I’m a solid 12% German, so it would only make sense that I return to Germany right? This time, Robby and I explored Munich, and the surrounding Bavaria region to get a more authentically German experience than the international one we had in Berlin. And let me tell you, with its beautiful buildings, lush landscape and deep history, Munich certainly didn’t disappoint.
We arrived in Munich late Thursday night, which didn’t give us much time to explore the city. By the time we got through (a very strict and intimidating) security, took a train to the city and walked to our hostel, we only had enough energy to eat before heading to bed.
The next morning, we started exploring Munich separately since we wanted to do a few different things, and there never seems to be time for everything on these short trips. Robby went to the Deutsches Museum, which is full of scientific and nautical exhibits. I, on the other hand, went to the Munich Residenz, which was an old Bavarian royal palace full of amazing rococo interiors. I thought Italy was excessively gold, but this place put even the most ornate Italian church to shame. Every room was covered in expensive fabrics and furnished with bright gold accents. I often caught myself with my jaw dropped, in complete awe of my surroundings. Not even fairy tale movies reach this level of opulence. One of my favorite rooms in the palace was the Antiquarium, which is a long vaulted room that is home to an abundance of ancient statues. Not even in Bavaria can I escape Rome.
Because the theatre exhibit was closed until 2:00 that afternoon, I had some unexpected time to kill before meeting up with Robby for lunch. I slowly wandered through the streets of Munich, admiring the green grass and ample trees. I eventually found my way to the river, which was a striking green against the bright blue sky. I guess I hadn’t done enough research, because I had no idea how lush the city of Munich is. While it isn’t anywhere near Edinburgh, it was still impressively beautiful.
I met Robby at Hofbräuhaus for lunch, at the recommendation of both friends and professors that have visited Munich in previous semesters. Live German folk music blasted from the open windows, so I knew it was going to be a good time before we even walked in the door. I decided to be as German as possible by ordering a full liter of beer with my sausage (everyone with the big glasses seemed so darn merry… I couldn’t resist). The meal itself was pretty average, but the atmosphere was so great that I didn’t care.
Robby and I spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the historic center of Munich… which mostly meant visiting churches. Luckily, Robby likes history as much as I do, so it’s never hard to convince him to see any old churches. Also, southern Germany is predominantly Catholic, as opposed to the Protestant North, so it was interesting to see the regional differences between Christian places of worship.
Our first stop was the Heiliggeistkirche, which was a stunning rococo church with a white, gold and light pink interior. I didn’t realize how prominent rococo was in Bavaria, but it was a theme that persisted throughout the day. Also, German Catholic churches aren’t typically as wide as Roman Catholic churches, so their thin bodies make their height seem even more extreme. This was especially true in the Frauenkirche, which is the main church in Munich. Again, I found myself having to pick my jaw up off the floor. Everything was tall and bright and beautiful.
Our next stop on our city center tour was Marienplatz and the New Town Hall… which is also conveniently gothic. The weather outside was sunny and warm, making it pretty easy to stand and stare as long as we wanted to. To get an even better view, we climbed the bell tower of St. Peter’s Church (which was just as stunning on the inside as the others). From the top, we could see all of Munich, including the top of the New Town Hall and the iconic sloped roof of the Frauenkirche.
After we climbed back down the tower, we made our way back to the palace so that I could use my still-valid ticket to see the theatre. Robby was able to purchase a ticket that didn’t include the rest of the palace, so he joined me. This may have been a detour, but it was so worth it! The theatre was small, but full of opulent red and gold décor. It almost felt like a mini, even more extravagant version of the Palais Garnier Opera House in Paris. We sat in the theatre for a while to let our feet rest, but it wasn’t long before we were up and moving again.
On our way back to the main street, we passed yet another copy of the Il Porcellino statue that we have both on campus and in Florence. We were eager to take a picture, and now we’re pretty determined to find the remaining 4 around the world (there are 7 in total).
Our last stop for the day was a small church recommended to us by our professor Dr. Sexton. Throughout the day, I had already been pretty impressed with the level of opulence I had seen in Munich’s churches, but THIS one really took the cake. The interior was small, but stuffed to the brim with ornate sculptures made from bold, dark marbles and metals of every color. This church may even be a bit much for Rome. It was unlike anything I had ever seen.
We went back to the hostel to freshen up before heading out to dinner. We listened to the advice of our friends once again and ate delicious schnitzel at a small restaurant by the Town Hall. This time, I decided to be slightly less German and not order beer. I figured one liter was enough for the day. Nonetheless, the schnitzel was delicious.
