During my stay in Munich, I’ve taken numerous photos on my way to or from my destinations. On my last day here’s a montage of things I found interesting.

(Title translation: Munich sights 2)

Along the River Isar.  

Chocolate muesli. Breakfast of champions! 

Anyone for fireworks? 

Would sir like a table inside or outside? 

Christmas tree with REAL snow. 

This is how that pretty white snow ends up in the city. 

I think I could manage this kind of Christmas tree.  

Onboard the ICE trains (first class). 

Onboard an U-Bahn train. 

Today is a designated rest day. I’ve been doing something every day for the last week and I need to relax if I’m going to go home refreshed. Then I look out the window and the soft snow falling bewitches me. I decide to head out for a couple of hours.

I walk to the U-Bahn station. The city streets are sludgy and wet now. There are big piles of dirty melting snow.

At 0913 I catch the U6 from Marienplatz to Studentenstadt. I want to explore the northern end of the Englischer Garten. I arrive at Studentenstadt at 0922 and make my way to the park. The northern part is less open and more like woodland, at least under snow. There is light snow falling and a few people around, mainly walking dogs or jogging. I walk all the way down to the southern part where I was yesterday. It’s still white but the paths are clearly worn. They are quite sludgy too. It was lots of fun walking through the snow, but very hard work.

By 1200 I’m back in the hotel and spend the rest of the day relaxing and working on the jigsaw puzzle.

(Title translation: Still more white) 

We‘re melting! 

Here’s my modest contribution to slow TV. A short montage of video I took yesterday during my snow filled adventures. The Englischer Garten may not look very busy in the video, but I was trying to avoid filming people.

Play it in HD (720p) if you can. 

As I walk back from the supermarket to the hotel I notice there are people at the top of Peterskirche. I had wanted to climb to the top when I first arrived but the queues were way too long. Maybe today would be a good day. It would be icy up there, but I decide to give it a go. At 1300 after dropping off my supplies I make my way over, pay my €3 and climb the 300+ steps to the top.

And it’s worth every step. Yes, it’s freezing, but the view of snow coved Munich is beautiful.

While publishing my blog post for Salzburg I notice it’s started to snow. I hurriedly get ready and at 0920 head to the Englischer Garten.

Wow! What an experience. The park is blanketed in snow. To begin with there are a few other people walking, but by the time I leave the park is buzzing with people walking, jogging, walking their dogs, pushing prams, skiing, dragging children in sleds, making snowmen, having snowball fights and playing a football match. Everything you’d imagine and very much a real winter wonderland.

Yesterday I noticed that the trees near a mound in the park had hay bales at their bases.  I wondered why. Now, with people riding down the mound on their sleds I assume they are to cushion the blow if a collision occurs.

I mainly use my iPhone for photos. The snow is wetter than the other day and I’m nervous about getting my camera wet. When I do get it out I use a plastic bag to protect it. It’s all a bit distracting though, and soon I put it away and cover up my rucksack to protect it from the snow.

At times the snow is heavy and blowing horizontally. It looks as deep as 8 cm in some places and at least 4 cm all over.

At 1210 I return to the hotel. It’s been a magical morning and just the kind of experience I had been hoping for. I feel very fortunate.

I wasn’t sure what I would do NYE. One plan had been to pop across to London to see the fireworks. I bought a ticket for the viewing area just in case; it was only £10. Unfortunately, though they were in touch by email, the ticket didn’t turn up before I left Australia. That’s OK; it was only a soft plan and I knew there was a risk.

I researched NYE (Silvester) in Germany and became a little anxious from what I read. Seems that formal, organized fireworks are rare. Instead, this is the only time Germans are allowed to buy and set off fireworks and they can tend to go a little crazy. There have been injuries and even fatalities in recent years. There has been discussion this year in the german media.

Being a foreigner and alone I decide against getting in the thick of any NYE celebrations. Besides, I don’t feel the need to do anything in particular anyway. I’ve slept through the last 2-3 NYE and I am happy to do it again this year.

While looking through the photos from my day in Oberammergau I have the TV on. This year, my german language teacher had told us of the cult following around a vintage British sketch titled “Dinner for One” and we watched it in class with no understanding of why the Germans go crazy for it. In the couple of hours I have the TV on, the original English version has been played on 3 different channels as well as 2 newer german versions! Go figure.

