Munich 11/29

After a wonderfully exhausting day in Fussen, I decided to extend my weekend in Bavaria into Monday. Rather than take a night train departing around 7 PM, I opted instead to take my time in Munich, get a good night's sleep, and catch the first train to Metz in the morning.

New City Hall at Marienplatz

I was up comfortably early Sunday morning, and, armed with a tourist map, I strode into the old city in search of, not surprisingly, churches. As I came through the heavily commercialized pedestrian streets, I first found the Marienplatz. Here, in the literal and figurative shadow of the new city hall buildings, christmas market booths bustled. I moved on to the Max-Joseph, snapped some photos, and inspected a church that, according to Let's Go, had a tower with an excellent view of the city. Mass was in progress inside the Theatinerkirche and the sweet singing of the choir persuaded me to take a seat for a minute. I ended up staying for the entire mass, which had apparently just begun as I arrived. The sermon was completely lost on me, but I enjoyed the choir, and it felt good to be back in church. I didn't take any pictures, but the interior, was tall and well-lit, but austere and white-washed.

Theatinerkirche (Theatine church)

Small square off of Max-Joseph Platz. Buildings are part of Munich's Residenz.

Next I checked out the Residenz, a palace whose first phase was begun in 1385. The seat of the Bavarian monarchs whose power fluctuated heavily over the years, the massive Residenz was in many ways reminiscent of the palace at Versailles, with lavish appointments at every turn. The Residenz was heavily damaged in WWII, but restoration, completed in 1980, made it difficult to distinguish the original rooms from the restored ones.

One of the palace's simpler rooms

The Residenz's oldest room, the Antiquarium, was originally designed to display antiques, but surely held a few fish as well once it was converted to a dining hall in the 16th century

On display in the antiquarium, this display case of beautiful china holds mint condition plates bearing Munich's blue and white colors and images of the city's mascot, the lion


The ceiling of this room is painted to create an optical illusion of a lofty vaulted roof, but the illusion is effective only when viewed from the very center of the room. Look closely at this picture.


This treasury room contains many relics. The skulls and hands contained in various golden bejeweled monstrances are allegedly those of saints. Relics were considered more valuable than gold during the height of Papal power, so monarchs sought to collect and display them.

Steeds of Neptune - Walter Crane - Neue Pinakothek

Next I visited Munich's solid museums - Althe Pinakothek and Neue Pinakothek. The Althe held classical paintings, that were, to me at least, forgettable. There was a Rubens exhibition taking place that reinforced my impression from my Amsterdam trip that Rubens' art is bland and overappreciated. My time would probably have better spent at Pinakothek der Moderne, a modern art museum. The Neue Pinakothek was more my style, featuring artists like Van Gogh, virtually the entire impressionist clan as well as sculptures by Rodin.

It was getting late, but there was still one interesting place open. I made my way by metro to the olympicpark area. The BMW museum was open, but nearly empty. The cashier explained that everyone gets the student discount at this late hour.

Ice-climbing wall outside the BMW plant

Here's a brief history of the BMW company as I remember it: BMW first made airplane engines in the early 20th century, then moved into motorcycles, was a war-manufacturer employing concentration camp labor in WWII, and was eventually allowed to restart operations years after the war.

Early BMW airplane engine



One of their first motorcycles

Feast for the engineering eye

Side view

BMW's foray into jet engines

A quirky, popular 1950's BMW Isetta

My favorite room of the museum, where each engine's corresponding set of headphones played the sound of the engine going 0-60.

Race car and concept car

Single-person flier ....

Its wing looks like a windsurfing sail to me

BMW plant with TV tower in background

The BMW museum, despite its attempts at high-tech interactive exhibits, catered to the car and company enthusiasts, more than the casual observer like myself. A friend explained later, that the plant tour, unavailable on weekends, was the highlight of his visit to BMW world.

I took a metro back to the city center, where I ate dinner at the Augustiner beer hall. I ordered Roast Pork knuckle from an english menu, and, for my first time in Europe, had my age questioned after ordering a beer. The pork knuckle was the heaviest meal I had had yet. I could feel each bite slide slowly into my stomach. The side of potato dumpling was visually appealing, but as physically painful as the pork, and certainly less tasty. This was one of the few meals I did not finish during my semester.

Füssen 11/28

View from the train

I left mid-day Friday, connecting trains a few times on my way to Munich. I was there for Oktoberfest in early November, but spent my entire day at the 'Fest grounds. The plan for this trip was to take a daytrip to Füssen, a town at the foot of the alps, and spend another day in Munich. I arrived in Munich Friday evening, and settled in at the hostel bar where I met Ian, a transplant Brit who was living near Füssen. Ian and I chatted a while - he explained his dislike of Brits, Americans, and big cities, all of which he was surrounded by at the moment. I met some girls from Vermont and New Hampshire, and later spotted a familiar face at a table nearby. On closer inspection, it was Heath, one of the Americans I had partied with in Marseille. I said hello, but it looked like he was in tears, as he sat opposite a girl who might well have been his now ex-girlfriend. It was quite a coincidence; I even texted Sohail, my companion on the Marseille trip to tell him about it.

