I am writing this Saturday evening on the train to Prague from Munich. Any time now, I expect a kind lady with a treat cart to walk past and call out, “annnnyyyything from the trolley?” like in the Harry Potter movies. 🙂 The rolling hills of central Europe remind me of the Windows desktop wallpaper from 1996. Each German village I see looks the same: steepled churches, red-roofed, white stucco homes with solar panels, German and Bavarian flags waving, and walking paths leading outside the town. I wonder what the people who live in these small villages that are far from the city do for a living.
On Friday, we drove from Kitzbühel to Munich to catch a train to Prague on Saturday. Dad had a couple of work calls Friday afternoon, so I decided to explore the city on my own.
My first stop was the Residenz Palace- the home of Bavarian kings and queens; construction of this building began in the 1300s. It took me 45 minutes to find the entrance to the museum because I got distracted by the surrounding Theatine Church, Court Garden, and Cuvilliés Theatre in the Odeonsplatz. Eventually, I swallowed my pride, asked for directions, and found my way.
When I was waiting in line to purchase tickets to the Residenz museum, I noticed the American accents of the group in front of me. Feeling extroverted, I asked where they were from. Turns out, they were students at the University of Dallas, studying in Rome for the semester! As students at UD, Bela, Gio, Julio, and Michael are required to study at UD’s Rome campus to fulfill curriculum requirements. What are the odds I’d meet fellow Catholic Texans in Munich? We even have mutual friends!
We toured the museum together and we spent the rest of the evening touring Munich. There was so much to absorb in each room of the Residenz, and I wish I could remember everything I saw. In candle shops, there are coffee beans to help the nose “cleanse the palate” so as not to mix scents. The Residenzneeds a “cleansing palate” room for the eyes because there was just so much to see! It was sad to see that some of the architecture and sculptures are recreations of what was lost during World War II.
After touring the Residenz for a few hours, we strolled around the city. We saw the inside of St. Luke’s, the largest Protestant church in Munich, and crossed the Isar River to watch the sunset. As we walked back towards Old Town, I left them to meet Dad for dinner. I invited my new friends to meet me in Prague, and we exchanged numbers. 🙂
I met Dad at the Hofbräuhaus München, a three-story beer hall. The place was filled with lively music from a Bavarian-dressed band and the tables were crowded with people. The atmosphere was fun, exciting, and a little chaotic in the best way possible. I ordered one of the sausage plates the original lager (aka The Biggest Beer I Never Finished) and Dad ordered a weisswurst with weissbier. After dinner, we were craving “apple strudel mit eis,” and we found a nearby restaurant that had it on their menu. The ice cream was fantastic, but we agreed that the apple strudel we ate in Austria was tastier.
The next day, walked to the Marienplatz. On the way, we walked past the Sendlinger Tor, a 14th century restored red-brick archway. Just past the arch, we walked into the Asam Church (Asamkirche). The Asam Church began as a private church for the Asam brothers who built it in the 1700s, but it soon opened to the public. Like most of the churches in Germany that we saw, it was packed with biblical art and statues of saints. I took lots of photos because there was no way I could take in everything I saw.
At 11:00 am, we stood among a crowd of tourists and watched the figurines move at the New Town Hall on the Marienplatz while the bells chimed the hour (left). We browsed around the Victuals Market and stopped by Cafe Nymphenburg to have more weisswurst (Dad’s favorite German food). We then paid the small fee to walk 299 steps to the top of St. Peter’s. It was a clear day, and we could see so much of the city around and below us. On our walk back to the hotel, we stopped by the Cathedral Church of Our Lady (Frauenkirche) for a quick look.
After our busy morning, I packed my things in the hotel and walked with Dad to the train station to catch my train to Prague, Auf Wiedersehen!
kira vesta 
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