We couldn't pass up a trip with the Palmers, a great couple we met on one of our assignments to Manheim, Germany. We took an instant liking to them and when they decided to go to Munich, they invited us along. What a great place to see. It has lots of history to discover and beautiful scenery to see, because it is near to the Bavarian Alps. They drove, which made it even nicer for us.
First stop on our trip was Munich to see the Christmas Markt. We rented two rooms in a cozy little Bread & Breakfast called the Edelweis Hotel, left our luggage and toured the marketplatz. It was great. Not as big as Nurnburg last year, but just as exciting. They had an unusual looking Rathaus that we couldn't see very well at night but it was beautifully lit. We decided to go back tomorrow during the day to get a better look.
Munich is exciting because of its history. It is the capitol of Bavaria and North of the Bavarian Alps. The Monks of the Benedictine order founded the city in 1158. In 2010, Monocle ranked Munich as the worlds most livable city. During the 16th Century, Munich was the Center of the German Counter Reformation. The Marienplatz is considered the center of town and that is where the Christmas Markt took up most of the streets. If you love hand carved statues, especially Creches, you will love this place. Almost every store is owned by a Holtzscheider (wood carver). Beautiful work everywhere. Lights were strung from tree to tree up and down the main roads. Lots of booths filled with hand made articals. We loved our time there. Took a picture of the brats, we have to remember the good brats with potato latkas and sauerkraut.
The huge Rathaus looks more like a church than a government building. This is where the Nazi party first began, but was put down in 1923. In 1933 it became once again a Nazi stronghold. In 1972 it was the site of the winter Olympics.
Since I am writing this now after being home from our misson for 10 months, my memory has faded from my immediate feelings of our adventure but looking back over the pictures I do remember the following. The Christmas Mart had such a warm cozy feeling to it. The food was fabulous and the warm kinder punch was warm and comforting on that cold night. I suggested eating fish while everyone else had brats, finding out later, that they were allergic to fish. My bad. I guess they had to smell my fish all during the dinner. We walked around where everything was decorated with color. Lots of homemade items and Christmas ornaments galore.
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