2013 Holiday Travels - Pt 1 - Munich

  Got up Saturday morning and made my way to the Casa airport with no problem, hit a bit of a snag when the officer at passport control didn't like that I had only a photocopy of my residency renewal, but eventually talked my way through to the C-15 gate.  The screen said that a flight to Amsterdam was to be the next to board.  I grabbed an airline employee who said to disregard.  I was dubious.  When my appointed boarding time passed, I asked another employee what was going on and he said not to worry.  Uh-huh.  A Dutch lady overheard my conversation and informed me that the info on the screen was accurate and that my gate was moved...to A-5!  I ran my tail off and got on in the nick of time.  At least the flight was pleasant.

  I eventually found my way to my hostel, checked in and went in search of dinner.  Shockingly, places serving sausages and beer weren't hard to find.  I went back to room and crashed in bed...for a while, anyway.  You see, I was in a 6-person room; the other 5 beds were taken by a group of young men who came in late night, loud and drunk.  Lovely.  We'll get back to them later.

  On Sunday morning I took a fantastic free walking tour of the city.  How, you ask?  It's actually a pretty interesting concept.   A marketing (not tour) company uses the services of guides who are independent contractors who earn no compensation whatsoever from the company; in fact, the guides must pay the company 2.50 euros per person in the group - they make their money by tips from the tourists.  I ran the numbers in my head - the way I figure, everyone wins big time.  My guy was great!  I walked around the city centre for 3 hours being highly informed and entertained for the duration, and paid a lot less than if I had taken a bus tour.

  A little about Munich...it is the capital of the state of Bavaria, and at about 1.5 million people, the 3rd largest city in Germany, with a documented history back to 1158.  I can't begin to detail here the very lengthy and fascinating history of this city.  But, I will give you a few tidbits that will give you a new perspective on some things you thought you already knew.  I know I was quite surprised at some things I learned.

  3.5M bombs dropped on Munich in WW2 - how did several prominent churches along one stretch and a main road perpendicular to them survive?  Easy - they formed a cross which was used by Allied bombers for navigation.  You've heard of Mad King Ludwig, right?  Yeah, well, he wasn't crazy in the least.  But, he was gay, which was legal for everyone...but the king, who had to produce an heir.  It is most likely that he was the victim of a political assassination.  You should check out the history of his family - what a crew!  You know that Hitler guy?  And the Hofbrauhaus, the most famous beer hall on Earth?  They have a very interesting connection that is not widely spoken of.  Hitler re-branded the political party he spoke for as the Nazi party at a meeting there.  I could go on and on forever.  What a time I had!  How about some pics?

  I took this one after paying 1.50 euros for the privilege of climbing about 300 steps to near the top of Saint Peter's, the oldest church in the city.  The church on the left with the iconic twin towers is Frauenkirche (Cathedral of Our Dear Lady), and the one in the foreground is the Neues Rathau (New Town Hall), with its world-famous Glockenspiel.

The Hofbrauhaus:

  The Nationaltheater, the renowned opera house.  You MUST read up on its history; it's one of the most riotously funny stories ever, esp. the fire suppression system that was 2 centuries ahead of its time...and failed (because, um, water freezes in winter).  Check it out

Just a glimpse of one of the famed Christmas markets:

  Apparently, Verona, Italy is a sister city to Munich.  There is a statue there of that Juliet gal, Romeo's squeeze.  If you give her a flower and rub her you'll be the recipient of luck in love.  Verona gave one to Munich.  It seems that people are quite fond of rubbing one particular part of her anatomy...

  Back to those rambunctious boys.  They could not seem to use their access card to enter the room, and didn't think of, oh, I don't know, getting it redone at the desk.  They had to knock and wake me up to let them in.  I plotted my revenge.  I got a small measure of payback in the morning.  At 9:45 a.m. I went to get my stuff from my room so I could check out before 10.  When I walked in, the lads roused a bit and asked if checkout was 10 or 11.  Hee hee hee...

At the train station to ride the rails to Vienna - bye bye, Munich!