After what turned into a few hours at the bar, I went to sleep, but my alarm was not loud enough to wake me up on time for my 6:15 AM train. I happened to wake up at 6:35, checked alternate train times, and sprinted the short distance to the station to make a 6:51 train. Not bad, I thought.

The ride to Füssen, the latter half at least, was stunning. A carpet of magic green countryside and clusters of red-roofed villages rolled out a welcome mat to the alps behind. I switched sides at every turn, marvelling at the magnificent views. I pitied the tourist across the aisle, about my age, who was sleeping soundly, while the ride had the opposite effect on me.

View from the train

Füssen, located five kilometers from the Austrian border in southern Germany, is situated near the Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau Castles, both mouthful names that I still can't pronounce. The picturesque village was the shooting location for many scenes from "The Great Escape" including the motorcycle stunts. I paid for admission to Neuschwanstein, which included a brief guided tour. The castle is located on a hillside overlooking Füssen, and the countryside beyond, with views of the alps in the opposite direction. Constructed relatively recently under King Ludwig II in the 1800's, Neuschwanstein, was designed as a soaring tribute to the German composer Wagner and his operas. One passageway was a dramatic cave, with stalagtites hanging from the ceiling. "Was this meant to be left natural like this or is this an unfinished room?" I asked the tour-guide, envisioning the cave as part of the original rock foundation. "That's wood and molding - it's part of the scenery." At least she didn't laugh at my momentary brain lapse.

Neuschwanstein, Hohenschwangau Castles

The sun never quite rose above the alps to shine light on the area around the castles

Hohenschwangau Castle

View of Schwangau village from Neuschwanstein

One of the rooms - the throne room I believe - was one of the most beautiful rooms I've ever seen. Photos were forbidden, but I would have taken one had there been enough light. The view, the architecture, and the incredible artwork on the walls left an impression on me, although my mental visual image has already begun to fade.

The king's bedroom was impressive as well. It featured a bed that I found unusual because it was built into the corner of the room, rather than centered on a wall and sticking out into the room. It was probably a function of limited space, though. The truly remarkable aspect was the carving done above the bed - ornate cathedrals topped the bed's canopy. It took four carvers fourteen years, or fourteen carvers four years (not sure which) to decorate the bedroom alone.

Most of the castle was unfinished. King Ludwig died prematurely in 1886, drowned in inches of water along with his psychologist. The castle was soon after opened as a museum to pay Bavaria's debts. The tour was thus brief, and at noon, I was back outside, ready to head up into the mountains behind the castle.

Neuschwanstein Castle

View of manmade snowmelt-fed lake from just below Neuschwanstein

While Fussen is a popular tourist destination, I would not have considered it if it weren't for a few other GTL students who made the trip in September. They enticed me with stories of hiking. Just as my friends and I got caught on the mountain at nightfall in Interlaken, Switzerland, this group summited near Fussen at 9:30 PM. They made a harrowing descent in pitch-black, and lived to tell the tale. So I planned to hike in Fussen with a wary eye on my watch.

View from the Hike

The hiking was no joke. The slopes were near vertical, and the trails switchbacked frequently, weaving between shear rock faces. Thankfully, there were other hikers around in case I misstepped, which seemed both possible and dangerous on the Fussen trails. The route was supposed to take 3 hours one-way, but I decided to set a turn-around time to make my return before sunset. The round-trip ended up being 3 hours, as I moved quickly and took limited breaks. I turned around at the Tegelbergbahn tram station, which serves one massive ski trail in the winter. The views the whole way were incredible, and I enjoyed every minute of the hike.

These could be spliced into a panorama, but paint, my only option, really isn't the proper application for the job

Back at the bottom, I just missed the last tour for the Hohenschwangau Castle. I walked 2km to the nearby village of Schwangau, where I checked out a ski shop, bought some fruit and chocolate at a grocery store, and eventually found a bus to Fussen. It was too bad that night had fallen to obstruct views of the countryside on the train ride back to Munich, but I got some much-needed sleep instead. As I got off the train, I glanced at my phone to see if Sohail had texted me back. Instead I found my outbox entirely full of text messages to AJ, the first contact in my phone. The phone had been sending messages while I was hiking, my thigh pushing the buttons. All 40 of them read "Just bumped into Heath."

Praha 11/21

Phil and I had a comfortable hostel stay. I made efficient use of the breakfast, stuffing down multiple sandwiches along with bowls of cereal and eggs. We rode the subway to join the rest of Prague's tourists at the Prague Castle. Built on top of a hill overlooking the city, the castle would have offered excellent views if it weren't for the haze. We took some photos anyway.

