Of course every sight of Munich would be a new one which is always exciting.There was a 7 hour time difference so we would be jet-lagged but we planned to stay awake and push on through to get in sync with the Germans.
On this trip we made our first visit to the Admiral hotel on Kohlstrasse, a hotel we would return to again and again over the years. Small, quiet and simple-no gym, pool, conference room or crowds.
The location was close to the center of the city and even better still was a two minute walk from the river Isar which winds through the city. Once we had checked in using our basic German, which wasn't needed as the reception staff speak good English, we unpacked and set out on a walk to explore our surroundings...
That was the Isar and that's the Deutsches Museum a treasure trove we would visit on our next trip to Munich. It's overcast now but I can recall it being 71 degrees F in early September. Nice!
We have a laminated city map as we walk and we are heading for the central pedestrian hub of Marienplatz.
Walking by the Isar river made a good first impression on us. Being a Sunday it was quiet without all the business traffic that would follow when the work-week started. Everything was new to us and we had all the time in the world so we could slow down and enjoy what we were seeing and hearing.
Beautiful historic buildings lined our route away from the river towards Marienplatz.
We passed by the Bavarian State Opera House where we had tickets for an opera later in the week upon our return from our driving tour.
We soon found ourselves in Marienplatz for the first time. What a crowded scene that was! There were cafes and restaurants with outdoor tables and waiters hustled back and forth carrying trays of food and....can that be BEER? Beer in Germany? Who knew?!! We were lucky to get a seat at a table with some nice German folks who invited us to sit. We like sitting and soon I had a big Mass of Helles (lager). Great people watching here and the beer really helped me settle into the German way of life (although I don't really need help!)
Everyday at 11 a.m, Noon and 5 p.m there is a mechanical animation show high up in the bell tower here and the shows draw a crowd. Everyone is looking up and taking photos (guilty!) as the figures dance and Knights joust on horseback (Spoiler alert- Bavarian Knight in blue and white always wins)
In this picture the folks are dancing and the Knights are offstage.
Here we see the Knights doing battle in the top tier...but you know how that ends-Bavaria (blue) beats Prussia ( red) yet again.
We move on after enjoying a delicious lunch of bratwurst and French fries (pomme frites) and yes, more beer. The beer was Hacker Schorr from one of the 6 local breweries. We are just going to wander and soak up the atmosphere and admire the architecture.
We had seen Rick Steves enjoying Europe's largest public park in Munich- the Englisher Garten and made our way there. I heard there were beer gardens there and that was motivation enough for my feet. Carol came too and loved the long relaxed walk amongst the trees.
Maybe we'll see you at the beer garden??
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