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Munich

Munich Clock

Munich Bicycles

The end of our summer 1999 trip is at hand. They day before our return flight we arrive in Munchen (Munich), Germany. Rather than rushing tomorrow from airport to airport, we have a whole day to explore another place we've never been.

At Heathrow I checked our bags through to San Francisco, so Rose and I have only our day-packs with us. This makes travelling on the train from the airport to the center of town a delightful experience. No suitcases or backpacks to drag around. Ahhhhh.

When we arrive in the center of town we exit the train - a pleasant little thing which stops at a half-dozen places on the way - and head upstairs on an escalator. We emerge into hot sunlight and the spray of water from an array of fountains surrounding us. Disgustingly, the next thing we see is an old building converted to modern use by McDonald's. What once would have been a great example of German architecture and flow between spaces public and private is now a series of windows inviting us - in several languages - to eat crap. There are times I'm dissapointed to be a countryman of these pushers of commercial wastes. And people wonder why I shy away from spending my money in chain stores...

Rose is hungry, and we're always in the mood to sample the local wares. Usually I vote for savory and Rose for sweets. This time she won. Rose is especially partial to cookies, pastries, and any other sweets that happen to be around. Basements of supermarkets often have bakeries, and the first one we see is no exception. There's a huge amount of food behind glass. And the staff are so well dressed in their ironed uniforms. This morning's rolls and breads are sold out, but many varieties of cookies, cakes, and sugar-coated crunchies beckon to us. We pick several things we don't recognize, a couple which we do, and some local milk from the cooling case. We pay up and head back up to the street level.

Nibbling on our purchases we wander around the center of town, looking at the architecture and the people (who are stunned at - but enjoying - the nice weather).

These German buildings are, well, German. I know where I am when I see these imposing edifices to (it seems to me) bureaucratic efficiency. Generations and generations of paperwork. Big stone blocks. Somehow it all fits together. (The middle picture is of a fresh fruit and vegetable vendor's cart. I had several sweet, juicy morsels during our stroll.)

Next, we see the most famous big building in the old town, one which boasts an amazing mechanical clockwork.