Bavarian Rhapsody
“I hardly remember ever seeing such a beautiful combination of mountains, lakes and the city as in Munich. Did God make this? Ask the pope, he would know.” – Clint Eastwood
Munich is a beautiful city that was severely bombed in World War II then meticulously rebuilt to its original splendor. Bavaria of which Munich is the capital is beautiful. The Romantic Road, a themed road, with its picturesque towns and villages is a spectacular drive with many destinations to stop and ooh and aah over.
Since the Romantic Road is 460 miles it was not in the cards on this trip to travel it in its entirety, so I picked and chose destinations close to Munich that I wished to visit. Ludwigs's fairy tale castles were at the top of the list along with Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
Rothenburg a perfectly preserved medieval town whose church also includes a drop of the blood of Jesus Christ might not be something the locals think about as a top destination but us Americans definitely rhapsody over it. Oberammergau, famous for hosting the Passion Play every ten years, has a lot more to offer like the quaint houses with their specially painted facades, a year-round Christmas market, a host of cuckoo clocks and other novelties. My cousins were a bit puzzled about my choice to venture so far from town and in retrospect I can see that I could have happily spent that day exploring more of Munich instead.
At the end, I wished I had more time. I feel like I left so much to see but that’s wonderful because it means that I can go back especially now that I have connected with family there. Perhaps I see a river cruise in Germany in my future.
Perched on the upper deck of a double-decker tourist bus I loved the beautiful views out of the window and all the quaint towns and villages that we passed.
Rothenburg ob der Tauber one of the best-preserved medieval towns enclosed within a completely intact city wall. It is possible to climb up to the wall walk and walk the walls for gorgeous views. However, when I looked at the stairs, I decided to save myself from a possible fall and passed on that delight.
Armed with a map that laid out the must-see parts of the town, I walked through the quaint streets all the way to the Burggarten and the viewpoint from there where you can see the entire town. After enjoying the gardens and the views and tasting the local delicacy called a Schneeballen, I ended up back in the town center for some window shopping and wandering before heading back to the bus stop for the 3-hour return trip to Munich.
Next time I’m renting a car and really wandering at my own pace rather than the forced march of a day tour.
I did make time to stop at the beautiful church of St. James (St. Jakobskirche) to see the Altarpiece of the Blood carved by Tilman Riemenschneider. The carving is exquisite, with three panels depicting the last supper on the center pane, the entry into Jerusalem on the left panel and the betrayal of Judas on the right. The true treasure in this altarpiece of course is a drop of the blood of Christ encased in a quartz crystal held aloft by two carved angels.
Another treasure in this church is the High Altar by Friedrich Herlin, also known as the Twelve Apostles Altar, located in the nave. Entry to the church and to view this altar is free but you do have to pay to visit the Altarpiece of the Blood.
No wonder that this church with its beautiful and rare treasures, is on the pilgrimage route to St. James Church in Santiago de Compostela in Spain.
While the Passion Play will not be staged again till 2030, the town of Oberammergau is still worth a visit to visit the Passion Play Museum in the foyer of the theater where the performance is staged and to wander through the quaint town’s year-round Christmas Market and picturesque streets with painted facades.
This whitewash and paint technique is practiced all over the town and while the buildings primarily subscribe to the biblical theme there is also an area that has fairy tales painted on the facades instead. This particular house if you look closely depicts the story of Hansel and Gretel.
Frauenkirche with its signature Devil’s footprint is round the corner from the Marienplatz. There are a few different stories regarding the Devil’s footprint, but my favorite is the one where the architect was able to get funds to complete the church from the Devil and outwit him on the bargain. Hence the stamping in anger which left the footprint in the entrance of the church.
When I walked in, a lady had her foot in the footprint as though she was trying it on for size. Since I never saw her again, I don’t know if there were any repercussions from her daring.
The Marienplatz is the heart of the city of Munich. Tourists flock here at the hours of 11 and 12 and 5 (in the Summer) to see the spectacle of the Glockenspiel which chimes and reenacts two stories from the 16th century at those hours.
After two intense days of traveling outside the city, it felt good to sit and enjoy the sunshine and watch the people and the spectacle. I made it here at 11 and stayed for the next round at 12 before wandering off around this area browsing and content.
The Walking Man Sculpture created by Jonathon Borosky. You know the world is really small when you realize that this sculpture was actually created in Los Angeles, shipped to Munich in parts and assembled to stand here in front of the Munich Re business center.
The Siegestor or Triumphal Arch was originally dedicated to the glory of the Bavarian army commissioned by Ludwig I. After sustaining heavy damage in World War II, it was demolished.
Subsequently it was restored as a reminder to peace and inscribed with the words, “Dem Sieg geweiht, vom Krieg zerstört, zum Frieden mahnend," (Dedicated to victory, destroyed by war, urging peace).
Munich has green spaces and fountains all over and of course the famous English Garten which was a public garden created to win the people’s goodwill. I was so tired after my two days of wandering far and afield of Munich that I spent my last day close to the city center enjoying people watching while basking in the sun. Consequently, I had to give up some my plans for exploring the city itself including a visit to the BMW museum which I am told is quite worth the visit.
Beer and Oktoberfest are such an integral part of Munich that I would be remiss if beer did not feature in my Munich story. I don’t drink beer which I might have expressed in other posts, but I did plan to visit a Bier Garten because that’s what you do in Germany especially Munich.
Given that May dawned cooler than normal and a bit rainy to boot, the Bier Garten’s were not open yet. I found the Hofbrau more of a cafeteria and did not order beer nor did I find the rowdy crowd that I was expected. This might have been because I visited during lunch and not in the evening.
On this visit, my closest encounter to the beer scene were these fields of hops along the road on our way back from Rothenburg. At least I got the story about how beer is made and how it became popular because the drinking water was so bad and that the local beers have no preservatives.
As we bid Munich goodbye, let’s raise a stein, to family and more wandering and a wish to return to Germany and Munich sooner rather than later.