Munich

I will write about Dachau and the buildings in Nuermburg, but those deserve their own post. I will do all the light hearted posts first and then return to that one.

We left for Munich on Wednesday and arrived with plenty of time to enjoy the afternoon. Some of us decided we did not want to shop, but rather see as much of Munich as we could in the short time we had. We saw Crown Jewels, which included many lovely pieces of jewelry and other things, but the one thing that caught my attention the most was the private prayer book of Charlamayne's grandson. The audio tour said it was the oldest private prayer book still surviving. Although the cover had been replaced a few centuries ago, the inside still contained the prayer book of a believer so many years ago. It was really cool to see.

We then went and saw the Glockenspiel ring at 5pm and saw the moveable parts move. It was really cool to see. My favorite part what when the jousters went past the second time and one of the jousters fell back like he had been hit. It was also cool to see because my family had visited Munich in 1993 and I remembered seeing the Glockenspiel ring. It definately brought back memories.

We then went and saw 3 churches, the Frauen Kirche, which is named after the most important Lady in the Catholic Church Mary, St. Michael's and St. Peter's. There was a service going on in St. Peter's so we could not go around and see very much, but it was a nice church with paintings on the roof and walls. The one that impressed me the most was St. Michaels. It was beautiful and very impressive. It was amazing seeing the pictures of the churches after the war and how they were damaged. I think the Germans are amazing people to be able to rebuild so much and try to recover from so much damage. I also like how, especially with the churches and castles, they are trying to return the buildings to their former glory, not just pulling them down or making them more modern. They appreciate the history of these places.

We were able to then go to an organ concert in the Frauen Kirche which was really nice. The acoustics in the church were lovely and the organ music just filled the entire building. The experience was very impressive.

A few of us then went to dinner and while we were waiting for our food we noticed some guys enter the restuarant who were the only ones besides us under the age of 45. They suddenly came to our table and said the waiter had told them to sit with us since it was raining outside and it was crowded inside. Three of us were sitting in a booth that could seat 8. We did not mind so we enjoyed a nice meal with 3 Dutchmen, one Spaniard and one guy from Berlin. It was very interesting. They were all in Munich getting their Ph.D.'s in fiber optics in electrical engineering. They were all very friendly and spoke wonderful English. Two of the Dutchmen had been to South Africa so it was cool talking to them about their experiences there. Most of them traveled a lot to conferences all over the world so it was cool talking about all their travels. After dinner we went with them for a drink and just enjoyed the evening talking and having fun.

The next morning we went to Dachau which I will discuss on a different post, and then went back to Munich. Heather and I went to the English Gardens which were BEAUTIFUL. I would love to go back there and just enjoy a picnic in the grass. It even had a romantic feel in the air. We also got to see the surfer's on the river. I did not understand how guys could surf on a river, but when we saw the wave that was created in the river it was amazing to see these guys surf it. I took a bunch of pictures.

We then met people at the Hofbrauhaus and I drank a Mass full of Radler. If and when I figure out how to get my pictures off my C.D. I will post a picture of that. Just so everyone knows, a Mass contains a litre of liquid and a Radler definately has beer in it. It was definately crazy but fun. There was also a band playing stereotypical music so it was really fun. I liked Munich a lot. It seemed very friendly and laid back.

Leaving Munich was interesting because we had been told to be ready to leave at 8am Friday morning. Well we did not leave until 11am. Something had happened during the night and one of the review mirrors was gone. The driver had to put on a temporary mirror he had and make a report with the police. Luckily this really good ice cream place opened up at 10am so we were able to get ice cream while we waited. I think that helped keep tempers down. We got back to Duesseldorf late obviously, and so I was not able to visit a friend in Koeln that night. Luckily I was able to see her on Sunday night.

So that was Munich in short. I really liked Munich and I am glad we went there as a group. I would recommend they do that trip again next year.