Today we went on a tour of Munich. It was really neat, because the tour was free and given by a Canadian. There is a company giving free city tours and then they offer specialized tours that they charge for. Our guide was Kristen from Montreal and she was lots of fun. We started the day at Marianplatz and the glockenspiel as we watched the wedding, jousting, and then the plague performances. Here's the youtube link to see the show -
Basically we learned that Munich is all about beer! Kristen shared stories about how the city grew from the profits of beer and it was linked to the church too. The beer was made by the monks so it's all kind of funny that the church supported all of the alcohol and received a good share of the tax money too!
There was also lots of information on Hitler and the rise of the Nazi party. It was really sad, but when you think that the Nazi's only lasted 12 years and there is so much other great history to celebrate – that should be our focus.
At the end of the tour we went to the Munich Marionette theatre where we watched a really sweet show called “Little Mouse” The sets and puppets were amazing and we made friends with some of the little children who attended the show. The girls really enjoyed it...of course, Oliver translated, but the girls were able to get the jest of the play even if it was in German.
Afterwards, we walked up the tower of Saint Peter's, or Old Peter, as once again Zoe led us up the stairs to the top. We happened to be at the top when the bells struck marking the hour. The whole tower shook and swayed slightly so it was lots of fun and excitement.
Then we went to the biergarten and had sausages, sauerkraut, potato salad and beer. Oliver was celebrating his German heritage. All I can say is that I'm glad he didn't wear the leiderhosen and carry a curved walking stick – Kristen shared the reason why the men wear them and how they use the stick so they don't have to leave the beer hall to use the wC.
Then it was Mik's turn for a treat and she selected ice cream...which was perfect for the sunny day that we had enjoyed.
Just as we were about to leave Marianplatz and return to the hotel, there was this fantastic band that started playing classical music with jazzy tones. We all totally loved it, and Mik was so enthralled that she decided to use her birthday Euros to purchase their CD as a souvenir. We all enjoyed it!
So we packed up and off we went to Athens Greece early in the morning. We've had such a great time in Germany and have learned so much. The girls continue to collect their pins and we are trying to continue the collection in Greece.
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