Munich in Oktober, but not for the fest

So it seems silly to go to Munich while Oktoberfest is going on and not go to Oktoberfest.... believe me I know, but after you've spent 90 euros, still haven't burned off the calories from all that beer, and feeling as if you've spent all your luck on the rides not crashing on you, actually touring the city of Munich is looking pretty great. There is a GREAT GREAT GREAT company that gives free walking tours (not just some 30 min pathetic excuse of a tour) that last about three hours just walking around the beautiful city. Now in no means will it show you everything (you may think that from the holes in your walking shoes), but it is a great free way to start. Here is the link if you are ever in Prague, Munich, Amsterdam, etc. and want this (I'll say it again to express the awesomeness) FREE tour- http://www.newmunichtours.com/

The two best facts about Munich (this is a history blog entry due to a heavily history based tour, so if you don't like the sound of that skip this blog entry EXCEPT for what I am about to say).

- 87% of Munich was destroyed in World War II. It was the third most destoryed city in Germany. Of course, (I say that but I didn't know this) the big impressive buildings stayed so when war planes flew through those buildings acted as markers.

- They knew that Munich would be destroyed in the war, so before any of the fighting affected the city, they had tons of architects, artists, etc. who basically made blue prints of the entire city. Down to the cuilding colors, the design of the pavement, etc. So what you see is exactly how Munich was before WWII destroyed it all. Many cities did not do that, so when you think that much of the city is hundreds if not thousands of years old.... maybe think again.

We met our guide in the Merienplatz and met people on the same tour from Australia, Korea, U.S., all over- definitely part of the adventure.  The Merienplatz has a statue of the Virgin Mary (again, heads up this was a history tour, so if you aren't a history buff just skip this blog entry). You will look at the statue and think what a great person is for creating it. Turns out the man in charge lied to his people about running from a war (sounds vaguely familiar with previous history), convinced them about his reasoning, they wanted to create a statue of him, he realized his city was broke and didn't want to personally pay for it, decided to act saintly and say that they should instead put up a statue of the Virgin Mary, took the actual statue from a local church, and saved himself from going into financial ruin. A great guy indeed.

Then there is the Glockenspiel on the New Town Hall where it is basically a gigantic cuckoo clock. Three times a day there is an almost merry go round of jousting (of course Bavaria wins), a merry feast, and a giant bird that chirps at the end. Incredibly entertaining I can assure you.. never I repeat never do I ever have to see that again but if I ever feel like I need to, rest assured I'm sure its on youtube.

We then walked to Frauenkirch (Cathedral of our blessed lady) where you can go and look for a footstep. This footstep is rumored to be the devil himself's footprint.....or the architect- there are many different versions. But since I am going for the "wow factor" we will go with the first.

There are only eight maps of cities created in this way. This is a map for people who are hard of sight- a 3D map to say. There is braille throughout the map and displays the whole of Munich. I found it to be tucked away in the city and I can't believe its very easy to find.... anyways think about that and tell me the logic.

We continued to walk through parts of the town that were heavily affected by Kristallnacht (Night of the Broken Glass) on November 9,1938. This was the night that 1,000 Jewish synagogues, 7,000 Jewish businesses, and 30,000 Jewish people were rounded up and sent to the concentration camps. This was no ice cream and butterflies tour, but still extremely informative and effective. 

As we continued our stroll and started the talk of beer we ended up at the HofBräuhaus- the first beer house (in Germany, Munich, or the world not totally sure, but again for the wow factor we will go with the world). There is so much history and fun facts,but the one that stuck in my head is "the vominator." Thats right I said it- the vominator. In the boys bathroom there is literally a bucket or permanent sink that has handles for you to hold and ummm..."make room for more alcohol and carbs," we will call it. Ladies there is not one in the women's, however if you make the universal sign to a guard they will round up the troops, escort you to the mens, form a half circle to give you your privacy, and let you "make room for more."

One of the last, most interesting parts of the tour is this street shown below.There are parts in our history that you may wonder "what if that didn't happen- where would we be now?" What happened on this street leaves you with an important part of history and that exact thought of "what if?" I'm really sorry if I don't have this totally correct, but I am writing from what I remember and jump in if you have more info.  On this street there was a national revolution going on with Hitler being the leader. He was marching his supporters down a street where there were protestors on the other side waiting for him. There is a blind turn that you can see from that arch. There was battle tanks and guns waiting for him. Now as he knew what was going on, what was waiting him, and trying to hold back 3,000 people (tell me if you can ever successfully do that I'd like some tips) they got closer and closer. She then stopped with the story and made us walk impatiently to the end of the road. Alfred Hitchock may know suspense, but not as much as this lady! We got to the end and heard that Hitler's bodyguard came to the "rescue" and took 11 bullet shots for him, of course Hitler survived, was sent to prison, wrote the Mein Kempf, and well we all know what happened after that. It is one of those moments where you wonder if the guy who started it all died before it all- would we still have experienced such horrific tragedies of millions of people?

We then ended the tour and just walked along the city for a bit before going home. We  stopped by this place where we were told to go. I was still working off the calories, like I said before, from my Oktoberfest beer, but I was told I had to have this beer at this place by the farmer's market. Now, do I remember this place to tell all of you? No, real informative I know. But anyways, we had the Pope's beer. What does that mean you may ask, it is literally the Pope's beer. Before our current Pope became Pope, he was archbishop of the space of Munich. He loved this kind of beer so much that once he moved to Vatican city he now has two barells of this beer shipped to him however many times a year. It was GOOD and something I never thought I would do. Drank the Pope's beer.Check it off the bucket list.

 My absolute favorite moment was walking through their farmer's market. The food provided was picked from the farm that morning, there was everything and anything you can imagine, and it was my first real sight of fresh seafood. I already know what my Christmas splurge meal is going to be- Munich's farmers market! We got some Turkish delights, which my only experience is from C.S. Lewis' Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. They were so good- definitely try some if you have the chance!

Again, I thought I saw everything on that tour but it looks like I only scratched the surface. Good thing its to easy to go back... I feel like I have and will be saying that about every city I go to but you gotta start somewhere!


Now for the travel quote of the adventure: