MUNICH, GERMANY

After our Innsbruck adventure [January], PJ and I headed to Munich and Garmisch-Partenkirchen Germany. It was my first time traveling into Germany and PJ's first non-work related trip there. We have so many places in Germany that we want to see, but we decided to do a short trip and go back multiple times.

First stop was Munich [Monaco in Italian]. We got to our hotel during early afternoon and had the rest of that afternoon/night and the next morning to explore. It was well past PJ's lunch time so we headed out to get some food [minus the slight detour into BoConcept!].

Our first meal was at Altes Hackerhaus, and it was delicious! We are suckers for Wiener Schnitzel, fried potatoes and stewed cranberries. After filling up we headed out to do some exploration of the city.

The main square is called Marienplatz [St. Mary's Square] and was used for a market place and for festivals during the Middle Ages. The square was not always called Marienplatz but was changed to that during a cholera epidemic as a way to ask the Virgin Mary to protect the town. There are many things to see within Marienplatz, such as:

New Town Hall - Known as Neues Rathaus. It is a Gothic building that reaches 79 meter [259 ft] high. It was built between 1867-1903 and designed by Georg von Hauberrisser. The facade is almost 100 meters long and commands a prominent visual bordering Marienplatz. The Glockenspiel is located in the tower and is famous for moving figurines that dance and twirl to represent stories. In total, it takes about 12 minutes to watch.

There is an elevator that one can take to the top, but the weather wasn't great, so that will be something for our next visit.

There is also a restaurant in the cellar of the Neues Rathaus called Ratskeller. 

Old Town Hall - Altes Rathaus. Built in the Gothic Style between 1470 and 1480. The building was changed many times between the late 1500's and early 1600's and was later destroyed during WWII. It was then rebuilt in its original Gothic style following the original 15th C plans.

Here, one can climb the tower as well.

Old Town Hall

Mariensaule - In the center of the square there is a large column. It was constructed in 1638 to honor of the end of the Swedish invasion. At the top of the column there is a gilded statue of the Virgin Mary which was sculpted in 1590. The base of the column has 4 putti's that symbolize "the city's overcoming of war, pestilence, hunger and heresy."

Fischbrunnen - The original fountain was designed by Konrad Knoll in 1864. It was destroyed during WWII and was later rebuilt.

Other finds throughout the city...

Munich Residenz and National Theater

Bayerische Staatskanzlei

Galerie Bartsch & Chariau

Freunde der Theatinerkirche

Allerheiligen-Hofkirche

Feldherrnhalle

Hofbräuhaus

Hofbräuhaus

Hofbräuhaus

St.-Jakobs-Platz

Frauenkirche

We were able to check out a lot of the city, but I still have quite a list of things I would like to see:
-the inside of the Asamkirche
-the BMW museum/factory
-the Frauenkirche [it was closed this last visit]
-the Viktualienmarkt
-Olympiapark
-Pinakothek der Moderne
-Museum Brandhorst
-walk through the Siegestor
-the castles and palaces of the area 
and so so so much more