And I would walk 500 miles...

I am wearing the soles off my shoes...seriously. Today my feet starting hurting after the many hours of walking in the past several days.

At 10:00, I went to the pick up point for the free tour and then followed the leader to the starting point. At 11:00, the tour group witnessed the Glockenspiel, and learned that it was voted the #2 most overrated European tourist attraction, beat out only by the Prague Glockenspiel. Haha, seen 'em both in the past few days. The tour guides were funny, reenacting the dance of the puppets for us. The top scene depicts a wedding and an Austrian knight jousting a Bavarian knight, and the lower scene shows beer barrel makers dancing around to celebrate the end of the Plague and the restoration of their profession, something that has become a Munich tradition to reenact every 7 years. I learned that the statue of Mary is the very center of the town, and she is guarded both by modern day security measures and by 4 fighting baby statues, haha.  We then went to the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady). It was left mostly intact in the war because the Allied bombers used it as a landmark to recognize Munch since many other buildings had been destroyed. Legend has it that the devil helped build the church, explaining why it was built in a record breaking 20 years. The devil thought there were no windows in the building and offered his services to the architect on the condition that no windows would  ever be added. The work was completed, and when the devil checked on the building, there were windows! The architect responded that those had been there when the deal was made. Angry at being tricked, the devil stomped his foot, giving rise to the footprint in the church, (another story says it is the architect's foot print).

Another thing I learned was that the city has two symbols: a cute monk (how Munich got its name, Munchen) and a lion after Henry the lion who built a bridge to charge taxes and thus was responsible for the growth of the city. Other stops on the tour included the Michael Jackson memorial, (dozens of pictures and offerings placed on a statue of a German composer), the Royal Residence, the Opera House and the world famous Hofbrahaus. There, I learned that back in the 16th century, men would go to drink regularly. There were no bathrooms in the building so men often lost their seats to go outside. To get around this, they put gutters UNDER THE TABLES, and when you consider that lederhosen unbutton and flap down, you can put 2 and 2 together. Gross! They had to wash the place down every morning. On a more somber note, the tour involved a lot of sobering history of Nazi Germany including Hitler's revolution. During his rule there was a street where people passing by had to do the salute, although resistors found a detour to avoid it. However, an officer would be camped out near the detour and if the person was seen walking there often, he/she was questioned and then sent to Dachau, the concentration camp. There is a sliver of gold bricks in the ground to memorialize those who experienced this. Munich has many memorials, but I learned that many are very subtle with no signs or explanations which is the city's way to get people curious and want to learn about the history.

There were several more stops on the tour, and we finished at the Viktualienmarkt, a teeming market with booths offering fresh fruits and veggies, olives and hummus spreads, meats and cheeses, etc. I opted for a caprese mix and a German pretzel. Another fun story I learned at the market was that German cities put up Maypoles in the spring and summer, and neighboring towns try to steal each other's poles before they are put up. They hold them for ransom which typically involves free beer and food. In 1996, several guys stole the Munich pole which had never been done, and for ransom they asked for a free table and free beer at Oktoberfest. The people of Munich initially refused but as spring was approaching, they needed the pole so they conceded and the guys got prime seats and drinks. Another story was that the maypole was stolen from the Munich airport, and when it was reported to the police, the officers laughed because THEY had stolen it. Pretty funny. It was an awesome tour with lots of good info and stories. 

At this point I had no plans so I started to walk. I got a little lost, but that's kind of the fun of traveling. I made it to a beautiful garden, the Hofgarten. It was just off the main road, and then I made my way to the Englischer Garten, Munich's own Central Park. It was giant! So peaceful and serene, and I see myself going back there at some point.  I made my way back to my hostel, taking in the views and people watching along the way. I felt that everyone else knew where to find ice cream except me! Oh well.  Around 5:30, I was debating about doing a pub crawl. I was nervous to do it alone because I didn't know if the other people would be receptive to a stranger, but I decided to go for it. And good thing I did because I had so much fun! There was a group of three college grads who were incredibly welcoming, and as the drinks kept flowing, everyone in the group got friendlier and started chatting. We met 2 Dubliners, 2 Canadians, an American couple on a honeymoon, and 2 Australians. The group went to three different places including the Hofbrahaus where I drank a full liter! Woo! We finished the night at a hostel next door to mine, (very convenient), and said our goodbyes. The night was so much fun and I enjoyed the various German beers. It was an action packed day to say the least, and I can't wait to see more of the city.