A Pair of Days in Munich, Germany

What a treat to spend a pair of days in Munich, where Danielle, my dear friend from Minnesota, has been living this year for work. She was an amazing host and it felt so comfortable to be at a “home” for a few days, rather than cooped up in the campervan or hostel. I enjoyed my time in Germany to learn history, eat brats and, of course, drink beer.

Arriving from Bergen, we hopped an airport shuttle from the Munich airport and took a quick metro ride to Danielle’s apartment in the city center. She has a cute place in the hip neighborhood of Schwabing, a close walk to work, public transport and limitless locales for drinking beer. There’s definitely no shortage of places to grab a beer in Munich.

Danielle was an excellent host. We walked to her local grocery mart to pick up the essentials; cereal, milk and beer. I started a load of some very stinky laundry and later that evening we took a night walk through the historical center of Munich. The city was busy with walkers, bikers and people sipping beer at outdoor patios. We strolled the Marienplatz, the main central square and home of the Town Hall and the famous Glockenspiel. This clock is probably the most photographed point in Munich and the next day, I would see it dance at 11:00am.

The next day, while Danielle was at work, I set off to learn more about the city. I found a free city walking tour online, which is always a great way to start off a tour of a new city, get an overview of the history and figure out what you want to check out next around the town. Our Australian guide was a witty and energetic storyteller that weaved humor into Germany’s often not so uplifting history. Also of Munich was wiped out in WW2 so many of the buildings are reconstructions. Our guide showed images on an iPad to see the before and after while we looked at the current sites.

The tour started in the Marienplatz, so this time I observed the Glockenspiel in action and during the day light. The two level display contained dancing and jousting figurines. The story goes that the Glockenspiel starts out showing a royal wedding and then in the second part shows the lively dancing in the streets that occurred during a particularly deadly year of the plague. For twelve minutes, the crowd oohed and awed the 100 year old mechanical show. For the gran finale, a cuckoo bird popped out as the grand finale.

Our quirky Australian guide started with the early foundation of the city with the Benedict monks and their devotion to beer; praying, brewing beer, drinking beer and selling beer, a history still close to Munich’s heart to day. He went on through the Middle Ages and the Reformation and discussed Germany’s leading roles in both World Wars. As we walked through the churches and beer halls, he outlined life in Munich and Germany leading up the Holocaust and the Second World War. Much of Hitler’s rise to power occurred in Munich. After World War One, Germany was in trouble with a collapsing economy and huge inflation. Hitler stayed in the army and worked as a spy. In the 1920’s he gave powerful speeches at the brew houses which provided hope, symbolism and belonging as well as giving his fellow countrymen someone to blame. With the introduction of uniforms, the symbol of the swastika, and boosting German pride, he set the stage for the rise of the Nazi party.

After taking power in 1933, Hitler took over every aspect of German society. He controlled the industry, the economy, education, the media. He used the militia, the SS and the gestapo to follow the citizens. He used terror, fear and control over the population. And soon, Nazi Germany was on the road to the horrors of the Holocaust.

Our guide brought this heavy, tragic history into the present times as he describes the notable importance of education in German culture to take responsibility, to memorialize the terrible events, and to cultivate a better future.

After the walking tour, I was ready to sit and drink some of that beer we learned about on the tour. Joined by a few folks from the tour, we all sat at an outdoor beer garden and farmers market. We picked up bratwurst and beer at the food and drink stands, then found a picnic table in the shade.

That afternoon, I also walked around the Residence, the main home of the royal family from 1508 through 1918. Most of the extensive property was destroyed in World War Two and has been rebuilt. The Residence served as both the seat of government and the dwelling of kings, dukes and elected officials. I walked with my audio guide through countless throne rooms, sitting rooms, bedchambers, displays of the tableware and porcelain statues and an extensive treasury; both religious and secular. One entire room was exhibited relics containing the femurs, skulls and pinky bones encased in elaborate religious displays.

Later in the afternoon, I sipped coffee and people-watched in the main Marienplatz. Tour groups and vacationing families snapped pictures of the Glockenspiel, ooh and ahhed the street artists and human statues and tossed back beers. While taking it all in, I had an extended conversation with German Italian man, solely communicating between my Spanish and his Italian. The similarities in the languages make it doable, but a bit challenging. “Buon pomeriggio” he says, and a “buenas tardes,” I respond.

During my stay in Munich, Danielle was great host and tour guide. Together we ate Thai food, our favorite dinner together. We walked through the English garden. This massive urban park reminds me of New York’s Central Park. Groups of people were picnicing in the open grassy fields, drinking beer in the shade and playing frisbee and soccer. We followed a path along Isar River with its clean, fast moving water. In one section there were even surfers catching the waves where the river narrows under a bridge. We paused at large group salsa dancing in a pavilion and then continued to Hofbräuhaus, a typical but very touristy beer garden. We consumed two and a half liters of beer and a pretzel the size of my face. We were full and tired when we walked back to Danielle’s apartment.

