munich, part 2 (7/5/11)

(Breaking up Munich into several parts because otherwise it would just be one GIANT post...lol)

Yesterday (Tuesday, my only full day in Munich) was a long but good day. After breakfast, I first went to the train station to check timetables, and then I took the U (the underground) for the first time to the University. From there, I wandered over into the English Garden, where I saw some of the park's "sights"--the Chinese Tower (random), a Greek-style temple, and a Japanese tea house that was closed, sadly. There was even a nudist area on one of the fields o.o But yeah, all of the open green space made me really want to play ultimate with my high school group of friends. I miss frisbee.
Afterwards, I wandered through parts of the Residence and its gardens, and at Odeonsplatz, I joined an English tour group for a bit. I really liked the tour guide. I also realized how fail my European history is...like I heard a passing tourist say to another that morning, I wish at least some was required to learn in school. Apparently, the reverse is true, as young as America is. Anyway, the tour guide talked for a bit about Nazi Germany and how the Nazis would congregate at that plaza by the thousands. We also passed an opera house (which also burned down at one point), and when the group went into a beer garden, I split. we also pased Hofbrauhaus, one of the oldest and most famous beer houses in the world. I got a falafel sandwich for lunch and wandered around the Viktualienmarkt, a big open-air market, which was fun. I took a break inside St. Peter's Church (which had a very gaudy altar, but it looked like St. Peter was at the center...hmm), and then I walked over to see the Isar River. Next to it, there's the Deutsches Museum, which focuses on science and technology, and it is giantic. Probably the biggest museum I've ever seen? Sheesh. After walking along the Isar for a bit, I came to St. Luke's Church, which had some impressive stained glass windows inside. Then I walked until I hit the Maximilaneum, which has a cool facade and name but whose function still is unknown to me. I took the tram back to Mariensplatz, the main square, to see the Glockenspiel go off at 5, but with some time to kill, I visited one of the big churches near Odeonsplatz. Its interior was filled with amazing white rococo. Around 5, I headed back to the Glockenspiel, where a decently sized crowd had already gathered, all gazing up at the church tower. It made me think of waiting for the ball to drop on New Year's Eve, haha. Apparently, the Glockenspiel is famous for its bells and moving wooden figures, which go off three times a day (at 11, 12, and 5). It was kind of cool to see the figures moving, but I personally wasn't too impressed. It's funny--I was passing another English tour group afterwards, and the guide was saying that in his opinion, the Glockenspiel is one of the top three most overrated things to see in Europe, haha.
For dinner, I got a smoked (?) fish sandwich thing that had caught my eye in the market earlier, and I'll just say that I'm glad it was pretty small and cheap. It tasted weird and pickled and not good. Sigh. You win some, you lose some--that's what I get for being adventurous (with food). I also went to look briefly at a couple more churches, as well as the Munich Cathedral, which has an alleged "devil's footprint" near the entrance. Not sure of the significance of that...