6 Sep: Munich Day 2

Renting a Bavarian

Back last spring while planning this trip, David spoke to basketball friends who'd been to Munich, and both Don A. and John P. had made use of a guide, Herbert Krippner, so we engaged him as well (and also picked our hotel from the links on his site).

Herbert has us sample mead in the Viktualinmarkt.

Herbert is a native of Munich and delights in showing people around the city where he grew up. He arrived at our hotel at 9 and we were off for a busy day of walking and looking. Because Herbert walks fast and we were all talking, photography suffered and we didn't get good shots (or indeed, any shots) of many of the places we visited.

We started by taking the U-bahn a few stops to the center of town, and along the way Herbert showed us how to buy a cheap day-ticket. We had a fast walk past the several notable places including Theatiner Kirche,

Herbert and Marian silhouetted down front.

And Feldherrnhalle. The morning sun was lighting this lion very nicely.

Amusingly, if you look at the wikipedia article linked above you will see an almost identical photograph!

"Alte Peter"

After looking at the Dallmayr fine-food store and the open-air Viktualienmarkt, Herbert said he would show us a view that most other tourists didn't see. Most guidebooks advise you to climb the tower in the Rathaus (town hall) or the tower in the Dom (cathedral) but he took us instead to Alte Peter, the clock tower of St. Peter's church across from the Rathaus. Here it is from below,

...and after climbing 306 steps, here's some views from it.

St. Peter's roof.

Marienplatz and the Rathaus.

Viktualienmarkt and south.

The Amusing Figures

After we had gone up and down the 360 steps it was almost 11am, and time for the amusing figures on the clock tower to do their thing.

Crowds gather to see the show.

The gold statue was erected in gratitude for the ending of The Plague.

Showtime.

Musicians parade and knights joust and soldiers dance.

Der Neue Hut

Next stop was a hat store. Herbert (as seen on his web page) always wears his hat and he and David agreed that hats are so practical for the balding person; and David said he'd like a hat of that sort, so we went to the store where Herbert got his. A hat was found. The clerk embossed David's initials into the brim.

Get used to it; you'll see a lot of this hat from here on.

Lunch and After

Then we went and had lunch in a beer garden, a huge open-air restaurant in a deer park. David absorbed most of a liter of Augustiner, the beer Herbert insists is the best in Munich. All straight photos from there out are by Marian.

We walked all around Nymphenberg Palace,

...including, buried in the woods of the park, the king's bath-house and the steam-driven pump that's been supplying the palace for over a century. Then we went on to the nearby Botanical Garden and looked at a lot of plants.

Finally we said goodby to Herbert and went back to the hotel to rest up; then went out again to supper.

We have started a new gallery for this part of the trip. More pictures there.