Just keep moving...Munich

As the title states....we just kept moving in Munich.  We literally figured out the living situation for Munich the night before we were set to arrive there.  In theory staying 3 nights in 3 different spots sounded fine.  In reality it was a bit tougher then we expected.  This could not put a damper on the beauty we discovered in this city.  We arrived at the train station and figured out the transpiration to our hotel with out too much trouble.  We even managed to book our next travel ticket while we were there...trying to plan ahead a bit and save a bit of money.  We are learning a lot a long the way for sure.  We checked into our hotel called B&B which is a great inexpensive hotel chain over here in Europe. We have stayed in a couple and  I

Just hanging out in Munich

recommend it highly!  We were starving after our long travel day so we caught the u-bhan (underground) back into town to find dinner.  I am super happy to be back in a city where there is great public transportation.  It is so easy and convenient once you get the hang of it.  It has been bit tricky at the start and each city is different so there is always a learning curve but all well worth the end result of not having to drive a car and being able to get just about anywhere.   When we stepped out of the underground station and started walking we were surprised by beautiful gems around every corner.  The buildings were gorgeous and I am not exaggerating when I say there was something new and beautiful on every block.  We had a bit of whiplash as we looked around and kept saying " hey look at this one...No wait look over there".  We had to wander a bit to find a reasonably priced cafe to eat at.  Munich is probably the most expensive city we have been in so far.  Our search was worth it because it lead us to the Marieplatz...one of the main centers of town and we had dinner under the Glockenspiel.  After dinner we did some window shopping where we found some pretty fantastic fashion.

German inspired fashion

 There were some amazing authentic German clothing and also tons of other gorgeous german brands I had never heard of.  I am a huge fan of the Dirndl and Lederhosen.  I will definitely be making my oun when I get home.....I see an Ocktoberfest in my near future.
The next morning we woke up to some unfortunate rainy weather.  We have been so lucky with the sun in Germany so far we weren't ready for this.  The worst part about it was that we had to move to our next living location that day which required walking from the hotel all the way to the underground stop.  I was definitely a sight carrying my suitcase (which by the way now has a broken wheel...I have the worst luck with suitcases) by shoulder bag and an umbrella.  It was not starting the day off well.  We locked our luggage up for the day at the train station and headed into the city to try and salvage the rest of the day.  We basically did a bit more wandering around the town, grabbed a bite to eat at a lovely garden cafe then had to head back to the station to get our luggage to head out of town a bit to our home for the night.  Tonights home is a perfect example of how all sorts of people come out of the woodwork to help you out when you are traveling.  Our host for the evening were the parents of a photographer (Michael Spengler) Kelsey and I got to  know during our time working at Infantino.  They graciously offered us a room for the night and it was so nice.  We had a lovely chat with them over dinner and got some much needed sleep....not to mention some great stories about Michael growing up.  They also were able to give us some good info for our

Haufbrau House

next day.
The next morning we got up a bit earlier then normal and went into the center of town for a free walking tour of the city.  This tour was much more then we expected but really great.  It was 3 hours of walking and really detailed history of the town.  We learned a lot about some of the buildings we had walked by the day before and also saw many new ones.  One highlight of the tour was seeing the Haufbrau house.  This is one of the oldest brew houses in Munich.  We learned that many famous people have held events in the event hall over the years including Hitler.  Another fun did bit is that original brew masters were women.  Kinda cool right ladies....maybe we should all look into that as our next career.

High ceilings and teardrops

We also stopped at church that had 2 large towers out front.  Like most things in Munich the majority of the church had been bombed and destroyed in the war.  The unique thing about this church is that the 2 large towers out front were left intact.  This was because during those days they used major land marks to determine where to bomb a city.  If those land marks were destroyed there would be no way for them to know where the city was.  It really is so unfortunate that nothing really in the majority of the German cities is original.  Some of the buildings that we looked at that are the historic buildings of the town are actually newer then some of the local cafes.  The great part is that all the buildings have been restored beautifully.  There has been a true labor of love by the city of Munich to take all measures needed to make sure everything is restored accurately.  Multiple photos were taken of all aspects of each building before the war and those have been used to restore everything.  So, even though it isn't original it is a completely accurate representation of the building.  In this particular building I was drawn in by the

Is it real or just a facade?

  intricate details on the incredibly high ceilings.  Also the tear drop shaped chandeliers were so unique.  I had never seen any quite like them.
Another little thing that the city of Munich does is when there is construction happening on a building they cover the outside of the building with a facade of what the building should look like.  We were cracking up when we first realized what was going on.  I must say that it really does do a lot for the eye appeal of the city.  Scaffolding can be so harsh and just make a city look dirty and rough.  I am assuming since they take so much time when they are restoring a building these facades are necessary otherwise a building would look pretty bad for quite some time.
Behind the facade building you see in this photo are some lovely courtyards and walking paths.  They are filled with flowers and fountains and lots of people out enjoying the lovely sunny days.  We strolled through them for a bit before we had to head back to the Spenglers home to get our luggage and move on to our next location.

Courtyard Garden

   Oh yes...moving again!  Our final stop was with Ulli, a friend of the family I had been living with in Palma de Mallorca.  He picked us up and we headed out to a beer garden inside the English Garden.  The spot was beautiful.  We sat and ate dinner right on the lake as the sun was setting.  Such a great last spot to be on our German tour.  After dinner we took a stroll around the lake then headed home for the night.
The next morning we were given a lovely send off with  bavarian pretzels and sausages.  I must say we have become slightly obsessed with them....the pretzels that is....they are nothing like our big soft pretzels.  They are crunchy on the outside like a pretzel should be then so soft on the inside.  As I leave Germany I am sure I will go through withdrawals over the pretzels and smoked beer. I am getting off topic though...so we were leaving...we were dropped off at the tram station and looking at our time we were cutting it really close to make our bus.  Also we weren't exactly sure where we were meeting the bus.  Let's just say there was a bit of panic happening.  We were literally running through the station with our suitcases behind us (don't forget I have a bum wheel on mine) After one wrong location and a detour to the information desk we made it to our bus with a few moments to spare.  I was quite impressed with our ability to run read signs and figure it out.
We boarded the bus and settled in for a 5hour bus ride that will lead us to Prague.....and the adventure continues!