La Bella Vida: Munich & Regensburg, Germany April 1-3

On April 1st I arrived in Munich around 3pm and then took an underground directly to the hotel. Yes, the hotel is above an underground station which was perfect. All the hotels we stayed in were 5*s and this one so happened to be the Hilton.

This first evening I took it easy, so I walked around the area of the hotel, used the internet and found an authentic quaint Italian pizzeria. :)

On the second day, April 2nd, I had until 3.45pm free to do what I wanted. I got up early, ate breakfast, and decided to walk to the city center. It was only a 20 minute walk and actually a very nice one because I passed by some beautiful buildings, the Danube river which was only a few minutes away from the hotel, the old city gates, and then finally arrived to Marien Platz which is the main square of the city. At one end of this square is Munich's main cathedral and at the center is its famous clock, the glockenspiel. It is so beautiful with its Gothic architecture. I waited for the clock to start its "show" which is only played 3 times a day, but it didn't play so I headed towards the Jewish Museum which was nearby.

The old city gates.

In Marien Platz a monument for Johannes Paul II.

The Cathedral and the glockenspiel (in the center). The figurines that dance and move around are life-sized.

Some interesting architecture.

An older man wearing leggings and using roller blades...only in Europe!

I walked by a clothing store and saw three female mannequins, dressed in traditional Bavarian clothes, sitting on a ledge.

The Danube river...it is not blue.

The city's cathedral.

When I researched Munich, the place I wanted to visit the most was the Jewish Museum. There I learned about the Jews living in Munich. They arrived sometime around the 11th century and have been there ever since. It was sad to read about how poorly they were treated and have been ever since. They were blamed for many things such as natural disasters and the black plague. I also learned that not until the 19th century were the Jews allowed to form a community for themselves within Munich. Munich was the city with the most amount of Jews being sent to concentration camps during WWII. In this museum there were also many relics and traditional objects that are used during Jewish holidays and celebrations. These were all what were found and saved from WWII, so it was incredible to see that some of these items were intact. I learned so much in this museum and was absolutely fascinated by what I learned. One thing I loved about the building was that the the ground level was made almost completely of glass and on the glass were quotes printed in German and English. Since all the quotes are about Jews in Germany and how they were treated, I believe that these questions were asked of the visitors during the opening of the Jewish museum in 2006.

The Jewish Museum.

One quote on the Jewish Museum's window.

I then saw the Synagogue which was destroyed in WWII and then rebuilt recently in this century and it is absolutely beautiful! I wanted to go inside to see it, but unfortunately I was told only Jews were allowed to visit. So I had to make do with seeing the outside.\

Jewish Synagogue, rebuilt after being destroyed in WWII. Isn't it incredible?

I then wandered awhile and finally decided to visit the main garden in Munich. I sat in Hofgarten and started writing in my travel journal. I decided to write about everything and it is FULL of all the information I was given during the entire trip. I learned so much and saw so many things that I didn't want to forget any of it! This garden was gorgeous and full of life. There are benches all along the edges of the garden for people just to sit and take a break. I sat there and was at peace. Even though there were so many people walking around and sitting on the benches, it didn't seem like many people were around. Maybe everyone could feel the tranquility and serenity of this garden, but the only things I heard were soft murmurs of conversations, a cello player playing a song in the gazebo, and happy little birds chirping in the trees above me. I could have sat there all day if I hadn't had any other plans.

Hofgarten

The gazebo in Hofgarten. Can you spot the cellist?

Hofgarten...so beautiful!

I found this fountain very intriguing.

Around 3.45pm we had an organized excursion around Munich as well as to Marien Platz. I wanted to join the group for this so I could meet the other people I'd be traveling with. We saw so many things: the Olympic stadium, the University that King Ludwig I built and his cathedral, and the most expensive street in the city appropriately named Maximilian (who was a king). We then went to Marien Platz to watch the Glockenspiel, but after waiting 15 minutes we realized that it wasn't going to play for us because it was good Friday. So Goran, our tour director (originally from Yugoslavia), took us to a beer hall called Hofbrauhaus. It was really interesting to see and it was completely packed! There were a few men who were dressed in lederhosen and I was dying to take a picture of them, but I held back. We had free time for dinner and I met two lovely ladies who came in a group of 6 (they were by themselves plus two more couples. All the women in the group had worked together.) Estela and Betsy, both from San Antonio, TX and I decided to eat at a traditional German restaurant. The food was delicious, I ordered a beef stew soup with potato pancake strips in it. After that we returned to the hotel.

The Olympic Stadium which has a plexiglass cover to shield viewers from the rain. It was used for a few years by the two local football (soccer) teams.

The musicians corner in the Hofbrauhaus, beer hall.

Inside the Hofbrauhaus.

Maximilian strasse...the most expensive street in Munich.

The German restaurant, Donsil, where I ate.

The Arch of Triumph with a Bavarian soldier in a chariot.

The glockenspiel close up.

On April 3rd, which was a Saturday, we left early in the morning to head over to Prague. The trip was somewhat long so to make it easier on us, Goran had us stop for 2 hours in a small town in Germany called Regensburg. We walked across a bridge, which went over the Danube river. This bridge is a stone bridge that was built in 1140 and was used by the crusaders. The city was full of towers, which were built to show the town's wealth. We walked around the town, which didn't take too long to visit, and went inside the Gothic church. I found a small hand-making jewelry shop where I bought a pair of earrings. I visited an outside food market and bought a pretzel there!