoyles

Glockenspiel in action! All the while the Italians are chanting...

The aforementioned Italians

View from the top: Glockenspiel and Frauenkirche

St. Peter's church was next on the list and despite my better judgment I went in the church... during a service. Luckily I was super quiet and I don't think anyone noticed. Retreating, I ascended the 306 steps to the top of the tower to see a bird's eye view of the city. It was spectacular but a bit hard to meander as people like to stand and take up the whole balcony. Nothing personal.. but MOVE. As annoyed as I was I had the chance to meet an authentic Yankee, named Nathan, who was studying German with his high school. I suppose I don't attract too many English speakers usually, I tend to keep my mouth shut and I even tore my needed pages out of the guidebook so I wouldn't stick out. Yeah, a little strange, but I really like to blend in when I travel- it's a more authentic experience. After my interrupted descent (one staircase, very narrow, two ways) I took a moment to examine the outside of the building. On the exterior of the church there are tombstones, apparently these are there because way back in the day, they had to actually dig up the graves and move them for the sake of the city but the tombstones were plastered on the side as a reminder.

From there I headed to the viktualienmarkt where I got a variety of assorted candied fruits like guava, strawberry, melon, mango, kiwi (which are pretty popular here) and teeny oranges that I can't remember the name of. I also tried an awesome pickle (they have a lot of cheeses and olives too) and then had the typical pretzel with every kind of seed known to man on it.

Maypole in the center of the market

My bag of candied fruit goodies!

Asam: Rococo vomit.

 Following my instinct (or lack thereof) I walked to the Asam Church which looks like a Rococo-vomit-mess on the inside. Versilles, elaborate. Asam Church, downright shameful. I can't even imagine what kind of nutter decided to start decorating things like that, more importantly a church, there were obscene amounts of gold and painting every square inch of space. Nonetheless I am very glad that I went and experienced it- very interesting.

And then there were churches. Lots and lots of churches. First up to bat was the enormous, and under construction, St. Michael's. In stark contrast to the Asam Church, the interior was almost pristine. It is more of a renaissance style and has a white interior adorned with some flashes of gold. At the back of the church was a massive organ- mind-boggling how big this thing was. Next I hopped right on over to the Frauenkirche which is yet another church. However this one is rather unique for a few reasons, it has twin dome towers which are very reminiscent of the Dome of the Rock in the Holy City as well as the fact that it was nearly annihilated during the bombings of WWII. The church is proud of this fact, as there a graphic pictures of the rubble posted near the entrance. Yet another unique quality this church has is that it is actually built on top of the grave of Ludwig IV, a fact that is impossible to miss, even if you really put forth some serious effort. An elaborate black tomb/monument used to be "adorning" the altar is in the back so Jesus is the centerpoint again. I'm amazed just how many monuments, statues, relics, pictures, streets, markets.. etc. etc. are named for the Wittelsbachs. It seems like every street corner has something related to the royal family, not to mention there is a massive palace in the center of the city. At any rate, Ricky decided to elaborate on the topic in my handy guidebook and went on to explain that the people of Bavaria were required, back in the day of course, to say "Virgin Mary, mother of the duke, please protect us". Pretty sick stuff.

St. Michael's- pristine

Tribute to Ludwig IV- what a whacko.

Frauenkirche: Ludwig IV's "tomb" used to be under this...

Gorgeous. DON'T TOUCH.

I took my sweet time to meander my way past the copious quantities of shops to the Hofbrauhaus. One of those included was the Alois Dallmayr Delicatessen which had the most beautiful desserts I've ever seen. They also had some amazing truffles, cheeses, a fresh market and all kinds of coffee- but they had horrid prices to match. And then... Hofbrauhaus. Honestly I really don't think I've ever heard that many Italians in myok my sweet time to meander my way past the copious quantities of shops to the Hofbrauhaus. One of those included was the Alois Dallmayr Delicatessen which had the most beautiful desserts I've ever seen. They also had some amazing truffles, cheeses, a fresh market and all kinds of coffee- but they had horrid prices to match. And then... Hofbrauhaus. Honestly I really don't think I've ever heard that many Italians in my life (even in comparison to this morning), and I've been to Italy. It was more of a prime people-watching place than anything else. I have to say it's nothing like the pictures though.

Hofbrauhaus: more Italians

It's a typical pub-type setting minus the low-key element and it comes fully equipped with plaid plastic tablecloths. Mmm... classy. Went in, used their free bathroom, took my token picture of the beer hall and left. Check that off my list.

