After we finished breakfast at the pension where we are staying, we headed out to see whatever we could see in a slightly drizzling rain. Of course we had no umbrellas. They weigh a few ounces, you know, so we left them at home. As we walked on, the rain got a bit harder, and we were wishing we had added umbrellas to our backpacks when we rounded a corner and there was a store called "Euro Shop", the European version of Everything's $1! We managed to find two umbrellas for one Euro each! Perfect!
We walked a while in the wrong direction, a mistake you don't want to make on a rainy day, but we got re-oriented and headed for the Viktualienmarkt where produce, baked goods and other items are sold from indiviual stalls set up like markets in Munich were many years ago. There is also a huge maypole in the area, which originally showed what merchants were set up in the area for business. It is mostly decorative today.
From that area we walked to the Marienplatz, where the "New" Town Hall (built 1867-1908) dominates the area. The big drawing card for this area is the famous glockenspiel. We were there at noon when the life-size figures of the glockenspiel re-created a royal wedding on the noon hour. Unlike the other glockenspiels we have seen, this one entertains the watchers for almost 15 minutes. It began with misic followed by the figures on horseback jousting for the wedded couple.
The drizzly rain required those watching the glockenspiel to gaze at the scene from under colorful umbrellas. However, when the carved barrel-makers began their celebratory jig, the drizzly rain turned into a downpour of epic proportions, and umbrellas with legs ran helter-skelter out of the plaza with little concern for the life-size figures of the glockenspiel dancing above them.
So, what do you do in the rain in Munich? We stopped for lunch and ate in a covered area looking out on the people puddle-jumping on the cobblestone streets. After we finished lunch, the rain had decreased to a drizzle, so we walked down to the Frauenkirche, a church with twin towers shaped like onion domes at the top. This church is said to be the symbol of the city, but only one of the towers was visible today, since the second tower is being restored and is currently distorted by protective coverings. (Is it just me, or are a large portion of historic buildings in Europe being restored in 2011?)
We walked through the pedestrain shopping area and by a few other sites before we decided to get an ice cream cone and head back to the hotel. It really isn't much fun sightseeing in the rain, and it was also getting much cooler. We decided we have had several fairly busy days, and an afternoon in the room where we could catch up on our wash, read a little, and perhaps take a brief nap sounded like a good idea.
After resting for a little while, the rain had stopped and we went out again. This time we wandered into an old food-and-drink establishment, the Hofbrauhaus. We walked in to see the activity, but it was obviously not our type of place. However, they did have a very interesting "oompah" band that was quite lively.
We wandered around the city a little while longer, bought some cheese and one of those large German pretzels, and returned to our room to eat our snacks for supper and probably retire early and get ready for the activities for tomorrow.Munich is a big city, in many ways it is similar to big cities in any country. It is not quaint like Rothenburg or Staufen or Bacharach. I am sure it is a really nice city, but we enjoy the small, quaint areas more than the big cities. We are glad we came to Munich, but are looking forward to seeing other sites...hopefully after this rain moves on.
Those of you at home are enjoying a holiday today. Hopefully, you have had a good day of relaxation from your daily routine.
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