our rental car
parking spaces in garages are very small
I'm pretty sure Brannon hasn't had the same beer twice yet
Our guide Hildren lead us on an overview tour of the city. Munich is the capital of Bavaria southern Germany. It is Bavaria’s largest city and the third largest city in Germany (after Berlin and Hamburg). Munich, by far the largest city in southern Germany, lies about 30 miles (50 km) north of the edge of the Alps and along the Isar River, which flows through the middle of the city. Munich, or München (“Home of the Monks”), traces its origins to the Benedictine monastery at Tegernsee, which was probably founded in 750 ce. In 1157 Henry the Lion, duke of Bavaria, granted the monks the right to establish a market where the road from Salzburg met the Isar River. A bridge was built across the Isar the following year, and the marketplace was fortified.
In 1255 Munich became the home of the Wittelsbach family, which had succeeded to the duchy of Bavaria in 1180. For more than 700 years the Wittelsbachs would be closely connected with the town’s destiny. In the early 14th century the first of the Wittelsbach line of Holy Roman emperors, Louis IV(Louis the Bavarian), expanded the town to the size at which it remained up to the end of the 18th century. Under the Bavarian elector Maximilian I (1597–1651), a powerful and effective ruler, Munich increased in wealth and size and prospered until the Thirty Years’ War. It was occupied by the Swedes under Gustav II Adolf (Gustavus Adolphus) in 1632, and in 1634 a plague epidemic resulted in the death of about one-third of its population.
The third Wittelsbach who left his mark on the community was Louis I, king of Bavaria from 1825 to 1848. Louis planned and created modern Munich, and his architects established the city’s characteristic appearance in the public buildings they designed. The 19th century was Munich’s greatest period of growth and development. Protestants became citizens for the first time in what had been until then a purely Roman Catholic town. The city’s population of 100,000 in 1854 grew to 500,000 by 1900. Munich’s cultural importance in Europe was enhanced when Louis II, by his championing of the composer Richard Wagner, revived its fame as a city of music and the stage.
The rule of the Wittelsbach dynasty finally ended with the abdication of Louis III in November 1918, and, in the aftermath of World War I, Munich became a hotbed of right-wing political ferment. It was in Munich that Adolf Hitler joined the Nazi Party and became its leader. The beer cellar where he held meetings that led to the Putsch (“rising”) against the Bavarian authorities in November 1923 can still be seen (see Beer Hall Putsch). In World War II Munich suffered heavily from Allied bombing raids, which destroyed more than 40 percent of its buildings.
We started our tour by taking a city bus to a surfing spot on the Eisbach river. The Eisbach (German for "ice brook") is a small man-made river, 2 kilometres long, in Munich. It flows through the park known as the Englischer Garten and is a side arm of the Isar River. A manmade wave has been created on one section. The water is cold and shallow (sometimes only 40 cm deep), making it suitable only for experienced surfers.
the water is very chilly - we got splashed a few times
English gardens
After a short walk through the English we arrived at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in front of the Bavaria State Chancellory.
We then walked through the Hofgarten and under the Diana Pavillion on our way to the subway station. The Hofgarten was built in 1613–1617 by Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria as an Italian style Renaissance garden. In the center of the garden is a pavilion for the goddess Diana, built in 1615 by Heinrich Schön the elder. A path leads from each of the eight arches. On the roof of the Diana pavilion is the replica of a sculpture of Bavaria by Hubert Gerhard, created in 1623. The original is in the Kaisersaal of the Residenz. Our next stop was the LMU.
Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich (also referred to as LMU or the University of Munich, in German: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university located in Munich, Germany.
The University of Munich is among Germany's oldest universities. Originally established in Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke Ludwig IX of Bavaria-Landshut, the university was moved in 1800 to Landshut by King Maximilian I of Bavaria when Ingolstadt was threatened by the French, before being relocated to its present-day location in Munich in 1826 by King Ludwig I of Bavaria. In 1802, the university was officially named Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität by King Maximilian I of Bavaria in his as well as the university's original founder's honour.
The University of Munich has, particularly since the 19th century, been considered as one of Germany's as well as one of Europe's most prestigious universities; with 34 Nobel laureates associated with the university, it ranks 13th worldwide by number of Nobel laureates. Among these were Wilhelm Röntgen, Max Planck, Werner Heisenberg, Otto Hahn and Thomas Mann. Pope Benedict XVI was also a student and professor at the university. The LMU has recently been conferred the title of "elite university" under the German Universities Excellence Initiative.
