We wound our way out of the Alps on a leisurely bus ride to Munich, resting up from our adventures of the day before, with a brief lunch stop in Lindau, Germany. Entering Munich put us squarely back in the 21st century, with the hustle and bustle that big cities bring. We took the evening stroll in Munich, passing locals dressed in dirndls and lederhosen, on our way to a beer hall. These are family places, with hearty food and heartier beer, with big plates and bigger glasses. The average German consumes about 35 gallons of beer a year!
We'd fallen into a nice routine with the tour. Up for breakfast in the hotel and then gathering for a walking tour of the city. After the tour and getting familiar with our surroundings, we have time for more in-depth exploration of the sights. Our guide in Munich was a fount of information about her city and its history. Most of Munich was bombed and destroyed during World War II, so almost everything we saw had been rebuilt. What could be salvaged was incorporated into the reconstruction. Throughout the city, there is a sense of both hope and pride. Our guide spoke of the Allies "liberating" Munich, reinforcing Herr Jung's stories about the Germans, too, being victims of the Nazi party. We finished our tour in front of the Rathaus, just in time to watch the Glockenspiel's 11am performance.
After the tour, we went to the Deutsches Museum, an incredible place with exhibits on all industry—from bridge-building to mining to ceramics to paper-making. The exhibits traced each industry from its very beginnings through its evolutionary stages, all the way up to modern times. All four of us loved it and were absorbed for hours. We ran out of hours before we ran out of museum. To Chris's dismay, we didn't have time to visit the soldering exhibit... The rest of us, on the other hand, were not dismayed.
We wrapped up our day with a trip to the not-to-be-missed Hofbräuhaus, Germany's oldest beer hall. We met the Fowlers for dinner and shared beer and pretzels to toast our last night in Munich.
