Munich, Germany, Tuesday, August 7, 2012 

Marienplatz

We start our day with breakfast at our Pension. Carol said she smelled fresh bread baking at 6 AM and when we get to the breakfast room, there is an assortment of homemade rolls and pastries. Croissants with chocolate are delicious. There is also the usual German assortment of cold cuts, hard boiled eggs, and cheese. There are also some extras that we have not seen such as gherkins, a thin quiche type egg dish, sausages, and a bleu cheese Brie. Everything is great.

Parade Band

We start our day with a self guided walk around the central area of Munich. The Marienplatz is the central square that contains the new town hall with its famous Glockenspiel (clock). It recreates a royal wedding from the 1600s complete with a joust and dancers. From here we visit the Viktualienmarkt where everyday they sell fresh produce, fish, meats, flowers, cheese, and it has a biergarten in the middle of it. As we are walking around, we catch a parade going by with Bavarian bands playing and that seems to have a flower theme. It is fun to watch and the locals get into the music as well as getting the parade participants to give them flowers.

King Ludwig IV Tomb

Next we go to the Frauenkirche or as I call it the onion dome church. It has been the city’s cathedral since 1821 and was built on the grave of King Ludwig IV. His tomb like monument used to sit on the alter. This is also the church that Pope Benedict XVI from 2005, was archbishop in. We walk from here past several squares to the Hofgarten, a court garden that is beautiful and quiet compared to the town center. We find a bench and enjoy a picnic lunch before heading to the Alte Pinakothek, or old art museum.

Battle of Isus

We are given audioguides and start with early German and Flemish paintings. The audioguide let’s you select certain paintings and really brings them to life by explaining what it represents and other information on the artist and history of the work . There are many masterpieces here and it is thoughtfully laid out. German renaissance includes Albrect Altdorfers Battle of Isus, a great battle scene when Alexander the Great defeated the Persian army.
Italian Renaissance has many works by artists familiar to us from our last trip to Italy.

Great Last Judgement

The Rubens room includes his 300 square foot masterpiece, The Great Last Judgement. I tried to scale the size in a photo with Carol. We also see our first Rembrandts here, among them six paintings from the life of Christ. We both really enjoyed this museum and the audioguide made the experience great for us fledgling art connoisseurs.

 

Very German

                                     On the way home we stop at Andechser Am Dom for an authentic small biergarten experience. A meal of sausages and sauerkraut, meatloaf which is a kind of pressed ham in a loaf with German potatoe salad ( they probably just call it potato salad), and of course two of their house beer, Dunkel of course.
We stroll on home after enjoying another great day in Germany.
CNC

“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on,deep and permanent, in the ideas of living”- Miriam Beard

Expenses
14E-Alte Pinakothek
22.40E-Dinner, 2 beers, pretzel
3.79E- Ice cream dessert
80E- Pension

Miles Walked – 7.75 Miles