Where we are staying is about 6 stops from Marienplatz, the center of downtown Munich. The location is really ideal, because the streets downtown look like Madison Square Garden at the end of a Billy Graham performance. We have a weekly transport pass for €12.30, a major bargain over the €2.50 individual tickets.
Our hosts, a gay male couple, are in Paris, so basically we have the apartment to ourselves for a few days. These are trusting souls. We have never met them before. They left food in the fridge for our breakfast, but I am not crazy about their coffee maker so almost the first order of business for me is a coffee stop. November 1st is a holiday throughout much of Europe and this very Catholic section of Germany is no exception. Cafés are closed, so the choices are thin: Starbucks on one side of the road or California Coffee Company on the other. CCC is closest and the caffeine fumes draw me in. Serves me right, the coffee is horrid.
Our destination for today is the Munich Residence. This is actually three museums combined. It includes the Residence Museum, the Treasury, and the Cuvillies Theater. The Munich Residence was the epicenter for culture and politicos from the time of the first dukes. Later, they were elevated to electors from 1623 working their way up the royal ladder to become the Kings of Bavaria from 1806 to 1918. The dynasty name was Wittelbach, each generation adding to the existing buildings, making for a magnificent display of edifices. In general terms, the Munich Residence takes up an entire city block. We entered at 10:30 am and finally emerged by 4:00 pm. Once you pay admission, the audio recording is free for both the Residence and the Treasury. The theater needs no commentary. Ron received a discount for seniors and I was admitted free with my European Journalist Press Card.
It never occurred to us we would spend that much time in these historic monuments, but the time really flew by. The Residence was amazing, but it really was difficult dragging myself away from all of those crowns. I just know some of them are mine from previous lives. It I had only saved the receipts.
Alas, when we left, dehydration had set in, so we had to head to the HofBräuhaus to hydrate. The history of the HofBräuhaus goes back more than four centuries. The beer hall was first established in 1589 by Duke Wilhelm V and still welcomes thirsty souls today with drink and food. Casting my diet into the rubbish receptacle, I had a liter of beer with a giant pretzel. Being a holiday, many restaurants were closed, so we needed something of substance to carry us through.
With all of the stores closed, it was still shocking to see how many pedestrians there were clogging the arties of the byways.
That evening, we found a restaurant open called Opatija. They served German/Croatian food. It was crowded so we decided to take a chance on it. The portions were huge, the food was better than average, and the service was excellent. What more could one want when the prices are dirt cheap in addition.
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