Monday, March 24, 2008

MUNICH STOPOVER

ON TIME FOR OKTOBERFEST - SEPTEMBER 2006

Travelling from Chania to Lisbon, we made a stopover in Munich on September 16th, 2006. It was the first day of the 2006 Oktoberfest. Having experienced the Fest in 1986 (no pictures, however, due to the confusion to get there - just to give you an idea, the ladies in our party had their feet in the air while going up the escalators of the subway station; and we avoided Theresienwiese station, which uses to be «the most highly frequented»...), we didn't try it again. Still, the Fest ambiance could be enjoyed throughout town...


"MARIENPLATZ is the heart of old town Munich"



"RATHAUS - The façade of the City Hall, with the famous Glockenspiel (a carillon with 43 bells) is huge and misleading. In fact it was built only in the late 19th century, between 1867 and 1908, one example of the German «Gründerzeitstill»"


"FRAUENKIRCHE - Just around the corner from MarienPlatz is the Frauenkirche, the largest church in Munich and a real piece of late Gothic architecture, as it was built between 1468 and 1488. The building's domes atop each tower, modelled after the Dome in Jerusalem, were built only in 1525. The cathedral suffered severe damage during World War II and the restoration was completed only in 1994"



"STROLLING AROUND"



"HOFBRÄUHAUS is probably the most famous of the German Breweries, and deservedly so"


"NATIONAL THEATRE, an opera house, is home to the Bayerische Staatsoper, and the Bayerisches Staatsballett"


"THEATINER CHURCH ST. CAJETAN was built between 1663 and 1690, in Italian high-baroque style, to commemorate the birth of the long-awaited heir to the Bavarian crown, Prince Max Emanuel, in 1662"


"RESIDENZ - The Munich Residenz was the seat of government and the residence of the Bavarian dukes, electors and kings from 1508 to 1918"


"STREET MUSICIANS - The picture is blurred, as the day was ending and I didn't want to use the flash. But I couldn't resist the magic of the Kusturica-style players..."


"HIRMER - «Willkommen bei Hirmer GROSSE GRÖSSEN – dem Spezialisten für Herrenmode in Übergrößen»"




"LÖWENPARADE - There were CowParades in many cities around the world. Munich had a LionsParade"

45 comments:

Anonymous said...

This was the last post with pictures from the 2006 summer vacation. After that, and up to the end of 2006, I still managed to make a break to get to Bilbao and to Switzerland, while Guida had a meeting in Geneva, and then there was a professional trip to Morocco. With this post, I keep my delay in posting in 18 months (definitely improving) and I’ll try to slowly lower it in the next months. Hard task… ;)
Anyhow, enjoy, comment and have a great week!

Nihal said...

Being a beer-lover, I like the Oktoberfest here in Istanbul, that is a great event to see German traditions and custom, folk dances, and... glasses of good q'ty beer:)
Another great post with picturesque photos from Munichen.
Oh is it? A Lions parade? OK, it seems a 'Must' for me as I'm a typically Leo gal -zodiac mean-;)
Danke schon, Gil:)

Tinsie said...

Munich's a great city and it must have been good fun during Oktoberfest. I'm hoping to make it over there for some beer and lots of partying next year or the year after.

Anonymous said...

When traveling from here to there and there to here, all people having fun and learn.

in other words: Viajar divierte e ilustra.

Saludos

CaBaCuRl said...

Happy Easter to you...are you much of a beer drinker?

Nikon said...

I love the architecture of the city, Gil - especially the shots you took at dusk.
I don't drink beer anymore - but I might be seen hanging around the escalator :-)

Noushy Syah said...

Hhehehhe..you definitely are improving in postings!lolz.....the Oktoberfest must be gr8 and I'm sure you had a gr8 time there.

Munich look decent in the pics.

Have a gr8 day Gil and Happy belated Easter.

p/s The blue fans were singing Jose' Mourinho's name instead of Avram yesterday.Thank God!

Azer Mantessa said...

i don't like that lion ... it's devilish red ... grrrrrrrrrrrrr

no mood today, we lost 0-3 to you know who :((((

Dsole said...

Hi Bob!!!
I'm back to blogger world! hehehe
I've been busy but still doing photos! Back from holy week break, I've been not in Portugal myself but my partner was! and he told me about the spanish invasion hehehe. I've been in a little town of Ciudad Real, some quiet and cold days!
You know, I've been thinking... if you could speak every language of every town you visited you'd be a totally poly-glote! that would be cool, uh?
Anyway, I like the yellow church a lot! I've never seen anything like that before!
Boa semana!!

Dsole said...