Side note: Germans really like pistachios. I thoroughly enjoy this fact. Especially on frozen yogurt with a free-for-all topping bar. Brilliant. End side note.

And then there was Rodeo drive.. German style. Named appropriately "Maximilianstrasse" after yet another Wittelsbach. After strolling past the  Louis Vitton and Dolce stores, I found my way to the Max-Joseph-Platz and discovered more Italians. Surprised? You shouldn't be. Another shocker: in the center of the plaza there was a statue of Max Joseph, father-in-law to Napoleon's step-son and yet another Wittelsbach. On the opposing side of the plaza was the Residenz, home to the Wittelsbachs. This place is HUGE. I mean, just absolutely gigantic. I'm pretty sure they could host a bomb diggity 5K inside.

Inside the Residenz

Every room was rococo style with lavish tapestrys, very uncomfortable looking beds, and ridiculous amounts of gold, porcelain and fine fabrics. It reminded me of Versailles, the inside at least, except there was very little (if any) use of lighter colors. There were a lot of reds, greens, and one room with yellow, but little blue. It's terribly difficult to describe here, it's a must-see type of place. There was one hall that really stuck out which was the antiquarium- a bust-filled Sistine Chapel, if you will. A disturbing part of the tour included a visit to a room filled with relics, including dead children. Yes, you read that right. Apparently the donors claimed that the mummified bodies (2 of them) were children that fell victim to Herod's reign way back in the day. Yeah, right. Bones were in fancy glass cases decorated with gold and precious stones. On the far wall there were little glass cases that held mummified hands. Sick, just SICK. The rest of the Residenz tour was a little rushed- I've been at it all day! Not to mention it was more of the same, gold, fine linens, portraits and a guy with a British accent boring the living daylights out of me over my little handheld phone thing.

Exit and on to the Odeonsplatz there there was another church, Theatinerkirche, this one bright yellow. Yawn.

Getting lost has its perks

Doofus got herself lost again. At least on the way I took some time to explore a cooking shop where you could buy ANY kind of salt imaginable in bulk as well as a lovely assortment of flavorings, toppings, seasonings, and rubs. Speaking German would have really come in handy. They also had a chocolate/confection shop where they were selling the most exquisite shaped marzipan animals- SO cute. They also had peep animals except theirs were hand-made and actually edible. After finally finding my way to the Brienner strasse (which by the way, is a street, NOT a pinpoint location) I found the monument that talked about the place. In German. Stupid American. Essentially it was the hub for Nazism back in the day and people weren't even allowed to pass the Platz der Opfer des Nationalsozialismus without performing the appropriate salute.

Backtracking, I returned to the Ludwig street (unexpected?) and walked into the Hofgarten. People were everywhere and bikes threatened to run you over if you weren't careful. Sounds like Athens. I really can't complain though, generally I'm the crazy biker. Anyhow, I took some lovely pictures of the giant Bayerische Staatskanzlei which I really don't know what it is but it looks important and impressive. Sauntering under a pedestrian/bike bridge I entered the English Garden. It was absolutely gorgeous. There were so many people and the park covered so much ground. I then regretted not renting a bike. One thing that the garden is famous for is a spot where surfers come to catch a wave... in a man-made park. I spent a good deal of time sitting on the grass by the river writing as much as I could- let's be honest, this thing is getting really long. Then went to the Chinese Beer Garden. I think my feet would have appreciated it if I had just skipped over that sight, but I'm glad I toured my way around the garden- they even had a little racetrack for horses! It would be a perfect place to make a horse bombproof... or die trying.

Surfing.. in a PARK?!

Perfect place for a stroll

Check out the Jack Russell

Beautiful

Marienplaz at night

Got lost again on my way to dinner so I wandered into the market for the second time today, and I will probably go again tomorrow. I landed myself at the Stadt Cafe which joins the Munich Museum. Great meal. I have to say I'm rather fond of the German-style dining. You never have to wait for a table, you get to stay as long as you'd like (all night even) and to top it off, they give you change right there at the table as well. Very convenient.

Desperately wanting something to do before going home and being lame, I headed back towards the direction of the wombatees. Sorta. I ended up stopping at a fruit stand where another customer randomly gave me a clementine... awesome! Free food!

There are so many shops around here it's rather ridiculous. If I had a lot of money to spend it would be a great town to do it in. I made the accidental and unfortunate discovery that two streets over from my hostel is more or less stripper town. Yeah, discovered that while wandering around at night. Ooopsies.

Made it back. Finally. And mooching off of the free drink from the wombatees. Yesssss.