One Day in Munich

Pretty much the only water they have in Europe is sparkling water, which I've mostly gotten used to. It doesn't seem to really satisfy thirst, though, and you can't guzzle it like still water. *sigh*

Munich is really cool, although most of it looks just like Berlin and Cologne. I checked out the Residenz, the former residence of Bavarian kings. The original castle on the site was built in the 14th century by the Wittelsbachs and has been continuously added to since then so it forms an immense sprawling complex of palace wings and courtyards. I spent several hours in the museum and took about 150 pictures...the museum pieces are beautiful and most of the interior is the sort of rococo, gold-covered design that makes me cringe from the opulence at the same time that I'm drawn to the shininess and bright colors. My visit to the Residenzmuseum also further confirmed my...discomfort...with the Catholic religion. There is an entire room filled with reliquaries holding relics of various saints, etc. Stand-outs are a femur, several skulls, and even the bodies of infants housed in beautiful and ornate cases. The infants are complete and are supposedly the bodies of babies killed in King Herod's purge. Icky. Why can't they just let the poor things go back to nature where they belong?

Next stop was the Stadtmuseum, the State Museum, housed in the former arsenal building built in the 1400s. The exhibits document the history of the city of Munich including a fantastic film and photo exhibit of the Nazi era. The museum also distributes booklets for a walking tour through the city to visit sites that were important in the growth of the Nazi movement. I didn't know before this visit that Munich is where Hitler got started and where the cult really took hold. I didn't get to do the walking tour since the brochures are tucked away in a corner of the film/photo exhibit and I didn't get there until almost dark...I did inadvertently visit or at least walk by a lot of the sites on the tour, so it will be interesting to read more about them. The Stadtmuseum also has a huge exhibit on marionettes and other circus paraphernalia, which was really amazing, though a bit creepy.

Other places I also visited were the Hofbrauhaus (I walked through it and used their bathroom but didn't eat there because I'd bought some groceries at the Penny Markt this morning), Frauenkirche (kirche = church), St. Peterskirche, St. Michaelskirche, the Propylaen, Neues Rathaus, and Feldhernhalle (more about these last 2 and their history when I can post pictures. Hint: they have to do with the Nazi stuff and I want to read that booklet I got.). How's that for a one-day tour?