Oh my, I didn't know why I called you Bob...
Gil! desculpa!

Anonymous said...

Your post is full of beautiful, old houses, plenty of photograph and look at, thank you!
What exactly do you mean by slowly lower - your posting or traveling ? :)
18 months = 1½ years, I think, 1½ years sounds much more than 18 months - congratulations, you have done the great work!

freefalling said...

It's a wonder you didn't go deaf, standing next to that oompah loompah band!

PeterParis said...

With your intensive traveling, I can understand yor difficulty to catch up; fortunateley you have good archives!
My only personal experience from the Oktoberfest in Munich dates from 1959 as an unexperienced young man! Imagine! (Fortunately) no photos! You obvioulsy behaved better and gave us a very nice tour of this nice city!

Unknown said...

beautiful pictures as usual

Tawnya Shields said...

Hello Trotter,
Stopping by to say hello. Oh how I want to make it to Munich during the infamous "Oktoberfest". Even though my family comes from Hamburg, I have yet to visit Germany! My husband is not fond of planning any trips across the pond lately due to all the mess with terrorism. Drats.

This was a very informative post. I drank it all in.
"Eins, zwei, g'suffa!" :o)~

Shionge said...

Love the lion parade Gil and I was in Munich back in 1990 such a long time ago so it was good to be 'back' :D, compliment from you.

Annie said...

The lions, decorated so interestingly, are wonderful to see, a charming change from the cows in other cities around the world. Ah, Munich, a city worth visiting again and again.

Jo's-D-Eyes said...

Hi Gil,
Nothing is so bad as writing a reaction on this blog and than looose it...( ggggrf) . anyhow I followed this trip to Munich , you described it very well here. This uis a great city full with history, I love it , essapecially the statues, the Rathhous , great to see that all,

JoAnn from Holland (now in Holland)

We went on holiday for this easter , so I made some cute photo's of the easter decorations at the frontdoor, come and see how we celebrate easter in Europe,

Seda said...

I admire that you have all the time and budget to travel. It is my dream. Hopefully someday I can fulfill my dream. You have really nice pictures. I especially loved the Gothic buildings.
Seda
Istanbul Photo

virtual nexus said...

Good post. Particularly enjoyed seeing the Lions!

Indrani said...

Hi, Lion's parade...
here is my daughters' query: do you have the link which has all the pics of Lions? :)

I just completed mine on Lonar.

lyliane six said...

Il y a bien longtemps que je suis allée à Munich en 1972, puis j'y suis retournée en 78 et nous avons fréquenté la même brasserie.

Beefybob7 said...

Hi Gil,

Eins, zwei, drei
Ein Beir, bitte. Eine wurst.

It's about all the German I know but at least I was able to drink and eat in Munich.

Thanks again for the memories and a lovely post.

Bob

NormanTheDoxie said...

Loved the street musicians.....I can almost hear them!

Wendy said...

Now that's what I call a stopover!
Great photos as always.

Anonymous said...

I love the buildings and lions. In one of the photos you're standing next to the musicians. Did you pick up one of those brass instruments and play? ;-)

Paz

Kunterbunt said...

*lol* all those Lederhosen-guys. It's long ago that we visited Munich, but perhaps we'll go there at the end of next summer.
And: other cities have cows, they have the Bavarian lion of course.

MedaM said...

This is wonderful post again. It is full of interesting photos of beautiful buildings of various architectural styles followed by short but interesting historical information. So I would say that your posts are always the combination of enjoyable and usefulness.

Lakshmi said...

loved this post..brought back memories of an awesome trip..was just thinking of munich yesterday :)

Lori said...

I was in Munich right after Christmas this year and had a great time. I'm sure it's the place to be for October fest. It's a beautiful city! Thanks for giving us a look at it!

Lena said...

i miss being in germany and your pics once again reminded me of this.
October fest is really an amazing experience!

Jo's-D-Eyes said...

Hey Gil,
Where are you? (kidding)
I posted today a part of my/our trip to luxemburg, part 1. You might like to see that? You are so welcome...

Bye, have a good day JoAnn

Lara said...

nice fizzy trip to Munich :)! Oktoberfest is something special!

Neva said...

Both of my sons have been to Hofbrauhaus....they loved it. surprise surprise!

Anonymous said...

Nihal,
You may be a beer drinker, but you definitely don’t look like a beer drinker…
A Leo girl, ok; that you can’t hide… ;))

Tinsie,
Oktoberfest is an experience… but a hard one to get into…
Be prepared for the huge congestion!!

Poly,
Estás bien cierto: distrae y instruye!