The next morning, Robby and I got up early to catch the train to Dachau, a suburb of Munich famous for its history as a concentration camp site. The contemporary city of Dachau is beautiful and full of lush, green vegetation and charming architecture. We finally made it to the memorial site and bought our audio guides for our visit. Dachau was one of the first concentration camps, and served as a model for all future camps. There are only a few buildings left on the site, as they were all torn down after the war, so the buildings we saw were just modern reconstructions. Also, while the museum was very informative, it didn’t contain any actual documents of the camp, just photos of documents.
While this DID help with the emotional factor, I have to admit feeling slightly disappointed in the rather… plastic reconstruction of the site. Maybe I’ve been around Italian preservationists for too long, but it seems strange to call something a monument if it didn’t actually witness the history of the place.
We continued exploring the site until we came across the Crematorium. Walking into this place felt heavy and eerie. The gas chambers and single body ovens (I’m sorry, there’s no delicate way to put that) felt very different than the reconstructed barracks from earlier. Something about this place felt so… real. The cracks in the walls seemed to cry out in horror at what they had witnessed. The gas chamber was a compact space, but felt like it wanted to burst from the emotional compression over the years. The rooms were hollow in the saddest way. The smell was different, too. Not bad, but different. Not like the freshly cut plywood in the barracks. As it turns out, this was the original crematorium constructed on site, making it the only building still standing from the camp’s use.
There’s just something in the way a monument speaks that makes it stand apart from historical reconstructions, and I’m hoping that everyone, not just architecture students, can feel this difference.
After a few somber hours, we were headed back to lively Munich to do some more exploring. We walked through the museum district of the city… but honestly by this point we’re so tired of museums that we didn’t go inside any (I realize that sounds incredibly bratty, like “ugh I’ve been to TOO many good museums. Being cultured is so tiring!” I promise I don’t mean it that way). The weather in Munich was perfect for a casual stroll, though. The sun was out in full force, and there were plenty of Germans enjoying it by laying in the grassy fields outside of the museums.
We decided to head back to the main part of the city center for a late lunch/ early dinner, which was, of course, schnitzel and beer. From our table, we saw a pink building across the street with a statue of Mary and Jesus out front. Though the building didn’t look like a church, the statue made us suspicious, so we decided to check it out… and WOW I’m glad we did. Munich, yet again, managed to surprise me with its religious opulence, even in the most unsuspecting of places.
Despite the fact that it was only 5:00 in the evening, we decided to go back to the hostel because we were so exhausted. The only other time we had traveled this many consecutive days was spring break, but even then we had a lot more energy. I’m near the end of my 5th consecutive month traveling, and I am exhausted. We had a relaxing night in our hostel with some local pastries. It probably sounds lame to spend precious time abroad in your room, but sometimes you just need a break, ya know??
The next morning, we were refreshed and ready to go to Hohenschwangau to see Neuschwanstein Castle. This was the main reason we came to Munich, and we decided to save it for Sunday so that we had something pretty to send pictures to our moms on Mother’s Day. Luckily, our hostel sponsored a guided tour to the castle, which is great because finding your way there is kind of confusing. Our tour guide’s name was Michael and he was from South Africa. The only other people on the tour were two Scottish girls, which was convenient since we had just visited Scotland and had something to talk about. Michael took care of everything including train tickets AND skip the line tickets into the castle.
The train ride to southern Germany was absolutely beautiful. I have a bad habit of falling asleep on trains the second they start moving, but this ride was so breathtaking that I was able to stay awake. As we approached Hohenschwangau, the snow-capped Alps framed the sky in the distance. We hadn’t even gotten to the castle and I already felt like I was in a fairytale.
On our 30 minute hike up to the castle from the town, Michael told us the story of King Ludwig, who was so lonely and isolated as a child that he built the castle to further seclude himself from the outside world. His intention was for no one else to ever enter the castle (I think he would be disappointed to know that it now receives about 6000 visitors a day). As we got to the top of the hill, I couldn’t decide which was more stunning: the castle or the surrounding mountain landscape. Everything in Bavaria was green and lush. The best thing about the tour was the fact that we didn’t have to wait. The wait would have been almost 4 hours if we had gone by ourselves, but we got to go in as soon as we got there.
Inside the castle, there was a strict no photo policy, so naturally we tried to take quite a few (the column in the main image for this blog was a column inside the castle). The interior was inspired by Byzantine architecture from Istanbul’s mosques, as well as German gothic design. The most beautiful room in the castle was the king’s bedroom, which had the most incredible gothic inspired bed. I tried to take pictures, but they don’t do it justice. If you have a free moment, you should Google search “Neuschwanstein castle bed” and prepare to be amazed. Also if anyone knows a decent carpenter that would be able to build me one exactly like it, let me know.
