Tours, museums, and castles, oh my...
Well, I lied. On Monday, I was so sore from the Alps that the extent of what I did was basically hanging around with Sigi, watching German TV, finishing my book, and taking Sadie to the park. On Tuesday, however, I was much more productive. I saw the Deutsch Museum, which is a huge Science and Technology museum. It was very interesting and I was there from about an hour after they opened until they started clearing people out! It turns out, I'm much easier to move through a museum when I can only read a few of the signs. I did buy my own guide book as a souvenier and I even went to the Planetarium, even though the whole thing was in German. :-) Wednesday was as beautiful a day as promised, so I got up early to go on the tour to Neuschwanstein Castle in the Alps. For those not in the know, this is the castle that Walt Disney used as his model, so it's become known as the fairy tale castle. Nearby there's also a castle where the builder of this one, Ludwig II grew up. Behind it is a lake called Swan Lake (the swan was the family crest) which is the place that inspired Tschaikovsky.
So, since I've spent the beginning of my week on tour, it's time for all of you to learn a bit about Munich, and see some pictures!
First of all, this is Rob and Sigi. The little black puppy is Sadie, and the other is the lodge dog, a friend we picked up along the way while we were in the Alps.
This is a better picture of Sadie. :-) She's adorable, and chews on EVERYTHING! It's a puppy thing.
Now, for actual Munich pictures.
This is the central square of Munich. The building I was taking a picture of is the Rathaus, or Town Hall. Apparently, if you're ever lost in a German city, you go to the Rathaus and you will find tourist information, a reasonable restaurant with menus in many languages, and a public (pay) toilet. It's good information to have. It's also where the Glockienspiel is located.
This is the Royal street in Munich, with a lot of the upper end shopping and views down to the town gates. I'm standing just in front of the royal residence as I take the picture. I'm not sure if you can see it here, but one of the great things about Munich is the number of people who ride bikes into and around town. They easily equal the number of cars. There are separate stop and go lights for each group, cars, bikes, and pedestrians. And I guarantee, if you ignore them and walk when the little bike is green and not the little person, you will get run over. There are also separate sidewalks. Bikes can be ticketed for going above walking speed in a pedestrian area (of which there are many, handily marked by a blue sign that looks like a woman holding a child's hand). I've taken walking tours, which were great, and I'd also suggest the biking tours, if you have a few hours and a nice day on which to do it. One thing I found really interesting was that about 85% of the buildings in Munich were destroyed in the bombing of Germany in WWII, but the town still looks very historical. That's because, during rebuilding, there was a law that said that, if you had a property with a standing historical wall, you had to repair the historical part before you could begin building your new shopping mall or whatever. So all around Germany are facades of historical buildings which, when you walk in, turn out to all be connected into one huge modern shopping area. There are still buildings being repaired, and it's made the entire country remarkably accessable, since even the most historical buildings had new things like elevators installed during rebuilding in the 50's.
A picture of a part of the English Garden.
And finally,
A view of the South German countryside with the Alps in the background.
I have to go now, so I can't keep adding pictures (of which I already have more than 200). I've upgraded my LiveJournal account, so I can post pictures, and I'll try to keep including them. Sigi and I are headed into one of her favorite places, the Alps again, this time a lake resort. I'm looking forward to it, so I should probably go get cleaned up and dressed before she leaves without me!
Ciao! (They say that here, as well, it seems almost interchangeable with the German goodbyes)
So, since I've spent the beginning of my week on tour, it's time for all of you to learn a bit about Munich, and see some pictures!
First of all, this is Rob and Sigi. The little black puppy is Sadie, and the other is the lodge dog, a friend we picked up along the way while we were in the Alps.
This is a better picture of Sadie. :-) She's adorable, and chews on EVERYTHING! It's a puppy thing.
Now, for actual Munich pictures.
This is the central square of Munich. The building I was taking a picture of is the Rathaus, or Town Hall. Apparently, if you're ever lost in a German city, you go to the Rathaus and you will find tourist information, a reasonable restaurant with menus in many languages, and a public (pay) toilet. It's good information to have. It's also where the Glockienspiel is located.
This is the Royal street in Munich, with a lot of the upper end shopping and views down to the town gates. I'm standing just in front of the royal residence as I take the picture. I'm not sure if you can see it here, but one of the great things about Munich is the number of people who ride bikes into and around town. They easily equal the number of cars. There are separate stop and go lights for each group, cars, bikes, and pedestrians. And I guarantee, if you ignore them and walk when the little bike is green and not the little person, you will get run over. There are also separate sidewalks. Bikes can be ticketed for going above walking speed in a pedestrian area (of which there are many, handily marked by a blue sign that looks like a woman holding a child's hand). I've taken walking tours, which were great, and I'd also suggest the biking tours, if you have a few hours and a nice day on which to do it. One thing I found really interesting was that about 85% of the buildings in Munich were destroyed in the bombing of Germany in WWII, but the town still looks very historical. That's because, during rebuilding, there was a law that said that, if you had a property with a standing historical wall, you had to repair the historical part before you could begin building your new shopping mall or whatever. So all around Germany are facades of historical buildings which, when you walk in, turn out to all be connected into one huge modern shopping area. There are still buildings being repaired, and it's made the entire country remarkably accessable, since even the most historical buildings had new things like elevators installed during rebuilding in the 50's.
A picture of a part of the English Garden.
And finally,
A view of the South German countryside with the Alps in the background.
I have to go now, so I can't keep adding pictures (of which I already have more than 200). I've upgraded my LiveJournal account, so I can post pictures, and I'll try to keep including them. Sigi and I are headed into one of her favorite places, the Alps again, this time a lake resort. I'm looking forward to it, so I should probably go get cleaned up and dressed before she leaves without me!
Ciao! (They say that here, as well, it seems almost interchangeable with the German goodbyes)