300 years from now people will think we were lame (My Day in Munich)

Before I get started talking about Munich, I wanted to point out that I added a couple of pictures of Berlin that I forgot to post earlier. They are of a bombed out church in Hardenbergplatz. The church was bombed out in 1943, and they just left it that way. A huge, modern railway station and square have grown up around it, so it looks quite out of place. You can see pictures from Berlin. It is the last two photos in the set.

The reason people 300 years from now will think we were lame is because our architecture is so lazy. Yeah, new buildings can be cool looking and modern and artistic and creative and all that, but the amount of work put into actually making them doesn't even compare to the old buildings. I was walking around Munich today, and all these old buildings from the 17th century are so impressive. The amount of work poured into creating all these buildings is incredible, with cool statues and designs all over the walls. Try to keep this in the back of your mind as you look through the photos.

I started just outside the Englischer Garten at Siegestor (Victory Arch). Englischer Garten is the huge Central City Park, and is so named because it was modeled after a British Country Estate. The park is beautiful, with huge green pastures, running creeks with people wading about, and various Beer Gardens. The biggest beer garden is at the Chinese Pagoda (Chinesischer Turm). They serve beer by the liter, which is much more respectable than the Australian bars. I once watched my KKPsi big brother Jeff Moerdyke drink 3.5 of these at one band party. I know he was not happy the next day.

At my table were 2 Pharmacist ladies from Australia who were in town for a conference, as well as a couple from Los Angeles who is living in Munich on a temporary work assignment. We took turns taking pictures of each other in front of the Chinese Pagoda. Following this I went wondering through the park, where I learned that nude sun-bathing is quite common in Munich. Not what I would have expected, but it wasn't so bad.

From there I headed over to Hofgarten, which is a big square with some government buildings. In the middle of Hofgarten is a cool temple for the Goddess Diana, with a flower garden and water fountains around it. There is also a cafe there, but (surprisingly) no Starbucks.

Right next to Hofgarten is the Residenz (Royal Palace). For you history buffs (hi Dad!) this is where Adolf Hitler and his cronies got drunk in 1923 and tried to overthrow the German Government. They failed of course, and he went to jail, where he wrote Mein Kampf. Then they made the mistake of letting him out, and he went crazy creating the storyline for "Escape from Castle Wolfenstein".

Marienplatz is the big square in the center of town, where there is a toy museum, churches, and Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall). The town hall has a clock tower that goes crazy at 6pm, and mechanical marionettes come out to dance. One group of knights and dancers re-enact a tournament held in the Marienplatz in 1568, and the other group dances the Schafflertanz (cooper's dance). There was a big stage setup and a band performing in Marienplatz. It was your typical R&B band, playing favorite German standards like Louie Louie, Hallelujah It's Raining Men, and Jailhouse Rock.

I also walked over to the world famous Hofbrau House, which is right next to Marienplatz. This place can seat 4500 people, and serves 17,500 liters of beer on a busy day. I plan on having dinner there as soon as this post is completed.

Finally, I ended up at St. Matthew's Church, near Marienplatz. The altar in this church is crazy... way more impressive than anything I've ever seen. I imagine there will be even better churches in Romo, but still, this one is cool.

Check out Pictures from Munich.