One week break...Germany

Munich, Germany:

I was so excited to finally get to go to Germany. It was such a relief to leave Poland becaue the morale of our group seemed to be down after visitng the horrific scenes at the concentration camps. It was tie for us to experience yet another plac that was out of our comfort zones!

We arrived in Munich, and immediately I felt uplifted. The city was so beautiful and modern, and not to mention but I was thankful and happy that I could understand what people were saying(as I had taken 5 years of German in highschool).

For the next few days on our trip we toured and explored Munich. Our hostel told us about a free tour that goes on everyday in which they walk you around the town and tell you important historical information about the town. We decided that it seemed like a good idea, and I was very thankful we did. We learned so much from this tour as well as became very familiar with our new “home” for the next four days. We got to see the infamous Glockenspiel in Marienplatz, the Frauenkirche or the church known to be made by the devil himself, and the Hofbrauhaus, which besides being a beer hall, is home to some important phases of Hitler’s political reign.

Glockenspiel



Theatinerkirche

 I learned the most about the Frauenkirche on this little tour that we attended.  I think this was because the story/folk lore that goes with the church.  The Frauenkirche is probably the best known symbol of Munich and is often times seen on many postcards. So whats the big deal with this church? Well let me start by giving you some details about how it began. The Frauenkirche was originally a romanesque church in the 12th century which was later redone in 1468.


Frauenkirche



portals of the Frauenkirche

In 1468, an architect known as Halsbach came up with a new plan of the church. He had plans to turn the chuch into a late Gothic red brick building that had chapels surrounding the apse of the church. The original design of the Frauenkirche was to have pointed spires on the top of thedomes, but since money ran out it never happened. They even had to ask for some help from Pope Sixtus IV in order to complete this church. Finally in 1488, the church was completed. It only took them 20 years! That is quite the impressive task. In 1525, Renaissance domes were added in place of the pointed spires on top of the towers. The architype for these domes came from the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. 



domes of Frauenkirche--orginally supposed to be spires

The interior of the church has a very long Gothic nave which was originally done to meet the requirements of the counter-reformation by using Baroque elements--which were later removed during the 19th century when the church was promoted to a cathedral.  Now the interior has collections of art from many famous artists such as Jan Polack and Erasmus Grasser and several spectacular stained glass windows.

Now comes the fun part of the story of this cathedral.  Originally it was believed that builder Halsbach was visited by the devil who wanted him to build a church with no windows.  Some sort of demonic church.  If he built the church the way he wanted, he would fund the entire project, so Halsbach agreed. 
However, the builder tricked the devil by correctly positioning the columns so that the windows were not visible making it appear as though it had no light.  The devil found out and was outraged that the builder would lie to him! However, since the church was consecrated, the devil was not allowed to enter, instead he was forced to sit in the entry and violently stomp his foot, which can be seen today in the floor of the church.


The devil's footprint



After the Frauenkirche we walked around more and got to learn about some other important buildings and historical facts about Munich.  However, I was more excited to try some traditional Bavarian meals! Being of German decent I was extremely excited to be here. You couldn’t go to Germany without experiencing their culture. And so I and my travel mates were off to find us some good eating! We came to a small authentic Bavarian restaurant and had the most amazing meal of our lives! The mini bratwursts were so delicious, and the sauerkraut was the best I’ve ever had! Above all that, I was stuffed! Those Germans show do know how to eat and make sure you are full and happy! 

so delicious--we went back twice to this restaurant!

Neuschwanstein Castle

  
After our delicious meal we went back out on the town and explored. As we were walking around Munich I began to realize that beer was a main staple of their daily lives. Everywhere you went you either saw someone with a beer in their hand or you had pubs or beer halls on every corner! We later were informed on another tour by our tour guide that beer is a main staple and is in fact classified as “an essential part of life and is in the food group category”, thus walking around in Munich with an open beer in your hand is completely acceptable. I found that to be very strange and still can’t seem to grasp my mind around it.



mmmm....so good!



The rest of our stay in Munich consisted of several more tours and sight seeing. I even made a day for myself which ended up being one of the best days on my travels.  I left my group and decided to go see some art museums.  I went to the Alte Pinakothek, Neue Pinakothek and Moderne Pinakothek.  It was AMAZING! I was so glad that I decided to take the time on a dreary day to go check out what Germany had to offer in the arts. 



Lovis Corinth



Da Vinci



By going here by myself, I was able to just enjoy and take my time.  I was able to appreciate the art so much more than constantly having to make sure the others I were with were entertained.  The best part of this had to be that I gained a knowledge for three new artists.  I realized that I loved Georg Baselitz, Lovis Corinth and Kathe Kollwitz, all of them German artists.  I love how all of them use emotions to describe and create their work, something that I myself try to capture. 

Overall, Munich is a very beautiful city and I enjoyed my stay here very much. It was by far my favorite trip I’ve been on up to this point. What I find even more ironic was how originally when we had planned our one week break we took Germany out of the schedule, thinking we didn’t want to really go there and had nothing to do there! Therefore I am extremely grateful that we decided to travel to Germany, and in fact wouldn’t have minded spending less time in Poland.  I would tell anyone to go and experience Munich and all it has to offer, it is extremely beautiful, but I offer them a bit of advice. Be sure to bring a hearty appetite for traditional Bavarian cuisine as well as for their beer. It is everywhere and there is no way around it!