(Munich)
At the Hirschgarten, the largest outdoor beer garden in Bavaria, perhaps even in Europe.
(From left to right, me, Carol, Heather, Barb, Sue, Brian, Barb's friend Christina, Peter, Moe (above Peter) and Christina's partner Michael)
(Click on the thumbnail photos below to see larger images.)
Fri.
May 18: We had chatted the night before with an English couple who had
cycled from Augsburg to Donauworth. Their description of the ugly industrial
sprawl north of the city convinced us to take the train directly to Munich
rather than cycle to Augsburg and then train to Munich. We continued to
appreciate the ease of travelling by train with bikes in Germany. France's SNCF
could learn a lot from these guys. Once in Munich, Moe led us to our hotel, the
Laimer Hof, a splendid small hotel in a quiet neighbourhood just a couple of
blocks from the grounds of the beautiful baroque Nymphenburg palace. We were met
on arrival by Barb's friend Christina and her partner Michael. Once we were
checked in they led us on a walk to the Hirschgarten where we had beer and
bratwurst and ribs and pretzel and an awful looking whole mackerel, roasted on a
stick over open coals. Barb & Moe went off with their friends to dinner in Garmisch-Partenkirchen at the base of to Alps some 50 km away (at 185 km/h on
the autobahn!) Having eaten so late in the afternoon, the rest of us had a light
snack at the hotel. It was a pleasant rain-free day off the bikes.
The stadium at the 1972 Olympics site
Sat.
May 19: Christina and Michael met us at the hotel on their bikes and we
headed off for a bike tour of the beautiful city of Munich. They had prepared a
route that would allow us to see many of the sights of the city. Travelling by
bike in Munich is easy because of the bike lanes beside many of the streets. We
began the tour at the spectacular Nymphenburg palace near our hotel. This
estate, dominated by the immense palace, has many other lovely buildings, lawns
and lanes, pools and canals with lots of waterfowl. Delightful. From there we
headed downtown to the Marienplatz where we had just missed the 11 AM
performance by the glockenspiel in the rathaus. The square was crowded
with tourists as well as many locals wearing the red and white of the Munich
soccer club for there was a game that day at the stadium north of the city. We
had a coffee while we waited until noon (the next glockenspiel performance).
Some of our group climbed the 309 steps to the bell tower of St. Peter's church.
I chose to examine the church interior instead - lots of light, lovely frescos
on the ceiling. We walked our bikes through a large nearby market, "the
belly of Munich", with an immense variety of foods available. The Aram
church was another highlight for some. This small church is ornately decorated
in every small "nook and cranny" of the building. I found it
"busy" but some of the others liked it. We passed a large memorial to
the Feldherrn ("the field marshals") en route to the English gardens,
so named because they had been designed in the English style. This huge green
space extends for several kilometres and includes another beer garden, similar
to the Hirschgarten. This one had an "oompah band" which played as we
had beer and bratwurst. Then we were off to the Olympic park, site of the '72
games. The venues are all still in good repair and actively used by the public
and by training athletes. We rode the elevator to the top of the Olympic tower
(184 metres above ground) and had a great view of the site, the city and even
the Alps to the south. I asked Michael what the huge building with the twin
smokestacks was and was informed that it was an incinerator, fueled by gas,
agricultural waste (straw, corn stocks, etc.) and municipal garbage, that
provided heat for half the houses in the southern half of the city. A similar
plant to the north provides heat for half the northern half. Another
"plus" for this very progressive city. We all dined at a Greek
restaurant near the Nymphenburg grounds and then back to the hotel for coffee.
We tried to get the score of the hockey game back home on the internet but gave
up when the game went into overtime. (Our Ottawa Senators won 3 - 2 . They're in
the Stanley Cup finals for the first time!!) It had been an interesting, pleasant
day in warm sunshine. And our "tour guides", Christina and Michael,
made the experience perfect. 24 km.
"Work will make you free!" at the entrance to the Dachau concentration camp
Sun.
May 20: Barb and Moe were picked up at 8 AM by Christina and Michael. Their
destination for the day was to be a surprise. After breakfast the rest of us
walked to the nearby S-bahn station to take the metro train to Dachau, a suburb
of Munich about 20 km north and the site of the infamous Nazi concentration camp
that operated there from 1933 to 1945. There are numerous websites that document
the atrocities committed by those bastards at that camp so I won't attempt to
educate you here. But the visit to the camp site was a chilling experience for
all of us. It made me wish that there really is a hell! We returned to the hotel
for "free time". Carol and I went for a walk for about an hour and a
half through the Hirschgarten park and finishing with a glass of wine in a small
beer garden beside the Nymphenburg palace. The beer garden also had a very good
restaurant so we all returned later for a very nice meal under the
trees. Moe
and Barb returned later and we found out that Christina and Michael had taken
them to the Austrian Alps where they went paragliding - jumping off a mountain
(with an instructor) and sailing down, supported by a parachute! Wow!