Day 3 recap

The intinaray for the day was as follows:

1) Bus to Speyer for another Cathedral tour

2) Bus back to Heidelberg for a boat ride up the Neckar to Neckarsteinach, Germany, with Neckar River Tours. The Neckar is a major tributary of the River Rhine. Rising in the Black Forest, it flows through a steep valley in the Odenwald hills and passes through Tubingen, Nurtingen, Esslingen, Stuttgart, and Heidelberg. The total length of the Neckar from its source near Villingen-Schwenningen to the Rhine is 367 km. The Neckar is navigable for cargo ships up to the river port of Plochingen, about 200 km upstream from Mannheim.

3) Lunch in Neckarsteinach – town with 4 castles and 2 churches
4) Free time in Heidelberg  for shopping on the Fussgängerzone (Pedistrian zone)
5) Dinner at The Schnitzelhaus. You can choose from over 100 types of schnitzel.

I don't know if that is what the group did as 3 of decided to head to Munich for Oktoberfest. I mean how can you not be in Germany during Oktoberfest and not go!  Octoberfest in the USA is not celebrated for the same reasons as it is in Germany. The USA version seems to be celebration for of the arrival of fall and for the harvest. However, it is actually a weeding anniversary celebration. Crown Prince Ludwig was married to Princess Therese on 12th October 1810. The citizens of Munich were invited to attend the festivities held on the fields in front of the city gates to celebrate the happy royal event. The festival is actually know as Volksfest by the locals.The Volksfest is held on fields that are named Theresienwiese ("Theresa's meadow") in honor of the Crown Princess. We were told that the population of Munich swells by 1.2 million people during this time. 1.2 million!  That's a ton of beer drinking people!! And the chaos that happens. Some embassies set-up temporary tents to assist people who lose their passports. The Aussies lost 15000 passports alone one year according to legend. The picture below is of Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese.

So, we departed for Munich via train early in the morning. We will catch up with the group again in Trier Germany tomorrow evening.  The train is a main mode of transportation for many people. It offers a fast and affordable means of travel. We arrived in Munich and headed over to Mikes' Bike Tours for a 4 hour tour. Riding bikes and drinking beer in a major city in a foreign country? What's not to like about it!?!

The bike tour took us through many of the major sites in Munich. The flag above carries the colors of Munich. Black and yellow. Sounds like a Wiz Kalif song... We started out the tour by heading to the Hofbrauhaus. The Hofbräuhaus am Platzl, Munich’s famous “hofbrauhaus” was founded in 1589 by the Duke of Bavaria, Wilhelm V. It is owned by the state government. It is one of Munich’s oldest beer halls. It was originally founded as the brewery to the old Royal Residence, which at that time was situated just around the corner from where the beer hall stands today. The beer quickly became world famous thanks to the first brewer, Heimeran Pongratz. In fact, the beer became so famous that it once saved the city from annihilation. When King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden invaded Bavaria during the Thirty Years’ War in 1632, he threatened to sack and burn the entire city of Munich. He agreed to leave the city in peace if the citizens surrendered some hostages, and 600,000 barrels of Hofbräuhaus beer. The Hofbräuhaus in Munich was one of the beer halls used by the Nazi's to declare policies and hold functions. Hitler’s experiences with the Hofbräuhaus were limited to political events and the commemorations. Since Hitler did not drink alcohol, eat red meat, or smoke, the beer hall was not his scene. That explains a lot…

 

Next up, was the Residenz of Prince Ludwid and Princess Therese and the National Theater of Munich. Followed by Odeons Platz. Odeons Platz is a very historical place. We are familar with this area from the new reel footage of Hitler's speeches and military parades that occurred there. The Odeonsplatz is also the southern initial point of the Ludwigstaße. The top picture below looks down the street.

At the end, of this street is Feldherrnhalle(Hall of Heroes).  I recognized this from pictures and footage from history. It is a massive monument. 

On the west side of the Odeonsplatz is the copper-domed Theatinerkirche or Theatiner Church. It is also known as St. Cajetan's Church. The outside has a mustard color. It is large and slightly impressive....on the outside. The inside however is immense and impressive. It is white marble. It was very beautiful. The locals call it the "white church". It was incredible.

During the Nazi era, Munich residents were required to do a Nazi salute as they passed a shrine to fallen heroes of Nazi movement. This was on the east side of the Feldherrnhalle along the street.  Those who did not want to give a salute to the fallen heroes would use Viscardigasse, a back alley which was nicknamed "Evaders' Alley" which located behind the Feldherrnhalle. The SS made note of those who would not pass in front of the shrine and punish them. There is a streak of copper colored cobblestones to recognize those who were killed by the SS for resisting this practice.

 

 We headed to the Saatskanzlei. It is the Bavarian state chancellery. The photo below shows sharpnel damage from WWII on the columns.  At the end, of this complex was a monument to the White Rose. The white rose was a non-violent/intellectual resistance group consisting of students from the University of Munich and their philosophy professor. The group became known for an anonymous leaflet campaign that called for active opposition to Hitler’s regime.  The six core members of the group were arrested by the Gestapo and they were executed face up by the guillotine. The text of their sixth leaflet was smuggled out of Germanyand in July 1943 copies of it were dropped over Germany by the Allies. Today, the members of the White Rose are honored in Germany amongst its greatest heroes, since they opposed the Third Reich in the face of death.

Finally, we moved to the English Garden and the Chinese Turn (tower).  The Chinese Tower is a pagoda that was built in 1789. The area around the tower is one of Munich's most popular beer gardens. An om-pah  band was playing from the first floor of the tower. It was awesome. And so commenced the beer drinking!