Munich

In German, "Munich" is "München", which means "Monks". The earliest history of the city dates back to being founded as a Monastery, hence the name. Munich has many sites and facts of interest. It is popular with tourists in the late fall for being the epicenter of "Oktoberfest". It is the capital city of the state of Bavaria ("Bayern" in German), and was home to many members of the Wittelsbach family (the ruling royal family of Bavaria). It was also here in 1923 that Hitler and some of his cronies launched the "Beer Hall Putsch", where he attempted to overthrow the government of Bavaria by force. The revolt was a dismal failure and landed Hitler and a number of his comrades in Landesberg prison, where he wrote his infamous Magnum Opus Mein Kampf. After that he decided to try to gain power at the ballot box.

We were there in mid-September, just days before Oktoberfest was to begin. Maybe this was something we should have seen, but at the same time being surrounded by thousands of soused beer drinkers (including a lot of British and other European youngsters who can come over on the cheap) isn't something that is altogether appealing. However, as you can see below, I did get to sample some of the famous beer and "Gemütlichkeit" (good cheer) at what is no doubt the most famous beer hall in the world, the Munich Hofbräuhaus!

Here are several good web sites with more info on Munich. Now on to the photos!

Some Dinner Music	Hofbräuhaus Musicians	Ein Prosit der Gemütlichkeit	Glockenspiel Players	Nymphenburg Palace
Nymphenburg grounds	Nymphenburg swan	Mom & me closeup	me @ Nymphenburg	Nationaltheater
anime is everywhere!	New Town Hall interior	New Town Hall gallery	Marienplatz - St. Mary's Column	Column closeup
Old Town Hall	New Town Hall facade	Glockenspiel tower	me @ Glockenspiel	Town Hall inscriptions 1
Town Hall inscriptions 2	Town Hall inscriptions 3	Munich Partner Cities	Site of 20th Olympiad	Holocaust memorial