More Munich

 Since Munich is our “home base” we have spent more time in this city and area.  Here are a few more highlights we have seen or done the past couple weeks.

Frauenkirche

This is a well known church in Munich, that is mere steps away from our EF classroom building.  No other towers in the city center of Munich are allowed to be higher than these.  This church is famous for a couple of things.  First, it is known for the “devil’s footprint”.  It also has a connection to the man who became Pope Benedict.  This church suffered heavy damage during WWII.  The original wooden roof was destroyed.  However, a group of musicians rummaged through the wood and found pieces of the beautifully aged wood to reuse.  They made musical instruments out of it and formed an orchestra which still plays to this day.

Side view of the Frauenkirche.

This nice park area with a fountain and shade is in the plaza in front of the church.

The Devil’s Footprint

The story of the devil’s footprint goes something like this…. Back when the church was being built, they were in a big hurry to get it done.  This cost more money.  There are a couple different versions of the story, but the builder made a deal with a rich man who is the devil in some stories.  This man said he would pay for the church but it could not have any windows.  The builder agreed.  Then he designed the church so that when you walk in the foyer, you can’t see the tall, narrow stain glass windows because of the massive columns.  The devil stood in the foyer and saw that the church had no windows and stomped his foot hard on the ground in triumph.  Then he took a few steps into the church and saw he had been tricked when he saw the windows. There is a cool breeze that goes through the back of the church and that is supposedly the curse of the devil for tricking him.  There is a footprint on the floor of the foyer.  The legend says that if your foot fits in the footprint, then you are the devil.  I won’t tell you who in our group had a foot the size of the devil’s.  😉

That is my foot next to the devil’s footprint.

The initial view of the church from the foyer, where you can’t see the windows.

A few steps farther, you can see the tall narrow windows.

A tribute to Pope Benedict who either grew up here, served here or something like that.

This church was really damaged in WWII.   Supposedly you can buy these chunks of it in the gift shop.

When the church was destroyed in WWII, some women spent long days and hours separating good bricks from the rubble that could be reused to rebuild it.  The discarded bricks were put in massive discard piles on the edges of the city.  Now there are nice parks over those spots.  In this picture, you can see the difference between the old and new bricks.

Hofbrau Haus

Of course, we visited the famous Hofbrau House.  This place was made famous when the king of Bavaria couldn’t get good beer.  At that time, beer was made cheaply with fillers such as sawdust.  So he passed a law that decreed all beer had to be made from only three ingredients: water, hops and barley. Later that law was revised to include yeast.  As a result, Bavaria made really good beer and became known for their high quality beer.  To this day, all Hofbrau beer has to be made from water that is from Munich, not anywhere else.  It cannot come from water that runs off the nearby Alps.  The kings of Bavaria would host guests at the Hofbrau Haus. Now, the long, open tables are filled with friendly tourists.  It is a HUGE place, with a large patio as well.  Hitler came here and reportedly really liked this place.  It was a gathering place for him and his leaders and even played a role in some historical events.  It is rumored that Hitler’s beerstein is still here, but we found out that is false.  There is always a live oompah band of a few musicians - all decked out in lederhosen.  The students all went while I was in Amsterdam and I missed it.  It wasn’t hard to convince them to join us in a return visit.

Yes, I’m drinking Coke Zero - in a beerstein, at the Hofbrau Haus.

I had the spaetzle - one of my favorite German dishes.  It is basically just noodles, usually served with butter or cheese.  This one was in a kind of beef broth.

After the Hofbrau Haus, we stopped for some gelato on the way home.

English Gardens

Our hotel is basically just across the street from the English Gardens in Munich.  These gardens are huge - think of Central Park in New York.  There are hiking and biking trails, restaurants, and large grassy areas.  The students have joined in volleyball games, festivals happening there and more.  David and I walked through it one evening on the way to supper.  It is a very pretty place.  We do have a bike ride scheduled through the gardens during our last week.

This is a statue of St. Emmeram.  That is also the name of the train stop near our hotel so this guy feels like an old friend now. 

Pretty selfie walking through the park.

Trains

We have gotten very good at traveling on trains.  We have taken subways, trams, busses, ICE trains across the country and more.  The students now are very independent and confident interpreting train schedules, navigating the tickets, transfers and more.

Eating

We have eaten at all kinds of places. Here are some fun finds from Munich.

This restaurant has dishes that all feature spaetzle (the noodles) with cheese and schnitzel on top.  It is basically a macaroni and cheese restaurant.

The Viktualien Market in Munich is an amazing place.  I’ve posted about it before but it is really wonderful.  There are fresh fruits and vegetables every day, meats, cheeses, crafts, souvenirs, and more.

There is a main beer tent in the middle of the market.  The different breweries sponsor different days.  The sign in the middle tells you what beer is available that day.

This is the Maypole in the middle of the Market.  I don’t remember the meaning of all the decorations.  But I do remember that they replace it every year or so.  As a Bluffton College/University alumni, this was fun find. We had a Maypole dance every year and the University was started by Swiss settlers who came from regions of Europe close to this area.  So I’m sure there are some similarities in those traditions.

Asam Church

I did my own little walking tour around Munich one day. I really like Rick Steves, a popular European travel guide. He has a free podcast that offers free walking tours of many major cities.  While doing his free walking tour of Munich, I went to this little church. It was tucked in between all the regular buildings on a normal, busy, shopping street. It was designed by the Asam brothers as kind of a showcase of what they could do.  They they were architects who used it as their own personal chapel (they lived next door), but they invited people there to show them what they could offer if they were to build a church or cathedral in their town.

The interior looks like it is full of marble and other rich materials.  But really, it is clever paint and plaster work to make it look expensive.

This is the Grim Reaper cutting the string of life on a poor soul.

With that lovely image, I’ll end this post.  😆