Marienplatz

A word or two about the video coming up. The mechanical extravaganza that happens thrice daily in Marienplatz is shot with the wide angle lens as extreme zoom for that length of time (approximately Forever) would be very shaky so you may think there is actually NOTHING to see...if you look at your computer screen through some binoculars you will see that in the top archway of the clock tower the people are gathered to watch a joust between Knights from Bavaria (local boy and crowd favorite) and a Prussian lad who gets what's coming to him-on the second pass on horseback the Bavarian Knight strikes the Prussian's shield and knocks him backwards! The crowd below cheers or applauds or drinks some more beer.

Then, just when you think you can stand no more excitement! the action moves to the lower archway where men in gaily-colored costumes begin to dance.

Some German translation for you...I say "Er macht nur Spass" which means "he's only joking".

The word "Gemütlichkeit " is the German phrase for "good living" which involves good food, drink and company.

We had to share a table with a group of German folks and within a minute Carol was chatting with them as they are open and friendly. Carol speaks some German too but these folks spoke very good English and made us feel welcome. All the tables have ashtrays so if you are a non-smoker (which Carol is) be prepared for someone to sit down next to you and light up. That would be ME so say hello and offer to buy me a drink.

If you are a smoker there are cigarette machines all over the streets but to stop youngsters buying them with cash you may have to use a credit card to verify you are a credit-worthy adult and then you can use cash. A nice German helped me figure this out after I had tried half a dozen machines near Marienplatz.

Gemutlichkeit-yes life is good even when jet-lagged. I had beer and attentive waiters, sunshine, happy people all around and a week of Germany and Austria to look forward to. We had been running on adrenaline and espresso since we got off the plane 8 hours ago and now the tummy was truing to get our attention. People left and right (links und rechts) were attacking steaming hot plates of savory food. Carol had read a Rick Steve's recommendation for a restaurant very close by and so with a change of scene in mind we decided we would go eat. Just then some musicians came and set up shop near our table....

Wow! Spirited performance ladies!