Munich

In Munich, we spent the last few bittersweet days of our journey.  One full day we were sightseeing in the Old Town (as usual).  We visited the palaces of the last Bavarian Kings, including Ludwig I and II.  I was particularly impressed with the Royal Theater..."dripping with gold and royal red tones" (my words).

the Royal Family's theater box

 

              ... side seating in Royal Theater (still being used)

the stage                             the ornate ceilings

Also, we had an excellent "audio guide" of the Treasury...we could have listened to five hours of stories about the treasures of the Bavaria Kingdom.  We spent about an hour and a half.  I loved hearing the details of some of the most precious relics of Europe's past, as well as the histories of the artists, the stories of their owners, and the progression of technology to produce such items.

http://www.residenz-muenchen.de/englisch/treasury/gallery.htm

(click to read interesting stories about St. George)

                     Statuette of St. George   http://www.residenz-muenchen.de/englisch/treasury/pic08.htm

Dad and I listening to the audio

the wealthy treasured items handcrafted/ designed with materials from exotic places, 

such as these from tusks of rhinoceros

(also oyster shells, ivory, coconut and palm nuts, etc)

finely detailed images of crucifixion carved in a NUT!

 more fancy jewelry to show wealth and power

 this was the crown of queens, the pieces are hinged together

(I found it interesting because a "Blanche" wore it, my middle name.)

"...probably belonged to King Edward III or Anne of Bohemia, the wife of King Richard II, who was deposed that year by Henry IV. Henry's daughter, Princess Blanche, married the Palatine Elector Ludwig III in 1402 and the crown (was)...part of her dowry."

This is the "travel kit" gifted to Maria Louise by Napolean, she was his 2nd wife.

It included not only a manicure set, plates, silverware, perfume, but also includes DENTAL TOOLS and other misc. items.  

You can read lots more on this blog:  http://dianematsonactress.blogspot.com/2010/07/germany-trip-blog-day-12-6-3-10-munich.html

St. Michael's Church- Burial Place of King Ludwig II (of Neuschwanstein fame)

Dad wanted us to visit this GORGEOUS CHURCH...love the white pristine walls that contrast with old, ornate gold fixtures.  We were not able to go down "the hatch" to see Ludwig's tomb b/c it was closed this day.  (The panoramic view distorts it but allows us a better view.)

This is our very ornately furnished hotel, Hotel Opera.  (Mom, Marlee and Mimi would drool for sure...)

 the inside patio where we had breakfast (beautiful railing that reminded me of Glenn's marble altar railing)

the front of our hotel (in the theater district)

And of course we had to go  up in Glockenspiel Tower (One of the "top ten clock towers in the world"). This is in Marienplatz, the main plaza of Munich since 1158.  It is also known as St. Mary's Plaza.  

You can see the two "stories" being told when the clock strikes on the hour and half hour.  Look at the two greenish balconies...each has figurines that move around telling an important historical story.  (Photo copied below.) One is a customary dance in celebration of the end of a 150 year plague that killed many people.

(this is not my photo but you have to see the tower from a distance) 

 a reminder of the Olympics in the New Town Hall (part of Glockenspiel)

(Neues Rathaus)

Views from top of Glockenspiel

So the feel of Munich is that it is kind of a party city!  Consider that it is famous for its beerhalls like Hofbrauhaus and Paulanerhaus, both of which we ate and drank at...

What we will remember is that the waiters at each of these gave us some "attitude".  The busy woman at Haufbrau apologized for dropping our food and running off, leaving us for long periods of time.  She also said she had to watch customers so they did not run out the side door without paying. The guy at Paulaner gave Dad some complaints when he only ordered one "wiener".  But then he warmed up to us and joked that I only ordered "rabbit food" with what little English he could speak.  

The musicians at the Hofbrauhaus were great!

Here is an example of the party atmosphere, and this is daytime.  It ramps up in the evenings.  There are a lot of musicians that perform on the streets.

 If you are like me, you will be surprised this vehicle moves forward!  The girls are drinking beer, chatting, and sightseeing.  This is the way to do it!  I asked Dad, "Would you get your legs tangled up in that if Yvonne and I were pedaling and we were drinking beer?"

This is Odeonplatz: "The Odeonsplatz has traditionally been an important site of parades and public events, including funeral processions (most recently for Franz Josef Strauss in 1988), victory parades (most recently for the Bavarian troops who took part in the Franco-Prussian War of 1871), which proceeded down the Ludwigstraße to the Feldherrnhalle, with the VIP rostrum usually being located at the statue of Ludwig I. The annual parade to the Oktoberfest still follows this route (from wikipedia.org)."

(from a distance:  not my photo)

Stores selling traditional German clothing and even soccer items were everywhere in the old town of Munich. (Munich's team won the European soccer games, and Germany's team just won the World Cup.  Need I say more?) What shocked me was that on Sundays almost ALL stores and even tourists shops are closed! Dad says this is the strong value of Catholicism here.  I can't imagine Americans placing a value over money like that.  I admire that Germans value family time, conversation, and leisurely eating dinner together (without electronics) much more than us!

I gave this guy a Euro to yodel.  What is hysterical is that later I realized he sang to me and mentioned Obama...I guess that I just look American!