Sadly, Tricia’s foot was not better and she ended up going to a hospital to get it assessed to make sure she didn’t have a stress fracture. The main goal was to figure out if she walked, would she create more damage. After quite a lot of money (get medical insurance from now on), it turned out to be an infected bug bite. We discussed the fact that if she told people she was bitten by something at Dachau, there would be no sympathy. That was a whole other element of misery that the prisoners would have experienced that was never even mentioned. So many facets that can’t be comprehended. But for Tricia since we didn’t have a schedule or plan for the day, she was able to read, keep ice on and off and the antibiotics went to work.
I met with my friend Rick Steves (Holly couldn’t figure out how I made a friend to explore with so quickly) and walked for a few hours through Munich. I’d made a list of things I wanted to see from Atlas Obscura and we covered all but two of the items. Oh, so interesting. I’m going to be strong and only say 8 historical facts:
Monks started the town in the 800’s and eked out a living salt trading. Then a Bavarian prince, Henry the Lion, started building a city around the salt trade, and built a toll bridge, walled the city, etc. 1158 was the start of this town. Munich for monk.
St. Peter’s Church built in 1368 is the beloved church for this staunchly Catholic country. When Luther started the Reformation, Bavaria (Munich is the capital) stayed Catholic. The best thing in this church is a skeleton in the box covered by jewels (glass?), beheaded for her faith. Her name is Mundita and is the patron saint of spinsters.
Munich was Hitler’s base and the building from which he ordered Kristallnacht was just to the right of the Glockenspiel.
There were 10,000 Jews at that point because traditionally Munich had been very open to other religious practices. Then there were none. Munich came back to its open roots and now has a Jewish population of 10,000 again and a synagogue, museum and school in the heart of the city.
When Hitler came to power, he made a memorial for all to recognize the first martyrs of the Third Reich. All Germans were required to raise their hands in salute as they entered the square. Those who refused turned off on this street. These cobbles mark the detour that people took to rebel.
When German cities started making the decision of what their look would be after the war, Frankfurt chose modern skyscrapers and Munich chose to recreate its history and it’s a beautiful city. The Nazi’s took meticulous photos of some of the inside of historic buildings and there were photos of the exterior of the city that existed and Munich was able to rebuild.
That memorial to the women I mentioned before – “rubble women” was a term for the women who pulled bricks from each giant pile that used to be a building and saved the reusable ones and piled the unusable ones up on the edge of the city. These debris hills were then landscaped into grassy parks at the edge of the city.
The giant building that said “Residenz” that I’d taken to be high-end apartments, was actually a GIGANTIC palace started in the 1300’s and added onto for many royal families.
Munich hosts the world’s largest Oktoberfest, going on since 1810 King Ludwig I’s wedding celebration was so successful that they repeated – every year, with 7.2 million in 2023.
I took a break because I was tired and decided to yes, go to Starbucks, to get a chai. It was terrible, but I loved this.
After the Rick Steves tour, I decided to visit the Residenz. Oh my lord, I could not believe how big it was, one section after another. 130 rooms that were on display. What I’d seen was just the front, didn’t realize the gorgeous building I’d seen yesterday was also part of it – couple blocks. I lost track of all the royal branches (all Wittelsbach for 738 years). By the end, even I, history lover that I am, wanted roller skates to get through more quickly. But it was amazing. The treasury was bigger than anything I’ve ever seen. This crown was from 1380:
This door after a crazy grotto.
I opened it and…
One of the courtyards:
And that’s all just a bit.
Then I came back to the hotel, double checked on Tricia, who was glad she’d taken the day and whose foot was better. Yay since she wants to explore Salzberg tomorrow.
Holly and I decided we should go to a beer hall, because. We did go and I had a rotter, half beer, half lemonade which helped it be more drinkable. We went to the Hofbrauhaus, where the original brewery was built in 1583, rebuilt in 1800 and then again after WWII. It was huge and I asked a couple of guys in Leiderhosen if we could get a table. Oops, they didn’t work there. Turns out they were the musicians and ended up bringing their concertina and tuba and sat across from us to play and have beers. Funny.
Reb's Walks! 