Cyclist Paul's Travels: Munich, Germany

Munich ranks as one of my favorite cities in the world. Every year, for the past 13 years, Heidy and I take a trip to visit her now 90 year-old aunt near Munich. We just returned and I don’t have any photos of the usual Munich touristy places (royal palaces, churches, picturesque plazas, beer halls etc.) as I’ve taken so many of those over the years. I do however never get tired of snapping a photo of Munich’s spectacular Rathaus (city hall) building—as it looks like a gothic church.

Remember the famous Michael Jackson incident shown around the world with Michael dangling his baby outside a hotel window in Munich? Well, since Jackson’s death fanatical (looney) fans have taken over a statue (of someone else!) located in a small park in front of the hotel and made a shrine. The next several photos show some of the crap left there. Wouldn’t you be furious if that statue was of a family member of yours and was high jacked for use as a shrine to someone else? I sure would. Oh, and the statue is of who? Why it’s none other than King Ludwig II, who’s responsible for spectacular Neuschwanstein Castle being built---that’s the castle Walt Disney used as a model for the life-size one at Disneyland’s entrance.

The next photo (white man statue) was snapped walking down a Munich side street and spotting it in the rear of an office/apartment building.

Beer gardens are everywhere as Bavarians love to sit outside and drink beer. Some beer gardens are gigantic. Going for a walk in a residential area near our hotel I came across the head office/brewery/restaurant/beer garden complex for Paulaner beer, the eighth biggest beer maker in Germany. (four photos) Their huge restaurant easily seats 400 with the beer garden looking like it could accommodate a thousand.