Mozart, Lenin, J.F.K.,...and Hitler

As I am sure you figured out from the title, I am in Munich! But I'll get back to that...

Once again we have the weekend off from our Bach studies, and everyone has dispersed around Europe to have individual adventures. A large group went to Berlin - I can't wait to hear their stories! I realized that I had two extra days on my rail pass. The way the rail pass works is you buy a number of days to travel, and when you choose to use it, all you need to do is fill in the date on the ticket. They don't care how far you go, so long as it is on that day. So I figured I needed to get my money's worth, and travel as far as I dared. That meant the five hour train ride (on the high-speed ICE train - we need to get some of these!) to München, or as we call it, Munich. I was in adventure mode again - traveling alone on a rail system I don't really understand to a place where I don't know the language.

Actually, the train ride was almost uneventful. Almost, because at a station about two thirds of the way here I heard a lot of German talking on the intercom, and some people started moving from one car to another, and I had no idea what was happening. My seat-mate was a rather forbidding looking weight-lifter type guy, whose only English seemed to be expressed in short grunts. He was watching some violent movie on his iPad, and was not interested in communicating with me. So I sat tight and hoped for the best. It turns out that half the train was going in a different direction, and was unhitched from my half. I guess I was lucky - I just happened to be on the Munich half. God only knows were those other people ended up - but chances are wherever it is, there is beer there.

I have to say my first impression of Munich was not positive. I figured I was finally visiting what was West Germany, and so everything would be glitter and diamonds after seeing East Germany. I was disappointed to find, for the first time in my travels in Germany, litter. Later I realized that my hotel, which I booked online because of its price, happens to been in a seedier part of the city. Nice hotel, with beggars on the street out front and nearby access to lap dancers if your into that sort of thing. I've been walking quickly in and out...

 I arrived and checked into my hotel on Friday. It was only 8PM, so I decided to take a walk and check out the city. The "Old City" is just a short walk from the train station. The crowds there are tremendous, and filled with tourists from all over the world. I read that a full 1/3 of Munich's resident population is "from away," and that statistic must be off the charts when it's tourist season. The benefit of this is that all the shopkeepers and food service personnel have very good English, and are very happy to use it. Above is one of the gates into the the Old City. The tour book I purchased has a walking tour which seems to indicate that it is very import and to visit all of them. Saturday I made it to three before I decided I was "gated out." Also on Saturday this was the location for a big Vegan/Animal Rights protest. I have to hand it to them - it must take guts to try and spread that message in this country. They must be about as popular as the Westboro Baptists.

Like most German Cities,  Munich has a church around every corner (that just about no one attends.) This one is the Asam-Kirche, and is a particularly egregious display of 18th century German rococo decadence. Bach would not have been comfortable here - Munich and Bavaria were very resistant to Luther and Protestantism. 

 Here is the Famous Hofbrauhaus! I actually found it on my first evening. I did go in, although I didn't stay. It was very crowded, and very noisy - even when the oom-pah band wasn't playing. I think I would enjoy being there with a mob, but it was not my sort of place to hang out in alone. Everyone sits at long tables drinking beer out of 1 Liter steins and eating food that will keep the Lipitor people in business for a long time to come. Viel Spaß! It was great to stick my nose in and experience the atmosphere. I found a quieter place to have dinner, and a slightly smaller beer.

 Roast Pork with Kartoffelklöse and White Cabbage Salad

By the way, the title of this blog is a reference to the Hofbrauhaus. Mozart lived for a time in Munich, just around the corner from it. He was not the type of person to walk past a beer opportunity. Likewise, Lenin was a frequenter when he lived in Munich, and they are claiming that J.F.K. visited there, although I am not sure when. They also aren't saying if he brought a date... And finally, Hitler and the Nazi's used the Munich beer halls, including the Hofbrauhaus, to stir up support during the 1920s. Eventually they tried and failed to overthrow the Weimar Republic, and Hitler was arrested. His arrest gained him national fame and his imprisonment gave him the time to write Mein Kampf. I guess you could call that an example of "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Hi ho.

Above is the Neues Rathaus, which was built around the time my ancestors left the area. It replaced the Altes Rathaus, which I am sure they felt was just fine, and is also in fact still standing. The Neues  Rathaus has a carillon inside that plays at 11AM, Noon and 5PM every day when tourists are present. Also by a miracle of mechanics and good old German engineering, the figures in the front move around and "dance." It was fun to see - I, like the thousands of Japanese and Italians below, caught it on video.

 Finally, if any of you are wondering if I am going to come home from Munich with Lederhosen, the answer is above. €199 is about $270. So I took a picture... I do think Tony should have the hot red ones... I think I figured out that if you eat at a restaurant where the waiter is wearing lederhosen there is a 20% surcharge. Truly, Munich loves tourists.

Tomorrow - Potsdam!