Cabacurl,
Thanks! Not that much of a beer drinker; but once in a while, like a good Belgian beer (Leffe, Kwak, Duvel, Chimay…) or, on the lighter side, a nice lager…

Paul,
I can imagine you around the escalator with the all the ladies in the air… ;)
Lowenbrau is quite light and diuretic, but beware: during Oktoberfest the alcohol percentage is increased… ;))

Noushy Syah,
So when it comes to beer, you call it improvement! I’ll check what you’ll say of Bilbao… ;))
Loved to see the Blues win; in particular because Arsène is still haunted by José’s ghost... And reading about grateful fans is always nice!!!

Azer Mantessa,
Well, with Raffa instead of José and el Niño instead of Cristiano, what were you expecting? ;))

Dsole,
Great to see you back!
Come on, your partner comes to Portugal and you go to Ciudad Real… ;(
Thinking on your thoughts: I speak German… ;)

Leena,
Thanks. My travelling rhythm is now much lower, that’s why I started posting… But the idea of slowly lower the delay in posting was what I meant. For the time being, I’m on the edge of 17 months… ;)

Letitia,
It’s true that they were making quite a noisy concert… ;)

Peter,
Can imagine a sixteen year old Swede at Oktoberfest in 1959…
Notice that «Peter’s Paris» is already born. Now I’ve to learn how to get those larger pictures; have already had several tips, but all a bit time consuming, and I don’t have much time to think about it…

M.Kate,
Thanks!

Titania,
Thanks! Für eine Elbseglerin, München soll ein bisschen unbequem sein…
About travelling and terror: just reading Roth’s «Exit Ghost» where a character (Jamie) is fleeing NYC due to the same reason... ;)

Shionge,
Glad that you enjoyed. 1990, that was some time ago...

Annie,
They actually wanted to make it with the Bavarian Lion… ;)

JoAnn,
Thanks! I’ll catch up your blog this weekend to see how you «celebrate Easter in Europe». But don’t forget that, though southern, this here is also Europe… ;))
I’ll see also Luxemburg… Sorry, too hectic a week!

Seda,
Glad to see you back here!
Travelling a lot, that was a long time ago. Now, budget, I still manage, but time… no chance!

Julie,
Thanks!

Indrani,
Already replied on your blog!

Lyliane,
Hofbrauhaus, c’est difficile de résister…

Bob,
Ein Bier, ein Wurst… What a combination… No wonder you manage to eat and drink in Munich!

Citygirl,
Those Kusturica style musicians made my day…

Wendy,
Thanks!

Paz,
Thanks! No, I didn’t play. Even to pick up that tuba you’ll need some steaks… ;)

April,
«Lederhosen guys», good catch!!

Medam,
Thanks! I’m always so pleased to read your comments!

Lakshmi,
I also remember your pictures of your memorable European tour…

Lori,
Amazing; we got the first Euro banknotes from an ATM in Munich on January 1st 2002 Nice time to get there, though a bit too white!

Lena,
Thanks!

Lara,
Not so much bubbles this time; a bit more beer… ;))

Neva,
Can imagine your sons at Hofbrauhaus... ;))

indicaspecies said...

You avoided Theresienwiese station - is it because of the crowd?

This post is so interesting and so are the pictures. Having returned from another trip, it's nice to catch up with your blog. :)

Anonymous said...

Celine,
You're right. Theresienwiese during the Fest is a bit of a nightmare, though trains run very, very often...

Anonymous said...

Oops! I was in Munich in May so missed the beer :0 But I did get some birkenstocks. :)

Indrani said...

Thanks for your comments on Lonar. Whenever you visit India to visit the fascinating places of our country, do visit us in Bangalore.

Anonymous said...

Lynn,
May is a great season also for Munich and better for birkenstocks... ;)

Indrani,
Thanks. Two friends of us were in Goa, Mumbay and Bangalore last month; we are going to exchange experiences next weekend!

Ming the Merciless said...

This is definitely my next vacation spot. :-)

Ming the Merciless said...

N.B.: Love the different lions sculptures.

Anonymous said...

Ming,
Lions Parade will no longer be there, but 2008's Oktoberfest lasts from September 20 thru October 5th; 2009 from Sept. 19th thru October 4th...

Ron said...

Awesome, awesome pictures. This is another place I need to visit. Germany is my favorite country that I have been to, but we didn't have the time to see Munich.

I have to tell you again that your blog is the best. Your photos are amazing.

Anonymous said...

Ron,
Thanks! I've told you that you're probably the only person I «know» that has Germany as the favourite country; hard to understand... except for huge beer drinkers... ;)))
Then, get to Munich for the 2008 Oktoberfest: September 20th through October 5th!