Munich - Day 2

Today was spent doing a few things on our Munich list. First after breakfast we walked to the Nazi Documentation Centre. It's not a museum as it has no artifacts. It is a very stark, modern concrete cube built on the site of the original Brown House which was the offices of the Nazi party. It's in the area where they had expropriated many buildings and houses to build their headquarters and parade square. This building has 4 floors of text-laden panels, photos and video clips, and posters telling the how and why of the rise of the Nazi party here in Munich and how the people of Munich coped with it then and are still coping with it now. There are no chairs, benches or anywhere to sit except the stairs that join each floor. We spent 3 hours inside this cube and it was not a comfortable experience. We both wondered if that was the intent. 

When we walked back out into the sunshine we couldn't wait to find a nice spot for coffee. Just a few blocks away we were back into the throngs of tourists walking through the Marienplatz (main square of old town).  

I have taken these pictures pointing camera above the heads. There are so many people here, tents set up, bands playing, dancing happening that we are not sure if this is the norm or maybe it's a special holiday or a normal long weekend or maybe everyone just getting geared up for Octoberfest.

Next on our list was to see the world famous Glockenspiel in action.  Music plays and the figures dance around on two levels. Lots of fun. It does this 3 times a day (11am, noon and 5pm ) at the "new" city hall. ("New" here refers to building built in the late 1800's) The plaza is full of people but it's still easy to see since its up so high. 

Then it was off to the market area to check out all the stalls and see the famous Munich maypole. Apparently all the villages have maypoles and they try and steal each other's just before Mayday. Given that this one was huge, I am not sure how that is accomplished. They are ransomed off with lots of beer involved.

The outdoor beer garden at the market. The tables with tablecloths are for purchased food, no tablecloth means you can bring your own picnic. Then you order your beer. This is one place you can order a smaller beer, meaning less than a full litre.

We found a huge building at the end of the market that contains everything Italian, including wine, chocolate, pasta, coffee and kitchen equipment, called Eataly. What a fun browse before we had dinner out on their decks. We both had gnocchi with an Italian wine. Wendy's with shrimp and asparagus and mine with bolognaise. Nummy. 

Saturday will see us making our way back to the airport to meet the HF group flying in from England and heading out to our hotel for the week in the Bavarian lakes district.