Munich also started with a very rainy beginning. But, we had planned to do a WW2 walking tour first thing in the morning, so we went along with it anyways. I learned a lot on the tour and saw lots of great things, but it was pretty cold and rainy. I also thought that the tour guide didn't quite match what we were seeing to the stories well. However, there was a huge city party and going on the walking tour forced us to see the festival even though it was raining. I also liked hearing about the WW2 events that I had seen pictures of and standing in those places. After the tour, we went to the Deutches museum, which is their science and technology museum. The museum was impressively high level. I learned a lot there, but there was a lot of reading! I think this is a theme in German museums, that they teach a lot more traditionally. Thinking about this was very interesting for me because of my upcoming PhD research.
After the first restaurant, we stopped by the famous Hofbrauhaus to see they craziness that was going on there. We couldn't get in because it was near closing time, but it was even fun to just see from the window. It was a great night and I was certainly ready to sleep afterwards.
| My last full day in Munich was action packed. I left the hostel at 10AM and didn't stop until around 1AM the next day! It started with a beautiful stroll in Nyphenburg Palace with a German soft pretzel. The palace was very beautiful and the grounds were lovely. There were lots of lakes to walk around and see and the flowers were lovely. I saw some of the small residences around the grounds and they were immaculate. One of the cooler things that I saw was a water pump that had been working since the 1800s and still pumping the fountains now! The maintenance worker went into the pump house while I was there, and invited me in to look at the pumps. It was very cool. After a wonderful morning walk, I made my way to Olympic Park. There was a lto to see at the Olympic park because everything is still there! I am always interested in Olympics, because I love how the world comes together to recognize amazing talent and have great competition. This Olympics is particularly scary though because of the terrorist attacks that killed the Israeli team. So in the search of history, I found the houses that they stayed in in Olympic Village and did a small study as to how Munich is presenting this information. Unfortunately, it seems like the city is unsure how to approach the Olympics because they don't want to downplay or celebrate the terrorist attacks, but they also want to be proud of the sporting events that did occur. I went into the Olympic Stadium and saw where the opening ceremonies occurred. I then climbed to the top of a hill that overlooked all of Olympic park! It was exhausting hike, but a very beautiful view. After exploring around the memorials and the Olympic buildings, I took a ride to the top of the Olympic tower to see Munich from a birds eye view. It was an incredible view and I could see so much of the city! |
After coming down, I stopped into BMW World to check out the cars. I have to say, I did find some pretty neat cars. Even some blue ones :) My next stop was the English Gardens. It is a beautiful park in Munich, but has one big attraction. There is a permanent wave there which people surf on! It was kinda like the Flow Riders on the cruise ships, but this was in a river and occurred naturally. I loved watching it, even very tempted to just hop in! It was amazing that this was happening directly in the city. |
For my last morning in Munich, I got up bright and early to walk through the old part of the city to the farmers market! On the way, I saw a TKMaxx, which was just like TJMaxx, which I found entertaining. The farmers market was amazing. So much fresh foods and products, I loved it! I tried lots of dips and apple chips and everything tasted great! I got myself goulash soup to eat on the train along with their sauerkraut spiced bread, a nectarine and a rhubarb tart. It was all delicious and made for the perfect breakfast and lunch. This is where Shane and I split. It was great traveling with Shane, and now I'm off to more adventures! | On the way back to the hostel, I stopped by a market to grab a veal bratwurst, and it was delicious! (As you can see from my smile). We did end up going on the beer tour this night! Our same tour guide friend took us to three different beer gardens and taught us all about the beer culture in Munich. I was very interested in it, and actually got to learn a lot. I think it is so cool where this type of community culture comes from. And then they make very tasty beer. But, they only serve it in 1 liter increments! CRAZY! Good thing I had people to share with! I have to say, the beer gardens were very nice and fun. I thought it was a great atmosphere and wish the culture was just as fun in America. |