July 7^th, 2012

Day 49: Munich, Germany

This morning we got up and headed down to the free breakfast that was included in our price for the hostel! It was a delicious breakfast with a lot of stuff to choose from. Stephen and I then decided we’d do one of the walking tours of the city- the next one started at 12:30 so we had some time to kill! We hung out here for a while and then headed to the train station to figure out our travel in Italy. After sorting our trains, we met up with the tours that were leaving from the train station at 12:30 and were off!

Our first location was Marienplatz, one of the main squares of the city of Munich. We started here and were introduced to the large dominating structure in the square, the Old Town Hall. It’s actually not that old, and was created in a fake gothic design so that it looked exceptionally old. On the Old Town Hall, though, is the world famous Glockenspiel! It’s essentially a step up from the Astronomical clock we saw in Prague, with figures moving when the clock strikes 11a, 12p, and 5p. We didn’t see it in action today, but hope to at some point before we go!Here are a few other stops we made along the way:

Rathaus! The Old Town Hall

To the right hand side- the thing is massive

The glockenspeil!

A church around the corner from the Old Town Hall. The bell at the top rang when it was time for the rich people to go to church. The bell at the bottom was for the prostitutes and witches. Whattt? 

Hofbrauhaus- the oldest beer garden in the world!

A copper line in the cobblestone representing the path taken by Germans who resisted the Nazi regime. This path was the way you had to walk if you wanted to avoid saluting a memorial that honored Nazis- Germans would do this, be caught by the Gestapo, and shipped off to concentration camps.

The Palace of the Royal family of Bavaria

Fun fact- Bavarian law states that construction covers must contain the details that would normally appear on the bulidings!

After the walking tour, we asked our guide, Marcin, about a good place to grab a beer and some food. He directed us back to the garden that we had passed through on the tour and joined us for a beer. And by beer, I mean liter of beer because here, anything less than a liter is an insult to the art of beer drinking. We each got a cone of fish and chips as well and sat in the gorgeous weather talking about everything under the sun for a while. After Marcin left, we got another liter of beer and an extra large pretzel to enjoy. Shortly after we sat back down, we had the pleasure of watching a local ‘magician’ do magic tricks, making beer disappear and reappear, ‘finding’ red tissues in cigarette boxes and more. He was quite entertaining, and I think it was all magnified by the fact that we hadn’t the slightest clue what he was saying while he performed (and the beer).

Marcin had recommended that if we wanted cheap drink, we could buy the bottles from a local shop in the train station and carry them around with us for the night. I’m still not used to this whole being allowed to drink in public thing.. but I can’t say I hate it.

We grabbed a few beers and then headed towards the center of the city where one of the largest squares was blocked off for an orchestra concert outdoors. We didn’t have tickets so couldn’t get in, but we set up camp a few yards from one of the entrances and enjoyed the music for a few hours. We weren’t alone- our part of the street was full of families, individuals, groups, etc. just sitting in the summer sun enjoying the show from a distance.

Livin' the life.

When the concert was finished we made our way back to the hostel, stopping to watch a local band play some great music on the street for a bit. The band was complete with a flute and everything! It made me miss playing.

We found our way back to the hostel, chatted with one of the kids in our room for a bit, and called it a night!

Favorite part of the day: The open air concert- it was amazing music and even though we couldn’t see the performance, we could still appreciate it fully!