Day 08 - A momentous day in Munich
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Halfway point on our tour! We hopped on our bus after breakfast for a morning tour of Munich with our incredible local tour guide Michael. We had the afternoon free, we decided to lunch on local Italian takeout and a bottle of wine in our room. Angela then went out shopping while yours truly took a nap (trend continues). Angela came back with more takeout (und ein Bier für mich) that we had for dinner. Packing up for an early departure tomorrow morning, next stop is Rothenburg ob der Tauber... |
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| Day tour started with a quick but serious visit to a number of significant Nazi locations in Munich. Here the Nazi Documentation Center which captured the creation and development of the Nazi movement in Munich. Chilling. | Nazi headquarters. Hitler gave regular speeches from the balcony. Hitler met Chamberlain on the steps to work out the Munich Accord. “Peace in our time” lasted eight months... Now repurposed as a Music and Theater school. |
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| Irony personified. White building directly behind the former headquarters of the "1000 Year Reich" is now part of the Consulate General of Israel... | In 1933, this innocent looking lawn just across the street from the former Nazi headquarters was where the first Nazi book burnings took place. Per our guide, every year in Munich on the anniversary, crowds assemble here to read passages from the books that were burned... wow. |
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| Next stop was a much light subject - Nymphenburg Palace, the former summer palace of the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach. The geese were apparently not members of the family. | Entrance hall to the palace, classic baroque... |
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| A close-up of part of the ceiling in the main hall. Ceilings were decorated with beautiful and detailed painted scenes from mythology... | A chandelier in the "Gallery of Beauties", a collection of 36 portraits of the "most beautiful women from the nobility and middle classes" of Munich, Germany, painted between 1827 and 1850 |
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| South wing of the palace houses the "Marstallmuseum", a collection of court carriages. Here some ornate winter sleds. | If your court carriage is ornate, you need to make your horse ornate too! |
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| A slightly more ornate winter sleigh... | ... and a full up decorated court carriage. |
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Walking up to the Marienplatz after the tour, we happened to pass this building. Per our tour guide, the offices behind the windows are where Hitler decided to use the assassination of a Nazi diplomat in Paris as the pretext to launch the “Kristallnacht” pogrom against Jews in 1938... |
View of Munich city hall (Rathaus) and its famous Glockenspiel at Marienplatz. We stuck around until noon to hear and see the whole show. Spoiler - the French knight loses every time. |
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| Inside the gate leading to the Rathaus courtyard - inscription commemorating the U.S. forces that freed the city in April 1945 | Just above the inscription were these plaques/tiles listing the "sister cities" of Munich. Upper right corner includes Cincinnatti, Ohio, who knew? |
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| Angela did a solo tour in the Munich Residence. | A shock, Angela decided to check out the jewelry in the "Treasury" |
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| Crowns and other riches on display. | A royal crown, purportedly once owned by an "English Queen" |
