Birthday in Munich

25 April 2022.

Today was my birthday. Seventy-four years since I shuffled onto this mortal coil and most of the time has been spent dazed and confused. But largely happy. And so I am today.

A birthday spent in Munich, Germany, strolling through a wonderful cemetery, taking life at a slower pace than usual and just enjoying being alive.

After a leisurely morning and equally leisurely walk through the Alter Sudlicher Friedhof (our cemetery next door) we had a hot beverage and a piece of their homemade cheesecake at our favorite spot, the Aroma Kaffeebar just a couple of doors down from our apartment.

We then headed off into the old town, this time taking a route we hadn't been on before which, as it turned out, took us past the new enormous Eataly complex. From there we headed over to Sendlingerstrasse where Susie went off in search of a bath item while I kept an eye on several young women who were getting ready for some kind of photo shoot. 

Susie and I made our way back through Sendlinger Tor and home for the evening.

For my birthday I fixed a dish that had been bouncing around in my head for a few days: sautéed shallots with chopped summer sausage with stir-fried little potatoes (blanched) mixed with Bergerkäse cheese with a side of blanched broccoli.  Oh, and since we failed to bring an apron, a deficit we hope to rectify shortly, I worked topless with paper towels around my waist (Susie didn't want to deal with potential splatter spots on my shirt). But you'll see it all in the last photo.

Not a bad way to spend one's birthday. 

along Blumentstrasse it looked like a statue urinating but. . .

it was only a watering can held by a saint

Eataly store

Sendlingerstrasse

models getting ready for work. . . note the two using the chrome wall strips to apply makeup

Munich at the edges

23 April 2022.

A leisurely breakfast at home before getting ready for our hop-on/hop-off tour of the attractions beyond the city center. It took us about 20 minutes to walk up to the meeting point at Karlsplatz where we exchanged our mobile tickets for paper ones and boarded the bus.

There were few other riders this morning so we had most of the upper deck to ourselves. We plugged our headphones into the audioguide jacks on the seatbacks in front of us and off we went. On our way to our first stop, the Nymphenburg Palace we had the opportunity to hear about several interesting features of Munich's history as we whizzed down the Nymphenburgstrasse passed the Löwenbräukeller, home of the eponymous beer.

Arriving at the Nymphenburg Palace, we hopped off (hopping is required) and strolled over to the entrance to the palace, once the summer home of the ruling Wittelsbach family. 

At the entrance we were stopped by a staff member who asked if I was wearing an FFP2 mask (the equivalent of our KN95) under my cloth mask and I said no. "You can't go in," she replied matter-of-factly. (I recalled later that the filter in my fabric mask is in fact a PM2.5 which might have worked.) Anyway, almost immediately a woman walking by whipped out a fresh mask and handed it to me. Problem solved from the kindness of a stranger!

Once inside we got our tickets and headed upstairs to the palace. My primary objective here was to see the Gallery of Beauties, a collection of 36 19th century portraits of the most beautiful women in the region. Painted by Joseph Steiler over a period of over 20 years and collected by Ludwig I of Bavaria,  they are indeed stunning images of young women from all classes of society. 

Ludwig was keen on the women being beautiful in both body and spirit and also required the images to be as accurate a rendering of the subject as possible. 

To see the complete collection go here.

palace from the front

palace from the gardens side

one of the many hallways

grand hall

and its ceiling

gallery of beauties

Once back on the bus we headed for our second stop of the day: BMW Welt (world).

Located across from the Olympic Park (1972 games where Mark Spitz won his 7 gold medals) this complex of futuristic buildings includes the company's HQ (in the building that looks like four cylinders), a museum and our objective - BMW Welt. 

BMW Welt

the HQ is in the far distance

Walking into the building one is struck by how everything floats and flows together. We strolled among the various car models, amazed that they were all unlocked and people climbing in and out of them, getting the feel I suppose for what it would like to own one of these. Except for the Rolls-Royce display, that is. It was all look and don't touch.

The electric car area was fascinating and we loved seeing so many Mini Coopers! 

The second level consisted primarily of the BMW motorcycle displays and there were certainly plenty of people up there playing on the bikes. You could also see the showroom as well and, if I recall correctly this is where you would pick up your new BMW.

We opted for lunch here before walking back to the bus stop. 

Rolls Royce Cullinan

the new electric I series

note the batteries in the floor of the car

our favorite stop, the Mini!

the showroom, from the upper level

We just made it to the next bus and found this one had the roof open. A bit chilly to be sure but we weren't on it long before we arrived at the English Garden stop next to the Siegestor.

Siegestor, tor is gate

After a short walk from the bus stop we found ourselves in this incredible green space. The so-called English Garden is a large collection of lakes and streams set among a green space some three miles long much of which parallels the Isar River. 

We strolled up one of the many meandering paths to the Chinese Tower (the one landmark we had come across somewhere) where there was a band playing amidst a large biergarten packed with folks drinking and eating. 

the Chinese Tower

From the biergarten we made our way back roughly in the direction from which we came and walked up to the the temple-like Monopteros for a lovely view of the park and the old town in the distance.

