To my dismay, I thought my flight to Munich departed last Thursday. When I checked my departure time, I realized that I actually left on WEDNESDAY. 30 minutes worth of internet searching on the Germanwings website, and one 10 minute phone call to their call center later, the cost of changing my flight to Thursday turned out to be astronomical. Soooo, I left for Munich on Wed night, and had to watch the big soccer match between Germany and Turkey alone.
When I arrived on Wed, I didn't do much. I didn't get in until around six in the evening, and the sky opened up as soon as I got there. Since I didn't have an umbrella with me, much of my time was spent seeking shelter. I did manage to do a little bit of sightseeing though, and watch the game at an outdoor cafe later in the night. Germany pulled off the victory 3-2, although many thought that the Turks outplayed them. There aren't too many Turkish immigrants in Munich, not as much as in Cologne at least, but the few that are there were waving German flags after the match. I heard the same occurred in Cologne, which is pretty cool to hear. Many of the German fans climbed in their car afterwards, and poured outside of windows and sunroofs waving German flags, and honking their horns throughout much of the night. I hit the sack early out of little else to do.
On Thursday I was up and at 'em early, and hit the town running. My fellow American Stasha was flying in later in the night, so I spent much of the day alone. My instant impression of Munich is that it fulfills every single stereotype of Germany. Playful architecture, lederhosen, wurst, and large beers. The people of Bavaria (the area of southern Germany) like to consider themselves separate from the rest of the country, and culturally they are.
I had no plan of attack, so I wandered around the city center as that seemed to be where all the people were. Much of the city was destroyed during the war, so it has that common "new old" feel to it. My first stop was Marienplatz which is basically the main square. The Neues Rathus (pictured) rises above the square, and the Glockenspiel chimes throughout the day as Bavarian figures move about. The thing reminds of one giant toy, something my nieces and nephews would get a kick out of.From there, I made my way through the rest of the square, and around the perimeter of the town just soaking in the atmosphere. I didn't really go into any sights or attractions. Munich is mainly a city to enjoy the culture, whereas Berlin is the place to go if you need a historical fix. That is of course unless you want to learn about the history of beer (more to come on that later).
After an afternoon full of touring, I made my way back to the hostel to relax for a bit, and wait for Stasha. Once he arrived, it was already evening, and so we just grabbed some food, and watched the other Euro Cup semifinal match between Russia and Spain. After that game, it was apparent that Spain seemed to be the best team in the tourney, and that Germany would have their hands full come the championship game.
On Friday, we woke up early, and headed to the northern part of the city to check out the 1972 Olympic stadium and village. It was beautifully laid out, although the complexes seemed a bit small and outdated. I guess that makes sense since the games were 36 years ago. Obviously those Olympics are famous more for the death of the Israeli athletes then the competitions themselves. I had a hard time finding any information concerning the events though, and wasn't sure where exactly they took place.
From the Olympic complex, we walked over to the BMW headquarters and museum (pictured). What a treat that was! The museum was one of the best I have been to so far. It chronicled BMW (Bavarian Motor Works) from it's inception, and had cars, racecars, and motorcycles on display dating back to its beginning. The museum had a very posh and glamorous feel to it. Even the museum workers were all in suits.
After our early morning expedition, it was midday, and we were growing hungry. Everyone knows Munich is known for its biergartens, so we thought when in Rome. It took little arm twisting to convince me to sample the local fare, so our first stop was a biergarten in the English Garden. The English Garden is a beautiful stretch of land in the Northeastern part of the city that is apparently larger than Central Park. It's lush green, with strong flowing streams, and people spread throughout soaking in the sun. I purchased a meal complete with a brat, mashed potatoes, a giant brezel, and of course a stein (pictured). I devoured my meal without hesitation.
After that, we had to make our way to the famous Hofbrauhaus for a stein. Before that though, we walked through the park, and enjoyed the scenery. As I mentioned, there are streams flowing everywhere, and the water was so clear that it looked like you could drink it. People would jump into the water, and be carried down stream for a short stretch before climbing out. We even came upon one part of the stream where the current was so strong that people were surfing (pictured). I've never seen that before on a stream, and Stasha and I definitely got a kick out of watching it for a while.
From there, we made our way to the city center, and the famed Hofbrauhaus (pictured). It's as advertised, with large spacious tables and loud groups of jolly old men enjoying their steins. I ordered the Hofbrauhaus dunkel (dark beer) and we sat in the outside courtyard and soaked it all in. Although they serve food, and many people were eating, the selection of choice was beer. We sat back and watched a group of eight or so men throw back beer after beer and shot after shot. After about an hour of this, they all stood up and carried each other out of the place.
After a couple beers, we decided to head back towards the hostel. Of course, we had to grab doner along the way. Right next to our hostel is another large biergarten (pictured). Since we were already feeling good at this point, we figured why not? So we grabbed a stein, and nestled into a picnic table until the sun went down.Although Friday was a blast, and we enjoyed what many people go to Munich to enjoy, we definitely felt it on Saturday. I peeled myself out of bed showered up, and caught an early train for a day trip to Berchtesgaden, which is on the German - Austrian border. The trip took three hours, so it gave me some additional time to get the engines up and running.
Berchtesgaden was brought back to public eye with the release of the HBO series "Band of Brothers". Kehlsteinhaus, nicknamed the Eagle's Nest was built around 1938/39 as a gift to Hitler. It was a vacation house used to entertain Hitler and guests. Obviously, that is what brought me to the town, but I also wanted to soak in the scenery of the wonderful Bavarian Alps. We caught a bus that brought us all the way up to the top of the mountain. I thought the transmission was going to give out at any moment as the climb was steep and a little hairy.
By the time we got to the top, clouds were passing under our noses, and the scenery was to die for. Every angle provided a breathtaking view, and I'm sad I can only share one with you (pictured). For a while we just sat on a rock and stared out at what Mother Nature had to offer. There was hardly a sound, and the air was cool and crisp. At that level, in that moment of solitude, everything seemed to stop. The town below looked lifeless, and all cares drifted away with the passing clouds.After some lunch, we reluctantly headed back down the mountain, and caught our train back to Munich. Between the previous night, and the fresh air of Berchtesgaden, we couldn't wait to get some rest. We woke up early and caught our plane back to Cologne, reenergized and happy to have a head full of new memories.
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