A not so bad day, nothing exciting, but still quite enjoyable to just be out and about. Started off going to the main Munich city square and going into the Frauenkirche – Church of our Lady – if I remember right, last time the church was closed for renovations and was closed off. This time there was still scaffolding going up one of the towers, but you could go in and visit, which is quite neat! There’s a cool footstep sunken into one of the tiles with a neat myth behind it – in images page.

Next, a short distance away is the incredible Michaelskirche – St. Michael’s Church. It’s one I only barely set foot in last time to take 1 picture. This time I did some visiting and long after my last trip to Munich I learned this church has a crypt underneath containing the remains of around 2 dozen members of the Wittelsbach royal family, including the famous and beloved “Fairy Tale King” Ludwig II. It’s a small simple chamber, and no photos were allowed.

I just spent a large part of the day walking around and going in shops, before slowing making my way to the Königsplatz, site of some cool Greek/Roman artifact museums (which I did last time) but there is another one – the National Socialist Documentation Center, which in great detail explains just how the rise of Nazism/ “National Socialist” ideology came into being and how Hitler rose to power after World War 1. Munich is really where it all started, and the town was nicknamed “Hauptstadt der Bewegung” – Capital City of the Movement. Or Birthplace of the Movement. There’s no relics, or artifacts to be seen, it’s merely a bunch of informative panels of text and images, with a very lengthy and descriptive audio guide tour. It’s pretty incredible how it happened (I obviously don’t say that in a good way) but looking at things in the perspective of that time, it really makes you consider what choices people had then. The most interesting thing that you learn a ways into the tour, is that the museum is located in the exact spot of the former “Braunes Haus” – The Nazi Party Headquarters, where Hitler and other high ranking Nazi leaders had offices from 1931 and beyond.

After wandering around some more I finally decided to spend some time wandering Die Wies’n  – Oktoberfest! As it is known locally. The first time I went it was just a quick walkthrough, but tonight I decided to really spend some time and looked at almost everything. Fun! I didn’t do anything though, that’s later.

Let’s go with another German city with a goofy name! Today’s winner is: Karlsruhe – “Charles’ Rest/Calm” From Wikipedia: “According to legend, the name Karlsruhe, which translates as “Charles’ repose”, was given to the new city after a hunting trip when Margrave Charles III William of Baden-Durlach, woke from a dream in which he dreamt of founding his new city. A variation of this story claims that he built the new palace to find peace from his wife. ”

Images here!