Saturday October 29 - last day!
We planned to take the 1.5 hour bus ride to Munich today and even after the long bus ride yesterday, we were not dissuaded. Apparently others were because it was just the 4 of us on a smaller bus with a personal guide!
Another beautiful day in the 70’s. Some shots of the city center. Saturday, warmer than usual weather, schools on break, soccer game in town it was busy!
First stop before city center was the BMW headquarters. Pretty cool. Harper has some cars that change color in hot and cold water…BMW was showing a model that changes color in hot or cold weather as well!
We had not seen how hops grow before, and still haven’t! The harvest was in September (hence Oktoberfest!) but we saw the guides (sticks) in field after field. The Oktoberfest was first started as a celebration at King Ludwig’s wedding and has continued since.
It is said to be good luck to rub this lion’s nose…so, here’s Pamela once again sucking up all the luck!
Hitler started the Nazi party in Munich. He called it the capital of the movement. 90% of Munich destroyed in WWII. Munich took that as an opportunity to rebuild a more modern city but keeping some of the baroque architecture. Munich became known for art and culture, a cosmopolitan city where people come to see and be seen. Lots of very high end and designer stores here.
This Theatine church was built to celebrate the birth of a baby, but it wasn’t Jesus. This was built by King Ferdinand Maria and his wife as a gesture of thanks for the birth of their son and heir to the Bavarian crown, Max Emanuel in 1662.
The Obelisk monument is to remember Bavarian soldiers lost in the Liberation wars from Napoleon. 30,000 soldiers went to war; 3000 came back.
This was the palace that is now a museum. The King thought the theatre in the palace wasn’t big enough so he had an opera house built next door.
In the city square in the Town Hall building is this tower. At noon, the Glockenspiel comes to life (bells ring) and the figures in the higher window act out winning battles and the figures in the lower window dance in celebration.
This is a poor shot (taken from the bus) of the top of the 1972 Olympic hall. Munich used this event also as an opportunity to modernize. Today it’s used for concerts and other events. There is a public pool and ice rink.
And then there was this😂:
Munich fun facts:
- Salt industry built the region
- 19% VAT (sales) tax
- 7% tax on food and service (they count beer as “liquid bread” 😂 so 7%! Must be the wheat and barley….
- There is even a tax on dogs! A mid-size dog would cost €70/yr and it’s a law that all dogs must go for training and be registered. We saw several dogs not on leashes in town that were very well behaved.
- Car sharing is common as cars are taxed as well.
- There are Green Zones in the city that don’t allow emissions /gas cars
- Germany has pledged no more combustion engines by 2035
We have to have our luggage out at 5 am. We’ll be on the way to the airport at 6:30. 🤯
As Benne, the Cruise Director says, Ciao for now!
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