Day 7, Or Day Of Rest? HAH!
(Last night I had dinner in several places, trying out what some would call "old, established firms." The main course for supper was roast pork loin with a dumpling and a crisp and tasty cabbage salad at the Augustiner Restaurant on Neuhauser Strasse - it's been in business at the same place since 1897. Dessert was a delicious hazelnut torte and coffee at Woerner's, which has been in the same place on the Marienplatz since 1875. An after dinner drink was provided at the hotel bar, where I had my first taste of grappa. Not bad at all, imho.)
One thing you'll notice if you ever come to Munich is the fact that 95% of everything closes up tight on Sundays. No stores, few restaurants and damn little else.
So I had to scrap my plans to do some shopping. Instead, I did the following:
1. Attended Mass at the Frauenkirche, the main cathedral here. I managed to keep up with the responses and everything in German, but bowed out before the Eucharist, explaining in Latin, "Hic est non mensa mea (this is not my table)."
2. Just a stone's throw (if you have a great pitching arm) from the Frauenkirche is the Deutsches Jagd- und Fischereimuseum, the German Hunting and Fishing Museum.
No, I'm NOT kidding. This place has hunting trophies dating back to before the Napoleonic Wars, as well as the world's largest collection of prehistoric fishhooks. There are weapons like boar-spears and beautifully decorated firearms (including a 5-barrelled shotgun). I counted points on some of the deer trophies, and there is one 24-point buck represented there.
There is also a display of what they term Wolpetingers, which would be instantly familiar to anyone who's seen a fur-bearing trout or a jackalope. The raccoon with wings and boar's tusks was interesting.
3. I took the train up to the suburb of Oberschleissheim in order to visit the German Museum's aircraft annex. Of course, the connecting bus to the place doesn't run on weekends, but it wasn't too far, and the weather was cool and very sunny.
The annex used to be an airbase, first for the Royal Bavarian Flying Corps, then the German Luftwaffe, then the US Air Force, then the Luftwaffe again. It's still an operating airstrip, although traffic control is routed through the far larger Munich Airport a few miles away. Among the items on display are the skeletal remains of Germany's first powered aircraft. It was built by the Vollmöller brothers in 1910, but on their second attempt it crashed, killing one of them.
4. On the way back from the museum, I stopped by the castle complex there, and promptly got crazy. This is a complex composed of three palaces, built over a period from 1680 to 1820. I only had time to really visit the 'New' Palace, and the place was, in a word, magnificent. Crazy some of the Wittelsbachs might have been, but they new how to get the most out of their real estate.
The grounds of this place are modeled after the gardens in Versailles and other places, and have very strong regulations. You can't ride a bike there, and you have to keep your dog leashed - so as not to bother the deer. Yes, the place is a game preserve. I didn't see any deer, but there were swans and ducks swimming in the huge ornamental reflecting ponds. Yeah, it's THAT big, folks.
So, once again I did a lot of walking. According to my digital camera, I've shot about 900 images and still have one empty memory card. The next week awaits!
One thing you'll notice if you ever come to Munich is the fact that 95% of everything closes up tight on Sundays. No stores, few restaurants and damn little else.
So I had to scrap my plans to do some shopping. Instead, I did the following:
1. Attended Mass at the Frauenkirche, the main cathedral here. I managed to keep up with the responses and everything in German, but bowed out before the Eucharist, explaining in Latin, "Hic est non mensa mea (this is not my table)."
2. Just a stone's throw (if you have a great pitching arm) from the Frauenkirche is the Deutsches Jagd- und Fischereimuseum, the German Hunting and Fishing Museum.
No, I'm NOT kidding. This place has hunting trophies dating back to before the Napoleonic Wars, as well as the world's largest collection of prehistoric fishhooks. There are weapons like boar-spears and beautifully decorated firearms (including a 5-barrelled shotgun). I counted points on some of the deer trophies, and there is one 24-point buck represented there.
There is also a display of what they term Wolpetingers, which would be instantly familiar to anyone who's seen a fur-bearing trout or a jackalope. The raccoon with wings and boar's tusks was interesting.
3. I took the train up to the suburb of Oberschleissheim in order to visit the German Museum's aircraft annex. Of course, the connecting bus to the place doesn't run on weekends, but it wasn't too far, and the weather was cool and very sunny.
The annex used to be an airbase, first for the Royal Bavarian Flying Corps, then the German Luftwaffe, then the US Air Force, then the Luftwaffe again. It's still an operating airstrip, although traffic control is routed through the far larger Munich Airport a few miles away. Among the items on display are the skeletal remains of Germany's first powered aircraft. It was built by the Vollmöller brothers in 1910, but on their second attempt it crashed, killing one of them.
4. On the way back from the museum, I stopped by the castle complex there, and promptly got crazy. This is a complex composed of three palaces, built over a period from 1680 to 1820. I only had time to really visit the 'New' Palace, and the place was, in a word, magnificent. Crazy some of the Wittelsbachs might have been, but they new how to get the most out of their real estate.
The grounds of this place are modeled after the gardens in Versailles and other places, and have very strong regulations. You can't ride a bike there, and you have to keep your dog leashed - so as not to bother the deer. Yes, the place is a game preserve. I didn't see any deer, but there were swans and ducks swimming in the huge ornamental reflecting ponds. Yeah, it's THAT big, folks.
So, once again I did a lot of walking. According to my digital camera, I've shot about 900 images and still have one empty memory card. The next week awaits!
posted by Walt at 11:09 AM
2 Comments:
Damn, I'm getting a serious history lesson here. Not sure about whether I would want to see the stuffed animals though. Not my cup-o-tea.
We do need a rest, I'm getting tired just reading about all the places you've been. I need a nap :)
::Grins:: I forgot to mention in my post that the Hunting and Fishing Museum is housed in what used to be an Augustinian Church, built in 1584. The architecture is one of the main attractions.
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