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Germany: Munich has Beaches
The Isar River flows through Munich. There are many beautiful bridges spanning it. If you get hot while touring, why not take advantage of the many beaches along the shore of the river. There’s even a public bath house which you can use for only 4 Euros. If you get hungry, there’s a cafe there too.
Germany: Munich: Michael Jackson Memorial Here
Michael Jackson wanted to live in Munich in the Hotel Bayerischer Hof. He never got to do it, but the people of Munich have set up a memorial spot to him on the base of a statue of composer Orlande de Lassus (a Renaissance composer) in the grassy median facing the hotel. His loyal fans have put up photos of him and leave flowers, candles and handwritten notes.
Germany: Munich Hotel Bayerischer Hof
The Hotel Bayerischer Hof was opened in 1841 because King Ludwig I wished to have a comfortable place for his guests to stay. (What – no extra rooms in his gi-normous palace?). Today it is still a gorgeous 5-star hotel, but we think the best places are on the roof and in the basement.
Palais Keller, situated in the old salt cellar from the Middle Ages, is an inexpensive but delicious place to dine on traditional Bavarian food. Go down the stone steps to this bustling restaurant with waitresses sporting frilly aprons, carrying big mugs of Lowenbrau beer and wearing big smiles. The folkloric atmosphere only adds to the taste of the veal in cream sauce with spaetzle, potato salad, sauerkraut, bread dumplings, weiswursts and cheese wursts, along with pretzels with mustard.
After you’ve dined head for the roof, to the Blue Spa Bar & Lounge. Have a drink in the sky and take in the birds-eye view of all of Munich before you.
In 1897 Herrmann Volkhardt bought the hotel, and today Innegrit Volkhardt, the fourth generation, is the General Manager. It was bombed in WWII; Falk Volkhardt, the son of Hermann made an amazing discovery under the ruins of the destroyed hotel – the Spiegelsaal (Mirror Hall) had survived almost intact. In October 1945, this was where he opened the first restaurant in the centre of Munich after the war.
Germany: Munich’s Door Handles
When you’re walking around Munich, make sure to notice their great door handles. The city is known for them.
Cosmos Tour: Prague Vienna Budapest – Oktoberfest
Oktoberfest began as a wedding party.
On October 12, 1810, when Crown Prince Ludwig, who later became King Ludwig I, married Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen, all the citizens of Munich were invited to the wedding!
The festivities were held in the fields in front of the city gates. The fields were named Theresienwiese (“Theresa’s meadow”) in honor of the Crown Princess, and have kept that name ever since. Locals have since abbreviated the name simply to “Wiesn” which is what locals call the festival.
Oktoberfest is not a German national event. It is a local Bavarian festival, held in Munich.
Germany: Munich Residenz
The Wittelsbach dynasty ruled the German territories of Bavaria from 1180 to 1918 – that’s 738 years, pretty impressive. Munich Residenz, their former royal palace, is located right in the center of Munich and very much open to the public. After 4 centuries of building it, the giant palace is made up of many styles: late Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo and Neo-Classicism.
Though spartan on the outside, it is very opulent inside. You can tour it for its architecture, over-the-top room decor (130 rooms), and displays from the former royal collections. After WWII, the Cuvilliés Theatre was built into the Festsaalbau wing. You can also catch the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Hercules Hall. In his time, Mozart performed in this palace.
The Treasury houses the jewels of the Wittelsbach dynasty and spans 1,000 years, from the early Middle Ages to Neo-classicism, and includes: crowns, swords, golden objects, rock crystal, ivory, goblets, icons, tableware and toiletries.
The palace suffered huge damages during WWII, but the curators managed to store furnishings, art and details of its architecture in mines. When you are wandering around the 10 
courtyards, see if you can find this fountain with statues of fire, water, earth and air on its corners.
The Wittelsbach family’s head, since 1996, is Franz, Duke of Bavaria, and he still hangs out in Munich. During WWII, the Wittelsbachs were anti-Nazi and were arrested when Franz was 11. He spent time in several Nazi concentration camps. After the war, he studied at the University of Munich and became a collector of modern art. Some of his collection is on loan to the Pinakothek der Moderne Museum (see other post).
Cosmos Tour: Prague Vienna Budapest – BMW in Munich
If you’ve ever wondered what the letters BMW mean it’s for Bavarian Motor Works. You can get your fill of everything BMW by touring the BMW museum, located just outside of Munich.
The blue and white colors and pattern on the car’s emblem are taken right from the Bavarian flag.
Germany: Munich – Jewish Premier of Germany
Kurt Eisner, a Socialist and a Jew became the first Republican Premier of Bavaria. In November 1918, at the end of WWI, Eisner, a socialist journalist and statesman, organized the Socialist Revolution which overthrew the Wittelsbach monarchy in Bavaria. He declared Bavaria to be a free state and republic on November 8, 1918.
His leadership didn’t last long as he was assassinated in Munich when German nationalist Anton Graf von Arco auf Valley shot him in the back on February 21, 1919. After his death the in-fighting amongst left wing parties led to the seeds of the National Socialist Party and the rise of Hitler.
In 1989 a memorial was placed on the sidewalk on the ground at the site of his assassination.
Members of the Wittelsbach family are still alive, still own property in the city and are honored by the people of Munich and are invited to events.
Germany: Munich’s English Garden
The “English Garden”, really the Englischer Garten in Munich is known as one of the largest urban public parks in the world. Believe it or not, it was designed by an American physicist, Sir Benjamin Thompson in 1789.
Born in Woburn, Massachusetts, he served as a Lieutenant-Colonel on the British side during the American Revolutionary War for which he received a knighthood from King George III. He later lived in Germany and became Count Rumford.
Germany: Munich Modern Art Museum
Haus der Deutschen Kunst (“House of Aryan Art”) was the Third Reich’s first monumental structure of Nazi architecture and a showcase for Nazi propag
anda. It opened July 18, 1937 to highlight what the Third Reich regarded as Germany’s finest art. Since Hitler thought Modern Art was crap, he intended this as an edifying contrast to it.
Ironically, since, 2002, it has housed the the National Collection of Modern and Contemporary Arts and is called the Pinakothek der Moderne.
Just to make sure we get it, crowning the top of the building are 20 words written in Yiddish such as “meshiginer or nudnick” – all words relating to the fact he was a fool.