Munich

 Or as they say/spell it here - München.

It was nice to just relax and get up at our leisure this morning.  Our goals for the day were to see the main plaza and the place where Oktoberfest is held.  In one day, we can’t do much more than that.

We had some coffee in our room, so that was fine.  When we set off on our travels, we found a nice little restaurant and had some very tasty croissants.  Then we made our way to Marienplatz.  The buildings on the way there are just beautiful.  Here are a couple, and one of a quartet in the street - playing Pachelbel’s Canon as we walked by - reminds me of a funny Youtube video called the Pachelbel Rant.

 


This town is gearing up for a football (soccer) game tonight.  Romania vs Netherlands.  I did a short video of the crowd - a real pep rally - but it won’t load into this blog.


Anyway, apart from that, the square is absolutely beautiful.  Since 1158 it has been the cultural centre of Munich.  The church at one end


The old town hall

The Mariensäule column

And, of course the Glockenspiel on the old town hall.  We have tried to recreate this in Kitchener, but this one is pretty cool.  At 11 am and 12 pm every day, the bells ring and the characters come out and do little dances and even a fight (where the Bavarian wins every time).  At the end, the golden bird at the top chirps 3 times (although we couldn’t hear it because of the noise in the square - football :/).


Inside a courtyard on the side of the square.


And this guy was there - between 2 lions and a bottle of something.

After we left the noise behind, we wandered back toward our hotel, but not directly, and found a nice spot for lunch.  Very yummy too.  Gerard stayed back to have a snooze while I went out to find where Oktoberfest is held here in Munich - the largest in the world (just ahead of Kitchener/Waterloo).  I walked down this street


And found this street, which circles the Oktoberfest area.

And this is where Oktoberfest is held - yep, a huge empty space right now.  I guess they set up rows and rows of tents.  It must be the size of half a dozen football fields.  


I love the architecture here.  It does look rather Bavarian.

And another beautiful church along the way - St. Paul’s Church.  Neo-gothic style.


I made it back to our hotel after finding a store to buy some water and snacks.  We chilled for a while then when out for a late dinner to a place about 4 doors down.  It was perfect, and that’s Munich.








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