Weekend ideas #6 – Munich – the heart of Bavaria

Munich’s Central railway station

Sightseeing

After our visit to Munich I felt that we somehow might have covered more tourist attractions. However, I will try to present everything we have visited.

Marienplatz

Probably the most famous square in the city, where the New City Hall (Neus Rathaus) is situated. It has been the city’s main square since 1158. The good thing for tourists – you can ascend to the top of the City Hall (85 m) and took a lot of photos of the city from a different perspective.

Inside the City Hall we have also encountered traditional folk singers who were performing on the stage. The Munich is full of Bavarian culture and local customs.

There is also another tourist attraction – a set of bells, or carillon which is performing a medieval scene from the life of German kings and locals every day at 11 a.m. (as well as 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. in summer). The scene on the top marks the wedding of the local Duke Wilhelm V (who also founded the world famous Hofbräuhaus) to Renata of Lorraine. In honor of the happy couple there is a joust with life-sized knights on horseback representing Bavaria (in white and blue) and Lothringen (in red and white). The Bavarian knight wins every time, of course. The bottom half tells us the second story: Schäfflertanz (or the coopers’ dance). The coopers, according to the city legend were dancing in the streets during plague in 1517, marking the end of the plague and symbolizing perseverance and loyalty to authority through difficult times. Remarkably that Rathaus-Glockenspiel consistes of of 43 bells and 32 life-sized figures and whole spectacle lasts between 12 and 15 minutes long.

The English Garden (Englischer Garten)

Munich is also famous for its parks. The most famous and the biggest one is an English Garden, located almost in the center of a city. It is washed by rivers and canals and it a perfect place to escape big and noisy city. It is worth mentioning that Englischer Garten is the biggest urban park in the world (with its area of 3.7 km2 it is bigger than the famous Central Park in NY). The park was created in 1789; among remarkable places worth visiting is a Chinese Tower, Japanese Tea House and a surfing spot.

Near Chinese Tower, or Chinesischer Turm in the summer you can enjoy Bavarian beer and sausages in the open air. You are able to buy a few sorts of beer, a white and dark beer, and a special beer Radler, which is mixed with lemonade on 50/50 percent proportion.

Surfing

Yes, indeed it is possible, as in one of the artificial stream flowing through the Englischer Garten, a wave is produced by the water pumping mechanism. The first artificial waterfalls were created in 1815 and because of that not only a remote wilderness is required for surfing, you can also do it in Munich. In the hot day a lot of dare-devils are just jumping into the cold river following its streams and waterfalls for a while and then get of the water.

Unfortunately on our arrival, the Japanese Tea House was closed, as it opened only for special hours.

Nymphenburg Palace

The palace is also a nice place to visit in Munich. Located in the city, surrounded by beautiful garden and river, will not leave you indifferent to this place. However, only a small part is opened for the visitors, around 20 furniture chambers. The palace, which is designed in Baroque style was the summer residence of Bavarian electors and kings. It was the last resort of king Ludwig II, who after losing a war in 1866 was no longer a sovereign ruler and began to create his own imagine world in the walls of this palace.

And a huge amount of ducks, geese and other feather creatures feeding themselves despite tourist crowds passing by

Hofbräuhaus

And definitely you should not miss the visit to the most famous beer brewery in Germany. The Hofbräuhaus am Platzl, Munich’s famous “hofbrauhaus” was founded in 1589 by the Duke of Bavaria, Wilhelm V. It is one of Munich’s oldest beer halls. [Wiki]. There is also a museum of brewery on the second floor of the building (as we were told), but unfortunately we couldn’t make it due to the lack of time.