We entered the castle area, passing by two unflinching Czech military guards that reminiscent of Buckingham Palace guards. We purchased tickets that allowed us into a well-preserved civilian section of the "Castle" called Golden Lane. In retrospect, the 70,000 square meter Prague Castle did not resemble a traditional medieval castle, but rather a tightly spaced old town surrounding a spectacular cathedral. On display in Golden Lane building were chainmail and suits of armor.

I was particularly interested in this window. The slot, I believe, is for shooting arrows. The cylindrical piece of wood can be rotated to close the window entirely. We inspected a prison tower, then moved into the religious section of the castle.

St. George's Basilica

St. George's Basilica was founded in 920, although it has surely been rebuilt since then. It was one of the many Prague churches and concerthalls hosting daily classical concerts. Facing the Basilica was the glorious St. Vitus Cathedral.

St. Vitus Cathedral

With my back against a nearby building, I still could not photograph the entire cathedral. The Cathedral was founded in 1344, and here lie many Bohemian kings.

Interior of St. Vitus

Next we toured the Old Royal Palace. Photos were prohibited, but I took some non-flash stealth shots. From the Castle grounds, we walked into the city center, crossing the Charles Bridge in the process. It is one of the more elaborate old bridges in the world, decorated every 50 feet or so with a religious sculpture of some sort. It had some more modern relevance to me, as the site of scenes in the movie Mission: Impossible. I had the strange urge to give a Mission: Impossible tour. "This is the Charles Bridge where IMF agent Jim Phelps faked his own death and dove into the Charles River. Here is the parking lot where Claire Phelps' car exploded, but she was not inside at the time. This is the gate where the diplomat carrying the fake NOC list was stabbed." Okay, I didn't find the gate, but seeing the Charles Bridge, and enjoying the view of the city amidst the many vendors and strolling people was a pleasure.

Charles Bridge

Crucifixion on Charles Bridge

Concert hall of some sort

Phil and I took a breather on the steps of this concert hall, then made our way into the heart of Prague - at least the commercial and tourist heart.

Old Town Square

Christmas Carolers

There was a choir performing in a busy pedestrian area. It was an elaborate setup with TV cameras and professional lighting. There was even a light inside a tethered balloon floating 30 feet in the air. The carolers were excellent, singing Latin hymns as well as some more popular music - I definitely heard Hakuna Matata from the Lion King. Hearing Christmas music left me a bit homesick, possibly for the first time since arriving in France.

Later that night, Phil and I spent happy hour at the dirt cheap hostel bar, enjoying Pilsener Urquell, Budweiser Budvar, and other excellent Czech beers with some older traveling Brits and ex-pat Americans. After a game of Kings and some various others, Phil and I ate dinner, then returned to the hostel briefly. A friend of mine from Westport, Sean Soderstrom, was in Prague and I made plans to meet him across town. I dragged Phil along, but we left without a map and soon we were hopelessly lost on the trams. After an hour and a half of tram-riding, we were back where we started and decided to call it quits.

Kutna Hora 11/22

Dun Dun Dunnnnnn!!!!!

The main draw for tourists in Kutna Hora is the Sedlec Ossuary, meaning bone repository. Phil and I left Prague in the morning for a quick train ride to Kutna Hora. Our first stop was the Sedlec Ossuary, a chapel, cemetery and ossuary, where we inspected the finest human skeletal art on the planet. There were four vaults of neatly arranged bones as well as a variety of other bone artwork. The crown jewel was a chandelier incorporating at each bone in the human body at least once. In medieval times, the land around the church was believed to be blessed on account of the sprinkling of sacred earth transported from holy lands by the monastery's abbot. Burial there was highly sought after and, especially after the plague, the cemetery became packed. When the chapel was built, the bones from excavated mass graves were piled beneath the chapel. In the late 1800's a local woodcarver was given the task of arranging the boneneatly, and he took some interesting liberties.

Me with bone chandelier


Coat of Arms

While we came for the bone church, we soon discovered that the town itself was a gem. The ossuary was on the outskirts, so we trekked into town past the soviet-era apartment buildings and into the old quarter. We were rewarded with incredible views of the sun setting behind old buildings and another incredible cathedral signifying the city's one-time importance.

Church of St. James

My photos don't do this view justice

St. Barbara Cathedral

Golden at sunset

We wandered through the old town, up to the St. Barbara Cathedral on the outskirts where we lingered taking photos in spurts as the sun peeked out now and then from behind a cloud. In town we had a delicious Italian dinner for half the cost of what we would have paid in countries further west. Eventually we made our way to the central train station where a two-car gas-powered train took us to Kutna Hora's main rail stop. Then it was on to Prague and an overnight train back to Metz.