Munich

After a nice night in the tent under 5 wool blankets each, we woke up to another cloudy and rainy day in Munich. It rained and stormed all night, and this morning did not look too promising either. Luckily, by the time we had showered and gotten around for the day the rain stopped and it almost cleared up a bit.

Ready for another day of sightseeing, we took the tram back into the city center and headed to the local REWE (grocery) to get what we like to think is a traditional breakfast of pretzel baguette and yogurt. We took our picnic breakfast over to Marienplatz and ate by a fountain while we waited to watch the 11:00 show by the Glockenspiel (clock tower). Not sure if it was worth the hype, but we have video!

After getting our mass tourist crowd fix for the morning, we decided to walk to the Englischer Garten. On the way to the park we happened upon a large town market that contained all sorts of fruit, meats, cheeses, crafts, flowers, and more. We used up some loose change by purchasing two authentic soft pretzels. Many of the food stands smelled delicious, but it isn't obvious what exactly smells good... so we decided to not be adventurous.

The garden itself was quite large and was composed of open grassy areas, woods, a river, and of course... a beer garden. We wandered through the trails and took in the sights for a few hours. One of the highlights was a group of several surfers who 'catch the waves' where the river flows from under the city into the park. There is basically a continuous wave that the surfers can hop onto. Don't worry- we have video of this too. The park was home to a diverse population of waterfowl as well. We were able to watch a few groups of ducklings and even a family of swans. The ducks were obviously accustomed to being fed by humans, and two ducklings walked right up to our feet. Very cute!

After getting in a good afternoon walk we decided it was time for the full Munich experience so we checked the map and set off for the Hofbrahaus- the city's most famous beer hall. The Hofbrahaus lived up to its reputation. We walked into a huge hall filled with long wooden tables occupied by loud, drunk, singing and chanting Germans- excellent. We found an open spot at a table, sat down, and ordered our huge beers. A few minutes later we were joined by a couple about our age and the girl's mom. They were from Seattle, and the guy had spent the year studying in Munich. They were good company and we enjoyed talking to them while we ate our Bavarian meal of bratwurst, sauerkraut, and mashed potatoes. The atmosphere was also great- there was a live polka band playing, girls in traditional dresses selling pretzels, and more than a few old guys in lederhosen (sp?). After polishing off our beers, we said goodbye to our new friends and headed back to the grocery to pick up dinner and breakfast supplies before returning to The Tent.