LMU is currently the second-largest university in Germany in terms of student population; in the winter semester of 2013/2014, the university had a total of 50,542 matriculated students. Of these, 8,719 were freshmen while international students totalled 7,403 or almost 15% of the student population.
St. Ludwig Parish and University Church
We then hopped back on the subway and took the train to the BMW Museum and Olympic Village area. The kids had a fun time playing on the cars and motorcycles. Brannon really like the design of the building - both inside and out.
We then started making our way to Marienplatz to see the Rathaus-Glockenspiel. On our way there, we stopped at Asam Church. The beautiful Rococo Asam Church, dedicated to St. John of Nepomuk, was completed in 1746 by brothers Cosmas and Egid Asam and is richly decorated with stucco figures, frescoes, and oil paintings. While its exterior is impressive enough, particularly the large doorway flanked by massive columns and crowned by a figure of St. John kneeling in prayer, it's the interior that's most memorable. Highlights include a wrought-iron grille from 1776 that separates the stucco figures of the saints from the long nave with its galleries. On the projecting cornice under the ceiling is a magnificent fresco depicting the life of St. John. The most notable feature of the interior, though, is the high altar, enclosed by four twisted columns and on which sits a glass shrine containing a wax figure of the church's patron saint.
We then made our way through the Viktualienmarkt. he Viktualienmarkt is a daily food market and a square in the center of Munich, Germany. The Viktualienmarkt developed from an original farmers' market to a popular market for gourmets. In an area covering 240,000 sq ft, 140 stalls and shops offer flowers, exotic fruit, game, poultry, spices, cheese, fish, juices and so on.
beer garden in the market
mushrooms from the region
the maypole
candied fruits
assorted vegetables
dried flowers and nice smelling dried bouquets
We also popped in to St. Peter's church, a Roman Catholic church in the inner city of Munich. It is also the oldest church in the district. Before the foundation of Munich as a city in 1158, there had been a pre-Merovingian church on this site. 8th century monks lived around this church on a hill called Petersbergl. At the end of the 12th century a new church in the Bavarian Romanesque style was consecrated, and expanded in Gothic style shortly before the great fire in 1327, which destroyed the building. After its reconstruction the church was dedicated anew in 1368. In the early 17th century the 91 meter spire received its Renaissancesteeple top and a new Baroque choir was added.
The interior is dominated by the high altar to which Erasmus Grasser contributed the figure of Saint Peter. Among other masterpieces of all periods are five Gothic paintings by Jan Polack and several altars by Ignaz Günther. The ceiling fresco by Johann Baptist Zimmermann (1753–1756) was restored in 1999-2000.
The parish church of Saint Peter, whose 91 meters high tower is commonly known as "Alter Peter" - Ole Pete - and which is emblematic of Munich, is the oldest recorded parish church in Munich and presumably the originating point for the whole city.
We made it to the Marienplatz just in time to hear the glockenspiel play its folk tunes while the mechanical figures re-enact historic events. Marienplatz has been Munich's central square since the city's foundation, and until 1807, was where markets were held, along with the occasional medieval jousting tournament. In addition to the massive New Town Hall (Neues Rathaus), it's here you'll find the majestic Old Town Hall (Altes Rathaus) with its reconstructed tower. Other notable landmarks include the Virgin's Column (Mariensäule), erected in 1638, and the Fish Fountain (Fischbrunnen), a newer addition that includes bronze figures rescued from an earlier 19th-century fountain. Marienplatz is also a popular shopping destination and boasts a number of department stores, boutiques, and restaurants, and has for decades been the focus of much of the festive life of the Bavarian capital.
Completed in 1892, the impressive New Town Hall (Neues Rathaus) dominates Marienplatz, vying with the twin towers of the Frauenkirche - the Cathedral of our Lady - as Munich's best-known landmark. The main façade overlooking the Marienplatz is decorated with a profusion of figures and ornaments, including Bavarian dukes, electors, and kings, as well as fabulous creatures, saints, and well-known local characters. The world-famous carillon, the Rathaus-Glockenspiel, is the fourth largest in Europe. Every day at 11am, 12pm, and 5pm it plays old folk tunes, while its mechanical figures reenact historic events.
the figures move similarly to those in a cuckoo clock
we had an ice cream break
We returned via bus to our hotel. The kids were not hungry and wanted some down time in their room, so Brannon and I headed to dinner downstairs without them. After dinner, we all walked over to a nearby playground. You would think they would be tired from all the walking, but somehow they still had some energy left.
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