seekingmygreaterperhaps

Munich, Germany- where I get spoken to in German because I’m tall, have blonde hair, and blue eyes. I have made it back to the country of my ancestry! And I LOVE IT. Munich is absolutely incredible.

This is MarienPlatz, the big attraction at the center. On the column is the Glockenspiel. Three times a day it plays at the top of the hour. I saw it at 11 am, on a free walking tour. The top tier is a joust between Bavaria and Austria. Hint- Bavaria always wins. The bottom tier is some barrel makers dancing to rejoice at the end of the plague. I’m glad I saw it once at least, haha, it’s a funny traditional cultural icon I suppose.

This is the “devil’s footprint” inside of a… church! Local lore says that the devil helped build this church because it was done in 20 years, a miracle for it’s time. Apparently, the devil came through the front door of the church and was going to burn it down, but then he saw there were “no” windows, so he thought, well this must be a temple to worship me! He then cut a deal with the architect saying he would help finish the church in 20 years, as long as no more windows went in. Jokes on the devil, because the architect designed the building in such a way where the columns block the view of the windows. (There are a ton, and they are beautiful). Well when the church was finished, the devil came back to see it, and he was super mad, so he stomped in the middle. You can even see the flames at his heel. Ha.

(A short interruption) Munich is the beer capital of the world. I took a “beer tour” with a bunch of people from my hostel and got to experience the beauty of German beer that is the biergarten, and beer sellers… and pubs. Regardless, German beer is delectable. Now I understand why everyone makes fun of Bud Light. I had quite a bit of fun on this particular tour.

Now a short break for my history nerd to have it’s turn. Maybe you know, maybe you don’t, but 87% of Munich was bombed during the second world war, leaving most of it in ruins. However, the local people wanted to save their city, and they knew something bad would happen because it was where Hitler “began.” So before the war broke out, they drew very detailed pictures, blueprints, and took photos of what the city looked like, so they could put it back to how it was before. Which is why Munich is very special, because it’s old but new.

The street above is a subtle memorial for the resistance of Hitler. In 1923, Hitler went to a beer hall to rally the people, and then marched on towards a barricade. By the time he reached the barricade he had over 3000 people following him, and he had no where to go. He tries to hold them back, but slowly inches ever forward. There is gunfire, and Hitler’s security guard jumps on top of him and receives 11 bullets to the back… and survives! (Hitler later thanks him by having him killed. It’s cool, what a thank you.) Imagine if one of those bullets had hit its mark, history would have been changed. Anyways, Hitler ends up running like a sissy and hijacks an ambulance. The gunfire of this march took the lives of 14 Nazi’s, 1 innocent bystander, and 5 police officers. During his ascent in his political career, his head of propaganda made a plaque in Munich to honor the 20 Nazi’s who died during this. (Hmmm, interesting number.) They then made it into law that you had to give the Nazi salute every time you passed by the plaque. There were 2 officers placed on either side, and if you didn’t salute, your name would be taken down, you’d be beaten in the street, and maybe even sent to a “rehabilitation camp” of Dachau. While a lot of Munich followed Hitler at the time, there was also a large population who resisted him. They took this path lined in gold to avoid the plaque. Eventually the Nazi’s realized this so they stationed an officer here too, and if you got caught walking this path too many times, you could receive the same punishment. Yet people still took the risk. That’s what was incredible. There are memorials all over the city that are subtle like this one, and I’m really glad our tour guide pointed this out.

Now, on to sunshine and happy things. Englischer Garten! I soaked up the sun on Sunday, along with a lot of Germans (it was poppin). This garden is AWESOME, and super large. While visiting the Chinese Tower (and biergarten), I heard polka music! This was a really neat experience for me, as my Grandpa Ed used to play polka all the time. I felt connected to my roots in that moment.

Also at Englischer Garten- city surfers! They take turns and do cool tricks, and it’s really entertaining. I sat behind one of their “lineups” (?) and they are hilarious with each other. Of course, I can’t eavesdrop because I don’t speak German, but they seemed like bros.

Also a must for any science fan ever, The Deutches Museum. It is huge, and I really enjoyed their history of flight and transition into aeronautics. I love space and felt a swell of national pride, because the USA has been such a key player. Of course, German engineering is highlighted too. But, this particular museum doesn’t translate all of their plaques! A lot of the major ones are in both German and English…. but a lot of them aren’t. I was often caught in wonder about how specific light rays worked, or what property of energy was being shown and then like, op, well that’s German. Language barriers aside, it’s a cool stop.

Thanks for sticking with me on this lengthy post! As a bonus, here is a picture of me trying to line up my hand correctly with some bronze work…

I can’t be perfect. Hahaha.