Day #193 - Munich, Germany

New Town Hall - Marienplatz

Hofbrauhaus

English Garden

Deutsches museum - airplane engine

1972 Olympic Park

Thursday, September 23rd

Today was a full, jam-packed, stick-n-move, site-seeing tour of Munich. Hang with me - I'll hit the highlights.

I took my 2-train connection into the main rail station - Hauptbahnhof. The main metro systems in Munich are the S-bahn and the U-bahn. I would not use either today. I hit the streets on foot - completely mobile.

I first walked over to the center and heart of Munich - the Marienplatz. This place is a huge central square always filled with people. It's home to connections of both metro lines and houses the New City Hall. This building has a tower which has some figures that come out and circle around on each hour. Thousands of people were taking photos of this - see mine above.

I then headed to the eastern portion of the city. I came upon the Hofbrauhaus. Since 1589, this has been Munich's biggest and most beloved beerhouse, and the world's most famous. I was sort of surprised to see the place completely filled - as I would expect everyone to be on the Oktoberfest grounds. But, it's a major tourist draw - no question.

Next, I headed north and passed the National Theater. This sits next to the Residenz - the former Royal Palace of the Bavarian Monarchs. The Residenz is the largest city palace in Germany and is open today for viewing the architecture and room decorations.

I continued north and came upon the Odeonsplatz. This is another major square in Munich. It was named after the Odeon - a large Concert Hall that was built between 1826 and 1828. The most prominent structure on the Odeonsplatz is the Feldherrnhalle. The Feldherrnhalle consists of a covered hall with 3 arches. A staircase at the central arch leads to the entrance which is flanked by 2 Bayern lions.

I next walked west to the northwestern corner of the city. There I viewed the Alte Pinakothek. This is a major art museum famous for it's "Old Master" collection. Supposedly - this museum rivals the Louvre in Paris for it's high-style display. I walked in and checked out the pictures and gift shop -- but didn't do the whole tour.

I then walked all the way across the northern portion of the city to the northeast corner - the Englischer Garten "English Garden". This is a huge park which actually covers more area than Central Park in New York City. It's name was derived from the style of gardening - popular in the UK from mid 18th century to early 19th century. This place was neat. There was a quick flowing canal going through the center of the park. There were surfers on this one portion working this standing wave - created by a water pumping mechanism. I walked further into the park and discovered that this is apparently a nudist garden. Who knew? I'm only surprised by the location - in the middle of Munich in the main city park is a nudist section. Does Central Park have this as well?

I then walked due south to the southeastern corner of the city. I came upon the Deutsches Museum. This place was cool. I went in and did the 2 hour walk through. Some of my buddies would have loved this place. It was filled with all these scientific and technological displays. There were planes completely taken apart. You could see the engines and the makeup of all kinds of fighter jets, helicoptors, planes, etc. There was a section on science and medicine. It was one of the best science museums I've ever seen.

I then walked all the way across the southern portion of the city to the southwest corner (I pretty much hit every single area in Munich today). I wanted to see the Oktoberfest grounds on a weekday. Recon. Yep - way fewer people today than on Saturday or Sunday. I can't quantify - but only say that I could walk at my own pace today; whereas, I was at a snail's pace over the weekend. I took in a couple beer halls - solid - party still going strong. One thing I wanted to mention - I can't get over how little security this place has to offer. You can pretty much just stroll onto the grounds from anywhere. No real gates, no metal detectors. There are guards next to each major beer hall - but the grounds themselves are pretty much fair game.

I then walked due north back to the main rail station. I had one spot I wanted to hit before calling it a day - the Olympic Park. I actually had to take a train to this area - it wasn't on my map - so it must have been pretty far away. The Olympics were held in Munich in 1972 - the year I was born. This was a huge venue. I did a walk around and called it a day.

I got back to my place about 10pm. I'm now in the lobby of the main hotel. This place is a little weird. There are 2 buildings with rooms - I'm in the one not connected to the office. The office completely shuts down at 10pm. Wi-Fi is only accessible from the lounge in the office. Therefore, I'm here all by myself in this little room. The lights are on motion detection - so I have to move my hat around every now and again to turn the light back on. Some lady just stopped by - no doubt thinking there was a burgler in the place. My answer - get Wi-Fi for the whole complex and have a night staff person.

Tomorrow I go day-tripping. Here's to a solid day in Munich.