Munich, Part 1

Day of August 25, 2025

Yesterday was yet another great day, though with a lot of driving. Since I have never been in Bavaria before and doubt that I’ll ever get there again, I had booked a private tour for Eula and me to go to Munich. Munich is a city that has always looked like it would be fun to visit, and Regensburg was as close as we would get. I used Toursbylocals to identify and book a guide, Jay. One thing I really liked was that he communicated with me prior to the day, and we set up a meeting time of 9:00 at the port. He texted me on his way to let me know his ETA—right on time. When I’m traveling, I like to have as little uncertainty as possible, so this was all good.

Off we went for the hour and a half ride to Munich, much of it on the Autobahn. That was an experience in itself. I really am glad I’m getting a chance to see some of the local countryside. Along the way, as Jay gave us some background on Bavaria (a state in Germany), we saw loads of these skinny trees, and lots of fields of hops. Bavaria is a major producer of hops, which is a bit ironic because another major producer is the part of Washington state where Eula lives. I had never seen hops growing before, but she recognized it immediately. These hops are almost ready for harvest.

Driving into Munich, we saw several notable sights. Pictures taken from a car aren’t the best, of course. We saw the Allianz Arena (soccer), BMW headquarters, the site of the first (I think) Nazi party rally, a monument to Bavarian soldiers killed in war, City Hall, and structures from the 1972 Munich Olympics. Unfortunately I could not get a good picture of the latter.

We got to the Old Town, parked, and left to see the major attractions. The rest of the tour was spent walking, with some short rest breaks, and lunch of course. The first street we saw was lined with shops, many of them familiar, and I had a moment’s concern that we were back in anytown, anycountry. That was dispelled pretty quickly. Look just past Urban Outfitters—that’s not just another pretty face.

The first place Jay took us to is a church known for the Devil’s Footprint. There are several apocryphal stories about that name, but one is that an angry Devil said that there should be no stained glass in that church. When you enter the church and stand on a metal footprint (the Devil’s) in the entryway, you cannot see any stained glass. But walk a few feet forward and it opens up, all along the sides. Guess the Devil lost that one. The church also contains this elaborate statue of lost heroes, the names of whom I did not record.

Leaving there, we walked past a lovely street of restaurants and noticed this elaborate manhole cover. The figure in it is the “Munich Child,” an emblem of the city that you see in many places.

We walked through the Marienplatz, in front of the New Town Hall. I was struck by the flags on the left side of the building. They included not only the Ukrainian flag but also the flag of Israel, signifying, I assume, the support of the city for both of those nations. We skirted an ad hoc art installation supporting the cause of peace. At the end of the plaza was the Old Town Hall.

Around the corner and we approached St. Peter’s Church, which has a remarkable story. When WWII was approaching, officials were saving art works but not from churches. The people of Munich stripped the church of all its moveable art, including the altar, the organ, paintings, even the hand carved sides of the pews. All of this was hidden in barns in the countryside. They took pictures of the frescoes on the walls and ceilings. The church was destroyed by bombs, as was much of Munich (but not the New Town Hall, which may have been saved to be used as a navigation aid for bombers). When the war was over, everything was rebuilt exactly as it had been. Even the frescoes were repainted. It’s so exact that they dug through the rubble to find a cannonball that had lodged in the side of the building in some war, and put it into the rebuilt wall. It’s above and to the right of the open window in the last picture.

It was nearing noon, and time to return to the Marienplatz to see the Glockenspiel do its thing. We had a few minutes to lean up against a wall as we waited. I can’t embed a video in these posts, so a still picture will have to do. Let me just say that it was worth the wait—so charming, and very old world. Bells, music, jousting knights, dancers—it’s very worth it if you have a chance to see it.