2019 Germany – Day Four – The Residenz

Friday, 13 September

Today was another comfortable and sunny day in München. After another delicious breakfast with lots of coffee, Dolora and I were off the the Residenzmuseum, Residence Museum. The München Residenz was the dukes, electors and kings of Bavaria. It started as a small castle and continued to be extended. Most of the Residenz was destroyed during WW II but it has been reconstructed. The tour included about 100 rooms. Really, does the King need a bedroom for show that he never slept in? Nice to have several rooms to display your paintings and a huge hall for your sculptures. After a while, the rooms seemed to run together, although you gain an understanding that the rooms got more decorated as they got closer to the King’s quarters. There was an excellent audio tour included in the admission but it still got to be a little long.

Next up was the Treasury. Some really incredible craftsmanship. No photos allowed. It was interesting to note that some of the crowns had their jewels removed to be sold. We picked up some sandwiches and had lunch in the Court Garden. There was a gentleman playing a violin in the gazebo that we listened to for a bit. The Cuvilles Theatre opened at 2:00. After a quick visit to the theatre, we headed back to Marienplatz.

There are two opportunities to see München from towers in the plaza. Alter Peter, Church of Saint Peter entails 300 steps. The Neues Rathaus, New Town Hall, is two elevator rides. Guess which one we chose? The views from the Neues Rathaus were incredible with the clear weather. We could see the Olympic Tower in the distance.

After speaking with Nicole last night, Dolora and I planned a trip to the main train station to get an idea of how long (30 minutes) it would take, find the platform and check out the ticket machines. Since we were at the train station on Friday, during rush hour, it was a bit hectic. We found everything and headed back.

We planned to go to the Viktualienmarkt, Victuals Market, which has a large outdoor beer garden and many food vendors in the market. The beer garden was crowded with no where to sit. Our next choice was a restaurant that was closed on Wednesday when we tried to visit. Nuernberger Bratwurst Gloeckl am Dom was busy but we quickly found a table. They serve Augustiner beer from a wooden barrel. The beer was excellent. Dolora ordered a mixed salad with chicken, herbals and homemade dressing while I ordered ½ Knusprige Schweinshaxe mit Hausgemachten Semmelknödeln, ½ crispy pork knuckle with bread-dumplings. Both were delicious. There was lots of tender meat on the inside of the knuckle while the outside was crispy. Each dinner has gotten better. Finally, an ice cream cone for dessert and back.

Tomorrow, we check out of München and take the train to Kaufbeuren to meet Nicole and Frank for the next part of the trip.