What an amazing town with so much history. It was quite an experience that we weren't even looking for. We had heard about the free walking tours in Munich so we decided to see for ourselves. We are super glad we did. The city came alive because of a very knowledgeable tour guide. We started by getting to ride the train! Owen was most excited because they were actually working today, instead of on strike like the last time we tried. We started in Marianplatz square to watch the ever so famous glockenspiel chime. It was kind of fun, although, not overly amazing. The kids liked watching the dancers spin around and then the horses with their riders fight each other. Fun! After that we went to this little church around the corner to see the Austrian cannon that was stuck in this church. It had quite a story to it that it fell out during the bombing of WWII but a doctor found it and kept it until he could get someone to put it back up because he remembered that it was there since his childhood. Munich knew it was going to be destroyed during the war, so it had its people go around and take lots and lots of pictures. These pictures not only helped the city put itself back together but it actually aided in the bombings accuracy. Oops!
This clock tower is funny because each side has 2 clocks on it. So 8 clocks all together. Which is funny because German's are VERY prompt, unlike our experience with Italians! HAHA!!
I made Jake take the above picture of this awesome scene. A table of a bunch of older guys, one in his lederhosen drinking beer. He even had a moustache that was super awesome. I just felt like it was truly a German experience.
The above columns have quite the story to them too. They are full of bullet holes from a gun fight during the war. Some college students back in the 70s went to the mayor and asked him why they had to see the holes and be reminded of the dark history of Munich. The mayor saw their point, but he also wanted to respect the history of the city, so the covered the holes on the right side of the columns. So if you were to walk one way you wouldn't even see bullet holes, but if you turn around and walk back you will see them.
The above pictures is of the Opera House. A funny story with this Opera House is that it burned down around 5 times. One of the times it did, when they rebuilt it, the put a swimming pool on the top to catch rain water so that if it burned again, it would have a natural sprinkler system to save it. Well, it burned again and it was in January that it did, so there was a HUGE block of ice on the top of the roof that was of no good to help to put out the fire. Well because it was January, even the river was frozen over so they had to use beer to put it out. They were rolling beer barrels from the local brewery and something like 1000 were counted leaving the brewery and only about 6 of them made it to try to help put out the fire. German's sure like their beer ... apparently more than their Opera House!
This picture is much more than it seems. These stairs, surrounded by the Lions is the location that Adolf Hitler stood and gave many, many talks to his people and army. They said thousands of soldiers swore their alliance in this square. They showed us pictures of war pictures with thousands of soldiers and it was truly humbling to have been somewhere with such a dark history. Munich is actually the birth place of the Nazi party with many of their meetings happening here. In fact, just around the corner from this square is a spot on the street that Hitler's body guard took 5 bullets for Hitler. How different history would have been if Hitler had been hit with those bullets very early into the war. This was quite a humbling place to be standing.
This Lion is known for its good luck if you touch it. Fun!
We stopped at the market to have a yummy, yummy German sausage. Did I mention they were yummy? Anthony was filling up his water bottle with the delicious German water, from their local well.
This is another picture of the main square. It was amazing to hear that this building really isn't that old, it was just built to look that way. Everything in Munich really isn't that old because it has been rebuilt since the war, but the history is rich and lots of solemn moments to reflect.
Not only is this brewery one of the most famous ones, but the Hofbrauhaus is actually the place where the Nazi party was created and where they held most of their meetings in the upper floor. They eventually got too big for this meeting place and moved on but it still holds quite a bit of history. I actually learned more about beer and breweries than I ever would have wanted. There is quite a lot of beer history in Germany and if you were a drinker, this may just be your vacation destination!
We are so glad we took the 3+ hour tour. The kids were amazing during the whole thing and we are so grateful. They were filthy dirty when we got home though because they would sit on the street or play in some dirt while we went from place to place, but it was worth it to get to experience the history of this city. Much more meaningful than if we would have just walked through it on our own. We even made it back to the same train station we left from without incident. Not too bad for two little Idaho country parents!
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