Munich; Day Two

 

Feldherrn Halle - Odeonsplaza - Munich, Germany
Copyright Andy Richards 2024

EVENTUALLY WE would end up right where we finished up the previous day. But first, we had breakfast in the nice little breakfast area in the Opera Hotel. The night before, before completely retiring for the night, I lit up a cigar and took a little walk around the neighborhood surrounding the hotel. The Opera is situated on St. Anna  -Strasse, a small, quiet street that began just near the hotel and went north. Just up the street there were a handful of nice, small restaurants, on both sides of the street. None were open by then, but it looked like we could find a nice place for a meal in the evenings at the end of our days. Eventually, I happened upon St. Anna - Platz, a small, quiet park-like area in front of the pretty little St. Anna Kirche. There was a nice bench there near a pool and fountain and I took a load off and finished my cigar.

Isar River - Munich, Germany
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved

THE NEXTmorning, after breakfast, Bruce and I decided to go on a "cigar walk." We did not have a hard plan for the day, so we took it easy that morning. Bruce had an idea that we were very close to the river, so we took off in that direction and within a few short minutes ended up on a nice walkway along the Isar River.

Isar River - Maximillian Brucke in the background - Munich, Germany
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved

WE FOUND a bridge and crossed the river, following a rough rectangular walking track, which would eventually bring us back across right on the main street in front of our hotel neighborhood; Maximillian Strasse. The space around the river was a peaceful green space and there were a few other morning walkers out and about.

Stairway - Maximillian Brucke - Munich, Germany
Copyright Andy Richards

LIKE MANY European cities around the world, Munich made some nice green space around its city, but with some impressive man-made additions that I found photogenic, like this stairway down to street level as we came from a higher point on the other side of the river.

Fountain - Maximillian Strase - Munich, Germany
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved

EVEN IN the midst of a tranquil green space around the river, the inevitable street art found its way into a tucked in spot along a flow regulation canal on the river.

Street Art - Munich, Germany
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved

ONCE WE got back to the hotel, we re-grouped and headed out for the day. As I mentioned above, we did not have a firm plan. We had a couple things we wanted to do. We had read about the Viktualienmarkt, a large "farmers market" type area in the south of the Marienplatz complex and we wanted to see that. The rain had returned for the day and it was off and on drizzle as we walked. At one point the hard rain drove us into a little rooftop restaurant where we had coffee and shared a couple sweet deserts. Timing things well, the rain relented and we walked along the street checking out some of the markets, including a couple meat markets.

Hofgarten - Munich Residenz - Munich, Germany
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved

WE KNEW that our next destination would be back at the Munich Residenz, to walk through the garden. This time the weather would cooperate and we actually had a few peeks of sunshine for he first time since we arrived in Munich. Standing between the two plants in the image of the Feldherrnhalle, if you turn left 90 degrees and walk forward a few feet, you end up at the gate to the garden.

Munich Residenz - Munich, Germany
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved

THE MAIN path walks you along one of the sides of the Residenz. The above image gives the viewer an idea of just how large the palace actually is.

Hofgarten - Munich Residenz - Munich, Germany
Copyright Andy Richards 2024

BUILT MOSTLY in the 1600's, the garden was once even more elaborate than it is today, with lanes of mulberry trees and other vegetation. Mostly destroyed in WWII, it was rebuilt as it is today.

Hofgarten - Munich Residenz - Munich, Germany
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved

THERE IS a central pavillion from which radiate 6 different paths. The paths are all lined with colorful flowers. There are also two nice fountains with seating around them. It is a popular place for visitors and residents alike. The Impressive Bavarian State Chancellery is situated on southeast side of the garden. It is a very photogenic building. I found a few compositions I liked there.

The Bavarian State Chancellery - Munich, Germany
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved

I DON'T remember when this happened, but one of us - Joyce - had another mission and knew we would be walking by, so we also made one other brief stop during the day - the Orlando di Lasso Memorial Statue. Born in the Netherlands, he ended up in Italy in his early years, and then finally settled in Munich, where he became a rather famous composer, during the mid-late 1500s. During that time, Emperor Maximillian II conferred nobility upon him, and he was twice nighted by Pope Gregory XIII. I am not sure what it was about him that got Joyce so excited. Oh, wait. Now I remember. 😜

Michael Jackson Memorial - Munich, Germany
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved

SOME TIME shortly after the death of Michael Jackson in June, 2009, a group of his fans in Munich took it upon themselves to create a "makeshift" monument to him, affixing posters, pictures and the likes to the base of the di Lasso statue. In 2015, two rival fan groups got into a dispute over who was in charge of the memorial (presumably these were MJ fan groups and not Orlando groups). The city removed all the Michael Jackson items and banned them. However, following the 2020 pandemic, fans once again began back at it and this time, with no pushback from city officials. Joyce is a Michael Jackson fan. I have no idea whether she is an Orlando di Lasso fan, though I know she is a Ted Lasso fan.😁

Munich, Germany
Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved

THIS WAS a nice and relaxing day, taking in some of the fun sights of Munich. We actually headed back earlier than we had on some of our prior days, and arriving back in the area of our hotel, decided to explore some of the small restaurants nearby. All seemed to have outside seating and the weather had turned pleasant: dry and reasonably warm, so we looked for one of those places. We competely stumbled upon the place. It was a Mexican restaurant. We never would have looked for that, but they were advertising a special and we decided to sit down. The drinks were good (hard to miss with beer in my case), and after looking at the menu in which they advertised a taco special, we actually decided to return there a couple hours later at dinner time. We were just around the corner from our hotel. For those of you who are wondering, let me give you a word of advice. When you are in Bavaria, and when there is nobody that looks remotely hispanic working in the restaurant, don't order the mexican! Bruce and I both had enchiladas. My wife had tacos. I think Joyce had a veggie burger. She said it was good. The enchiladas weren't even close. My wife said the tacos were o.k., but I think she may be too polite.😑I really should have known better (although we had a completely different experienc a few days later in Berlin - but that's another story). In spite of this, the people who ran the restaurant were super friendly, and the service was quick and efficient. And all of this with a language barrier (no-not spanish).

IRONICALLY, AT the end of the next day and a long afternoon at Octoberfest, we returned to the Mexican restaurant - but this time a had a burger which was decent. Overall, we really liked the atmosphere and people in the Mexican place. But mexican food in Munich. Dont' do it.