Munchen

We left for Munchen immediately after the awards ceremony of the European championships. It was late but the autobahn was not busy so Jeff could drive as fast as he wanted (within the limits of the car itself). He will have a hard time re-adjusting to Iowa driving! We got to our hotel rather late and fell into bed so we would be ready to roll on Saturday. We met our friend, Matt, at the hotel.

Saturday morning we got up, ate breakfast and headed for downtown Munich via train.

This is Unserer Lieben Frau Dom and Pfarrkirche. Inside is the tomb of Ludwig the Barvarian.

Next we walked to Marienplatz and the Neues Rathaus. It is a wonderful building. The highlight of which is the huge three-level Glockenspiel. We checked our watches and planned to be back at noon when it plays.

This is St. Peterskirche. Notice the statues of the disciples that line the sanctuary! Beautiful!

And the Heiliggeistkirche built in 1392. The frescos inside (look up) are amazing!

Next we wandered through the Viktualienmarkt - a huge open-air market. We stopped for something to drink and some weisswurst (a must-have in Bayern!)

And here is Joseph in front of a statue of Bavarian King Max I Joseph (responsible for Germany's first constitution in 1818).

No, it's not beer - it's Paulander spezi (coke/fanta mix).

It's noon! There goes the glockenspiel!

Rubbing the lion's shield at the gates of the palace is supposed to bring good luck.

This is the Feldherrnhalle at Odeonsplatz. The statue is of General Tilly who surrendered Munich to the Swedes during the Thirty Year's War (1618-1648). Odeonsplatz is the site of the Beer Hall Revolt by the Nazis in 1923 which resulted in Hitler's jailing.

The Theatinerkirche St Kajetan church sits on Odeosplatz. Given its unusual color it is hard to miss! It was built between 1663 and 1690 and contains the Furstengruft (royal crypt) which contains the remains of members of the Wittelsbach family.

No trip to Munich is complete without a peek inside the Hofbrauhaus!

St Michaelskirche.

Sankt Anna Damenstiftskirche.

and the amazing Asamkirche or St Johann Nepomuk church. This private chapel was built by the Asam brothers who lived next door. The inside is just breathtaking!

It was time to catch our train to the Bayern Muchen soccer game - the trains were going to be full!

And there it was - Allianz Arena!

This was, without question, the rowdy section. They were singing, jumping, waving flags - they were almost as fun to watch as the game itself!

What a fun afternoon! And Bayern Munchen beat Wolfsburg 2 goals to 1!
The stadium at night was beautiful!

We boarded the (very) crowded train back to Marienplatz to meet Matt's mother, uncle and aunt for dinner at das Weisse Brauhaus.

(We were a little disappointed at the portion size - NOT!).

What a great day! Thanks Matt and family!