Returning to the Siegestor stop we waited for the next bus which seemed forever to arrive. But the day had turned nice so it was pleasant to just sit and take in the sun.

We left the bus at a starting point different from where we began the day and felt a bit turned around. But we asked directions and soon found our way back to Karlsplatz and home. After dropping a few things off we headed back out to the Aroma Kaffeebar to get our afternoon hot beverage. 

Then on to Edeka to pick up a few groceries and back home before dinner.

I had made reservations at a nearby Vietnamese restaurant, Jack Glockenbach. The food was incredibly good (the best spring rolls we've ever eaten) and the service was equally so. 

filet of beef with betel leaf and rice noodles with a cucumber salad

curried chicken and rice

The end of another wonderful day in southern Bavaria.

Tomorrow it's off to Salzburg - stay tuned!

Departures and arrivals

 Wednesday, 20 April 2022, 9:25am. 

The Uber pickup and drop went off without a hitch. Susie and I woke up about 0300 before the alarm went off, got dressed and made a final inspection of the condo. Uber notified me that the driver was going to arrive early and so he did. (The Uber app is trés slick, very intuitive and doesn't rely on Google Maps, thank god!).

We were dropped off at the GR airport at 4:30, and checked in soon after. Although quite a few folks were traveling at such an early hour we were through security and at our gate in no time at all. 

The flight left on time and less than two hours later we found ourselves wandering around aimlessly at Charlotte Airport. (The place is HUGE, but well signed.) For reasons unclear to us the agent at GR could not check us in through to Munich -- although our luggage cleared that hurdle -- so we had to find an American Airlines customer service desk in Charlotte. That done and with boarding passes in hand we made our way to the Amex lounge to hang out for the next six hours or so. . . 

concourse E as seen from concourse D (Amex Lounge)

our Boeing 777 Dreamliner

We boarded on time, found our seats and settled in for the next 8 hours or so. Fortunately I had booked Premium Economy and out of 18 seats in that cabin only ten had been sold so we had plenty of room to stretch out (so to speak) and enjoy the flight. 

The onboard evening meal was mediocre but the service was pleasant and the onboard entertainment stellar: I watched the new Dune (part one apparently) and Susie and I both watched JLo and Owen Wilson in Marry Me. It was no Notting Hill to be sure but the music was good and Jennifer Lopez was terrific. 

Thursday, 21 April 2022,  0700 (Munich time)

After a relatively smooth flight with minimal turbulence we arrived in sunny Munich on time, slid through passport control with no problems (they didn't seem at all concerned about our vaccines cards), collected our bags and made our way to find the train that would take us into the city. I took the opportunity to let our landlord know we were in town and hoping to be at the apartment within the hour. A 45-minute train ride followed by an even shorter taxi ride and voilá! There we were standing in front of Prestalozzistrasse no. 18. 

Our hostess Agnes met us at the main door and took us through the courtyard to our apartment. (You can find the deets on our home for the next week right here: https://abnb.me/1lZJxRX3dpb.

We barely settled in before we laid down and took a much-needed nap - having the foresight to set an alarm giving us about 2.5 hours of the sleep we craved so much at that moment.

Once we were up, we unpacked, showered, changed clothes and headed out to buy some groceries for our home for the next week. We found a wonderful market just 3 minutes away, 

Edeka Market

After returning to the apartment and dropping everything off, back out we went to explore the neighborhood. Just two doors down from no 18 was the pleasantly funky Aroma KaffeeBar where we stopped to sit, relax, drink some spectacular coffee and eat freshly baked pastry.

Refreshed and refueled we pushed back out into the sunshine. 

After a ten minute stroll down our block (and the blocks hereabouts tend to meander every which way) we found ourselves at the Alter Südlicher Friedhof (friedhof is German for cemetery) literally just around the corner from our place. Naturally we wandered in. . . 

Two minutes after leaving the friedhof we were back home in time to catch up on various settling in tasks.

With early evening came a belated hunger and so we opted for one of the local eateries; in this case Junge Romer, a place known for its fresh pasta, tasty pizza and friendly and incredible service. 

We were lucky enough to score a free table inside the small cafe -- outside was too chilly for us although the outdoor seating would be full by the time we left. I had a ragu du carciofi (artichoke) and Susie had a delicious pistachio pasta, all washed down by an Aglianico red wine from Campania. 

After dinner we strolled for a just a few minutes through the cemetery next door before heading home.

So, all-in-all not too bad for our first day in Munich -- we had no idea there was so much to experience right in our neighborhood. 

It wasn't long before our bed called to us ever so persistently and of course we had no recourse but to oblige.

Tomorrow it's off to the Marienplatz, getting our transport passes, visiting the Alte Pinacoteke, strolling around the old town, spending time in the English Gardens and who knows what else?

Stay tuned!