Munich, Germany

Arrived at the hotel in Munich around 8:30pm and got a good nights sleep. We started the day with the Double Decker bus tour. Easter Monday is a holiday and most everything was closed but it was a good orientation and we quickly figured out we would have a hard time fitting everything worthwhile into our limited time here.

There are 6 stops on the bus tour. We got off on the 5th , at the Marienplatz. The Marienplatz is the lively downtown/city center pedestrian zone. First stop was Weiss Beer Garden where we had beer and sauerbraten. Thanks for the sauerbraten recommendation Susanne!

The new town hall has a glockenspiel show for all the tourists to gawk at. Think of a giant cuckoo clock that has jousters that pop out and move around instead of a little bird. The town hall also has an elevator to the top for a great view of the city. We gladly paid the 2.50 Euros to get to the top and enjoyed the scenic views of the city. Being a holiday, there were tons of tourists and activities going on…. Live classical bands, street performers, etc. We checked it out and enjoyed the festive atmosphere.

I had heard the best way to see the English Garden (the largest city park in the world) was on a bike. They say over 100,000 people show up on a warm sunny day. So we found a rental shop and got a couple of bikes and made it 100,002. The park is beautiful and has two large beer gardens right in the middle, perfect places for a pit stop on the route. It was a beautiful sunny day and the whole city seemed to be out enjoying the unseasonably warm weather. The river runs right through the park and forms a small lake where you can rent paddle boats. Right next to it is the beer garden where you can drink beer under the chestnut trees or out in the sun next to the lake. We did it both ways.

Next stop was the 6,000 seat Chinese tower beer garden. They had a live band performing and plenty of food (including fish on a stick) which would have been a nice change from sausage and pork knuckles but I couldn’t’t convince Melissa to go for the whole fish (head and beady eyes) grilled on a stick. The real fun seemed to be out in the park. Everywhere you looked there were large gatherings… soccer games, kite flying, sun bathers, sleepers, couples making out, and much more!

Final stop in the park was to watch the surfers. There a place in the river where the fast flowing water creates a natural wave. Surfers in wet suits take turns riding it. Some are better than others, but it sure looks cool and was it is hard to not stay and watch for a while!

After dropping off the bikes, we went for a traditional German dinner at Augustiner Beer Garden. I got the mixed platter that has duck, pork, and sausage and had an apple strudel for dessert. Melissa asked for a salad (or really just lettuce) and picked from my plate of food. She’s not thrilled with the German food yet.

The whole city seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed their day off and we were glad to be a part.