Altstadt

My  first experience with central Munich was a trip to the Altstadt, or Old Town, and my first impression was that it was very busy. But then I happened to arrive at Marienplatz at around 11am, just as hundreds of tourists gathered to see the famous 'Glockenspiel' in operation.

So you thought the Lady Godiva vlock was impressive? This has 43 bells and 32 figures, used to represent a knights tournament celebrating the marriage of Duke Wilhems V and dancing to celebrate the end of the plague. Its rather impressive, but what is even more impressive is the way the hundreds of tourists all clap as the Munich knight wins the joust.

Marienplatz is also the home of the Mariensaule - a tall column with a golden statue of Mary (that has been under 24 hour guard since it was put there over 300 years ago) and four not-so-cute cherabim fighting off representations of War, Famine, Plague and Heresy. This column also represents the very centre of Munich.

I decided to continue exploring the Altstadt with a guided tour, and joined a group of English speakers on one of the New Munich Free Tours. Our guide for the day was 'Ian from Staffordshire', who did a fantastic job of showing us the sights and keeping us amused for the entire 3 and 1/2 hours. But then, as the tours are 'free' he only gets paid if we tip him, and so there's an incentive there to do a good job!

We visited the enormous Frauenkirche (Church of the Holy Mother) whose tall towers represent the highest point in central munich, and learned how it was built in only a staggering 20 years - with the help of Satan. Apparently you can see his footprint in the entrance hall, where he stamped his foot in anger upon completion. Unfortunately there was an organ recital on when we visited, so no photo of that yet!

Munich also had quite a lot of involvement in the history of the Nazi party, with Hitler living and studying there and taking the lead of the Nazi party there. Joseph Goebbels gave a hate-filled speech and sent out plain clothes SAS troops to destroy Jewish businesses and property from the Munich Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall), which became known as Kristallnacht. This Altes Rathaus is now a rather cute toy and teddy bear museum, with no indication of the horrors that started there.

There are indications, however, throughout Munich. Memorials and commemorations are there, but they are very subtle. This for example is a plaque that reads 'Here stood in the year of 1938 the Uhlfelder Depratment Store'. A simple memorial to somewhere destroyed during Kristallnacht. 

Other points of interest throughout the tour included the huge Residenz, former palace and now museum. It is so big that to help the Security Guards ensure the area is clear before closing, it is only ever opened in small sections - I say get more security guards. Maximilianstrasse is the place where the very wealthy do their shopping, and includes a watch in the window for over 72, 000 Euros! Viktualienmarkt is the main market, and apparently one of Europe's finest gourmet markets. Truffles anyone? Or maybe some Chanterelles...

A quite corner near the FrauenKirche...