Munich, Close-Up

When we first moved here, I didn't really get it: I figured that everyone else back home already knew what I was learning for the first time; I thought that taking pictures in public was just plain embarrassing; I naively imagined that I would always remember the little details of our time in Europe. My first blog posts seem like hastily scribbled postcards: "Here we are in Salzburg, it was fun - you should have tasted this cake!" I've grown in my appreciation of blogging since then, but the fact remains that Munich has never had a proper treatment on Over the Ocean. Perhaps this, my third visit, will provide the opportunity?

Marienplatz, the main square of Munich

Honestly, it seems too overwhelming, and not quite sincere, since documenting history was not even where my mind was this time around. It would be like me visiting Madison, Wisconsin next week and then spending a blog post discussing the city's developers and founders instead of the fun time I had revisiting a city that I had already spent years in. Ridiculous.

Instead, I present to you a smattering of images from my visit last weekend. It's kind of like the blind man touching just the ear of an elephant, but it's a nice ear.

After our five hour train ride to Munich, Daisy and I made a beeline to one of my favorite places in the city, the Viktualienmarkt. It sits on the same location as the old medieval market did for the salt traders traveling west from Salzburg. I spent a memorable morning here on Fat Tuesday last year, when I joined costumed spectators watching "The Dance of the Market Women." (There was lots of beer, whooping, and the lifting of skirts.) On normal days, it's a sprawling outdoor market offering top notch produce, specialties like cheese, honey, and spices, and handicrafts. The market women behave themselves, but it's still a lively place to be. The famous Soup Kitchen was our first stop; it's always impossible to decide on what to get when faced with the long list of homemade creations. Then, I just let Daisy walk around while I successfully stifled the urge to hide my camera and took some pictures.

Pumpkin-Chicken Stew at Münchner Suppenküche

This woman makes colorful, seasonal wreaths that would
sorely tempt me if I lived here

Why not decorate your home with hops? Apparently, they are calming and insect-repelling.
I saw these garlands strewn over restaurant windows a couple of times.

The market is permanently attended by numerous figures on fountains.
I love it when citizens quietly "dress up" city statues!

...but maybe not when the Oktoberfest crowd decides to dress up city statues...

While meandering through the city with Amberly and her family, we had a series of nice moments:

1) A sprightly elderly lady began talking with us (because she liked Daisy and because Susan is a conversation-starter), and she basically demanded that we follow her into a private-looking entrance behind some shops. It turned out to be a former palace, which we wouldn't have known about without her local know-how. As we thanked her and waved goodbye, she gave Daisy a chocolate bar.

Preysing Palais

2) Daisy needed to use a coffee shop's bathroom, and when we came out, the girls behind the counter offered her a free "kid's cappuccino," which is steamed milk with her choice of syrup (chocolate). It's just one more example of how she rakes in those goodies.

3) We had a nice lunch at the Hirschgarten (Deer Garden), the largest biergarten in Bavaria, where we could ironically both eat and feed deer.

Amberly with her liter

During the rest of our visit, Daisy and I went to the Deutsches Museum, which is a science and industry collection similar to the Smithsonian. It would have been way more fun with Chris...

We loved the hands-on, recreated mines. 

Wright brothers' Type A (1909)

I also brought Daisy back to the Frauenkirche, the twin Gothic onion domes of which you can see in the picture at the top. The tall domes were about the only part of the church that survived WWII. It's also where the current pope served as archbishop from 1977-1982.

Testing out the legendary "Devil's Footprint" in the Frauenkirche

And that's it! That was the first stage of our Bavarian adventure. Here's just one more picture to throw in that doesn't fit any category:

With Daisy, if something happens once it becomes a fact of life. The new rule is that whenever we go in a restaurant, she needs orange juice with a straw. Luckily, Germans are crazy about juice, so it's pretty much guaranteed to be on the menu. Whew.