The next morning, I took a 6:00 am train to Füssen. Just outside of this small town the Neuschwanstein Castle is located, Germany’s fairytale castle.  

The train was a breeze. It was fast, not too full and incredibly punctual. My only hiccup was using my day pass before 9:00 am, which I missed in the fineprint. The train official charges me for an extra one way, rather than kicking me off at the next stop or giving me a fine, which is lucky. The gentleman next to me explained that he takes the ride daily and sees the same situation and usually the officials are quite surly.

While on the train, I took in the German countryside. I can certainly see why my home state of Wisconsin received so many German immigrants in the 1800s. The landscape is strikingly similar: flat open fields of corn or wheat with a row of trees for a windbreaker in between. The towns had a more Germanic look with the cabinesque homes with red roofs and dark wooden window frames and balconies. Another distinctive accessory on many of the countryside homes: solar panels.

Once I arrived in Füssen, I husted to the shuttle towards the castles and walked quickly up the hill to find a long ticket line. Luckily I was able to get a timed-ticket for the main for early in the afternoon. This gave me time to first visit the Schloss Hohenschwangau, the lesser-known castle. Advice to future travelers: Get your tickets online earlier, or hustle early in the morning before they sell out for the day.

The Hohenschwangau Castle was originally built as a fortress in the 1600s and held the Queen’s apartment with her extra large dressing room for wide brimmed dresses, a reading and writing room with a view of the Alps. The King resided on a separate floor while the children stayed next door with the nannies and the servants. The castle served as the royal family’s relaxing summer home while they passed the cold winters in Munich. Swans, a symbol of the region, adorned the murals and the wooden molding. The most unique artifact was a loaf of salted bread that was gifted to the family in 1891. This was a great visit to start with as this building receives fewer tourists daily, a mere 3,000 instead of closer to 8,000 at the main attraction up the hill.

Between the castles, I walked to the alpine lake close by. I was completely entranced by the turquoise, clear water, mountain lake, surrounded by boulders and pine trees all around. The Alps surrounded in the background created an absolutely breathtaking scene. I walked around towards the backside of the lake, away from the hoards of  tourists, to soak in this moment. The castles in the background, the fascinating history of the sites, and spending the day by myself, I took a moment to appreciate being here: the privilege to be able to travel and the opportunity to see such an impressive place. I walked back around the lake and up the hill to the stunning castle that inspired Disneyland.

The royal family never actually lived the famous Neuschwanstein castle and it was never actually completed. King Ludwig II, the Mad King, only resided briefly in the unfinished castle before his untimely and mysterious death. He took the throne at the age of 18 and did some ruling but more so preferred extravagant arts and architecture (hence this beautiful castle). Extravagant spending and a few other quirks led him to be declared insane, lose the crown and then drown in conspicuously shallow water.

The Neuschwanstein castle is perched on the crest of a mountain with low lying farmlands to one side and towering snow covered Alps to the other. More than 6,000 daily visitors are systematically corralled through; timed to the second. This area was much busier than the other castle and the paths were lined with people, restaurants and souvenir stands.

Ludwig designed this castled with vaulted ceilings, an ornate chandelier weighing more than a ton and an imposing mural of Jesus with six kings and palm trees. His throne room was said to be inspired visits to Istanbul and he selected bright colors for every surface and the floor tiles laid out images of a lion, camel and peacock. The gothic inspired royal bed chamber contained ornate wooden towers, hot and cold running water, a massive reading chair and a private chapel. King Ludwig also had a cave constructed off his bed room, a literal man cave in an elegant fairytale castle.

Before leaving, I attempted to take the classic selfie at Marienbrucke, or Mary’s bridge. I waited in line with the mob of fellow visitors but when I took the first step onto the wooden slats, I panicked. I looked down and realized there was no way I could go further. So, I backed up and went to other viewpoints located on firm ground. No matter what direction you looked, the setting for this stunning castle contained sensational views with the forests, lakes, farmland and the Alps. I enjoyed the day alone; taking the early morning train, strolling around the lake and learning about the castles.

Arriving back in Munich at the Hauptbahnhof station and then walked the 20 min back to Danielle’s apartment. I freshened up and then we went for an evening in the English Garden. We sat in a large outdoor beer hall and picnic area. We started at a cafeteria styled area and grabbed beers. There were two options, both large. It was a wonderful last evening to spend with Danielle and we sipped until last call before walking home.

Early the next morning, Danielle walked with me to the bus station on her way to work. We hugged goodbye after a wonderful two weeks of travel together and I settled in for a ride to my next stop; Zurich, Switzerland.

July 2018