From about 1830 the sporadic sound of fireworks begins outside. They are still going on when I go to bed around 2130.

At 2300, even with earplugs, I awake to a big round of fireworks. At first I figure it must be midnight but then realize we’re still not there yet. The bangs die down a bit and I go back to sleep.

At 2357 I’m woken again. This time I get up to look out the window. No carefully synchronized countdown here. They let their fireworks off when they feel like it. Then, around midnight, it erupts. Total uncoordinated chaos. But there’s something beautiful in it. I can hear lots of revellers in the area around the hotel. Facing inwards, I only see fireworks when they manage to breach the rooftops but I hear all the noise and see all the reflected flashes. They are going off all round me in all directions. Some are let off very near and the embers fall into the courtyard. This goes in for nearly 30 min before slowing down and I head back to bed.

In the morning, as I head out on my next expedition, I see the remnants of fireworks on the ground here and there.

It’s a cold and grey afternoon. After tossing up a couple of options I settle on walking to the Englischer Garten, a large park in the north east of the city. I get there about 1330. There are lots of people walking around, despite the freezing weather. It’s a beautiful park, even with most of the trees without leaves. I can imagine what it must be like in summer.

I wander around the southern part which ends at a lake. And the lake is beginning to freeze over. There are large chunks of ice on the surface. It’s very surreal to see.

At 1500 I’m heading back and all the church bells in the city are ringing. They go on for quite some time.

Right on the edge of the park is a bridge and the water is rushing beneath at a crazy pace. I’m not sure if it’s intentional or not. Either way, the waves don’t go to waste and there’s a group of surfers having lots of fun and attracting quite and audience.

As I have a thing for towers, I decide to visit the tower at the site of the the 1972 Olympic Games. 1972 was the first time I remember being conscious of the olympics and I particularly remember the design of the stadium and roof. A visit to the Olympic park would allow me to explore the tower and the stadium at the same time.

I head out at 1100. I make my way to the Marienplatz u-Bahn station. I catch the U3 to Olympiazentrum. The train is very new and spacious. Some of the stations are also very modern. Others are more in keeping with the age of the line. It’s only a 20 min journey through Odeonsplatz, Universität, Giselastraße, Münchner Freiheit, Bonner Platz, Scheidplatz and Petuelring.

The park is only a short walk from the station and I head straight for the tower. There’s not much of a queue and I get to the top quickly. It’s a great view but the sun is low and casts a haze over the city. It’s hard to see anything but I can make out the silhouettes of the churches. I can also just make out the silhouette of the Alps. What I can see clearly are the buildings that were the Olympic village and also the massive BMW factory.

When I get back down from the tower the queue is much longer. They might be waiting for the restaurant?

There’s a lake by the tower and the stadium. The water in a small part of the lake is beginning to freeze and birds are standing on the ice. It’s such an odd thing to see.

I walk to the stadium. It’s amazing to see the roof up close. It still looks modern even though it’s over 40 years old.

After a walk all around the edge of the stadium I walk back to the station and catch the U3 at 1355. This is a much older train.

On my first full day in Munich I wander around the old town (Altstadt). Most of the city centre is pedestrian only, so it’s easy to get around. By the middle of the day it‘s very busy. I can‘t tell how many are tourists like me and how many are locals.

The hotel is on the edge of Viktualienmarkt. It‘s an open air market with a large selection of stalls. They are mainly food, but there are also a couple selling wreaths and Christmas decorations. I first walk through in the morning around 1000. A few stalls are open, but most are still closed up. Later in the day I walk through on my way back to the hotel and it’s bustling. Nearly every stall is open and people are everywhere. There is a beer garden and people are milling around. It‘s quite an atmosphere and still quite festive.

Neues Rathaus is the new Town Hall. It‘s an imposing building in Marienplatz. That‘s the main square used for the Christmas Markets and they have been clearing away the stalls in the last couple of days. There is a tower, so naturally I have to go up. This one has a lift, so it is very easy. The views are spectacular and you can make out the Alps in the distance.