Much of Munich is modern, very clean and rebuilt after WWll. While many of the building have been designed to give the impression that they are older than they are, Munich just simply hasn’t “dazzled” us like Prague did. The fact that Munich was the birthplace of the Nazi party is perhaps why we feel it has such an austere, cold feeling about it. As a result, the Holocast & Nazi history is clearly visible throughout the city. We started our first full day, Tuesday, taking a 3-hour Old Town walking tour of “Munchen”. We met at Marienplatz which is the most popular tourist destination in Munich. The square has lots of bustling activity with several beautiful churches, nice shops and restaurants on the streets branching out into the square.
The imposing “New Old Town Hall” at Marienplatz sits on the square with the famed Glockenspeil. The animated show at the Glockenspiel, with its “fantastical” tower, adorned by dragons and gargoyles offers up fabulous shows daily that draw huge crowds. The almost life-size figures come to life with a spectacular 15-minute performance which recounts a royal wedding, jousting tournament and ritualistic dance. The show occurs two or three times a day depending on the time of the year. After watching this show, we wondered why the astronomical clock in Prague and its procession of miniature figures at the tower each hour for 15 seconds gathers such incredible crowds. The Glokenspiel is so much more impressive compared to the tiny wooden apostle figures that come alive hourly at the astronomical clock in Prague.
One of our first stops, after the Glockenspiel, was St. Peter’s Church which is one of the most iconic sights in Munich. The church is incredibly ornate inside. What makes it sort of creepy (sometimes, we can’t stop using that word) is that St. Mundita is lying in a side alter. The saint is a gilt-covered and gem-studded skeleton in a glass case with false eyes in her skull which is wrapped in netting. In addition, jewels cover the mouth of this relic’s rotten teeth. It was. . . Yuch!
The Viktualienmarkt is Munich’s largest outdoor food market. There is a ton of dried meats and cheese and a variety of animal parts including pigs snouts at one butcher shop! Germans must have a high standard for fruits and vegetables because they were all perfect but at a very lofty price tag. We decided to buy a small piece of salmon at a fish store at the market. It ended being delicious but the most expensive piece of fish (about 1 lb.) that we have every bought in our life!
Lesley was in Munich 48 years ago when she was a teenager on a high school trip. Her most vivid memories are visiting the Hofbrauhaus. . . . and drinking the mega-size beers at 15 years old! (The drinking age in Germany is now 18 years old). The Hofbrauhaus is also where Hitler founded the Nazi Party in 1920. Our tour guide really berated the Hofbrauhaus; but, we think the Muncheners are secretly proud as punch of this beer garden. Our guide took us to the Hofbrauhaus and had lots of stories to tell and acted like a proud Papa about this famous place.
We made a number of other stops with our 3-hour walking tour but we think the above highlights were the most interesting, excluding some museums & churches, for our first day outing in Munich.