The castle tour was relatively short, mostly because the kind died before it was finished, so most of it stands hollow except for the small bit we saw. The highlight of the castle was getting to stand on the balcony facing beautiful Bavaria (and Austria). Not many people know that you’re allowed to go there, but our tour guide told us exactly where to go. This is the most unbelievable view I have ever seen. The mountains stood tall between the sky and the lake below, and the whole scene was full of bold blues and bright greens. I can’t believe places like this actually exist.
After exiting the castle and meeting back up with Michael, he took us to get an even better view. There is a bridge that provides the perfect view from a nearby cliff, but it has been closed for structural restoration for a few months. But because Michael is young and doesn’t care about the rules, he knows exactly where to hop the fence and hike along the cliff to get the same view. As soon as we made sure there weren’t any police around, we slipped into the fenced off area and climbed to the top of the cliff, where trees framed the castle perfectly. This was the view I had always seen on the internet, and I couldn’t believe I was finally seeing it for myself. Not only that, but we were the only people up there, so we had it all to ourselves. I’m so appreciative of Michael for breaking rules and taking us there (hopefully his supervisor doesn’t find this).
Before heading back to Munich, we walked down to the lake and enjoyed some ice cream (yes, American-esque ice cream, not gelato). It wasn’t long before we were back on the train, and we had it almost entirely to ourselves because it’s a Sunday only train that most tourists don’t know about. On the way back, we all chatted about traveling and compared stories. Despite traveling Europe for the past 5 months, Robby and I had done the least traveling in the group. Michael also told us about his upcoming trip to Rome (!!!) and South Africa before moving to Charlotte, North Carolina to work permanently. Maybe I’ll run into him again some day. Everyone wanted to know how Robby and I felt about the current political situation in America, and what it’s like to live there (I can’t escape that question no matter where I go). The Scottish girls offered to let us come live with them if Trump gets elected, so at least now I have an escape plan.
We didn’t get back to Munich until pretty late in the evening, so Robby and I went out to find dinner at a place Michael had recommended (since all of his other advice that day had been so great). This was definitely the best schnitzel and beer that I’ve had in all of Germany, and there was a bottomless pretzel basket on every table. Once again, Michael was right, this WAS the best.
The next morning, Robby and I headed to explore the modern side of Munich. Our first stop was the BMW Welt, which is basically an exhibition space for BMW’s latest and greatest. Neither Robby nor I are big car people, but it was still fun to go inside and see and the nice cars… and the modern spaces that BMW could afford to build. We wandered around the Welt, the headquarters and the plant for a while, but we didn’t take any tours, so we didn’t stay long.
Our next stop was the 1972 Olympic Park, which is known (at least in the architecture community) for its unique and innovative roof skins. Though the park was pretty dead (much like Rome’s and really any other old Olympic Park), it was nicer than the others that I’ve been to.
We ended our time in Munich with a visit to the English Gardens. This is the best city-center park I’ve ever been to. The vegetation is pretty dense, with rivers and gravel sidewalks that make you feel like you’re actually in a forest. In the center of the garden, there was a small, outdoor café with massive pretzels. Considering we were low on Euros (and we didn’t want to take out more, because past then, we wouldn’t even be using Euros again), we used these giant pretzels as our lunch… and they were certainly filling enough.
After lunch, we continued strolling through the gardens, where TONS of people were out sunbathing in the grass. This was like, weekend level crowded, but it was a Monday! If this is how Germans spend their Mondays, then count me in.
The weather in Munich was WARM. Maybe this was my first instance of reverse culture shock, but I forget that in places other than Italy, people actually dress in bright colors and shorts for spring. My all black outfit suddenly seemed out of place, and I realized how not-springy I looked… and felt. I was in thermal tights and it was almost 70 degrees outside. I had officially turned into the type of Italian that I spent most of the semester making fun of. Now that Germany has reminded me that it’s normal, I can’t wait to get back to America and wear shorts all the time.
Munich and Bavaria definitely redeemed Germany for me, after my disappointing trip to Berlin in February. The vibrant natural landscape mixed in with the historic city is absolutely beautiful, and the German heritage (before the 20th century) is much more evident here. Also, our little trip to the foot of the Alps made me even more excited for our upcoming trip to Switzerland. This will be the last leg of our trip before returning home to the states, so we’ll be living these last few days to their fullest potential, on top of some of the most beautiful mountains in the world. See you soon!
Number of Columns Hugged: 7
Days Since Mexican Food: 140
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Read more from Haley at https://haleywalton.wordpress.com/
To find out more about the U of A Rome Center semester program for Architecture, visit http://studyabroad.uark.edu/romecentersemester/
