Patti World

Day 3: Brugmans’ bike ride through Munich

Today started late because I let John sleep in a bit. Our scheduled bike tour didn’t begin until 10:40, so there was plenty of time. We usually just do our own thing, but this time, with the slight language barrier and completely unfamiliar terrain, we thought it would be fun to hear the stories from a local.

This is what’s left of the base of the Nazi Temples on either side of the huge arena across from the city gate, the space between creating a grand marching area to show off Nazi strength. This area got special attention from the Allies, bombed to smithereens except for these few stones. 

The bike tour was my idea. We arrived at Marian Platz, under the glockenspiel, well ahead of time because there was no set place and Marian Platz is enormous. Our guide, Wolfgang (no kidding), was easy to find, delightful, and mostly fluent. His first order of business was to make sure the 8 of us had what we needed, which meant fitting us with bicycles. For that, we had to walk through the plaza, under the old government building (rebuilt after the war), and down a few streets. (The old government building looks new, and the new government building looks old. Confusing, but true.) 

Wolfgang is showing us the most medieval building in Munich, rebuilt after the war. It is the Bavarian mint where money for this area was created. 

The bikes were one-speed, heavy bikes that were only good for flat terrain. We each picked one, adjusted the seats, and started riding around the area. I found that despite my years and years of bike riding, I had forgotten how to ride a bike! I could barely get up on it, had to run to get it started, nearly crashed, scared a man coming out of a shop, and rode with a beginner wobble. John was up and riding in circles in one minute, while I was wondering which arm I was going to break. Luckily, what they say is true, and in 10 minutes I was ready to go. One lady, however, was not. She waved her friends goodbye and sat down on a bench while we rode off down cobblestone alleyways, past great historical sites, and familiar bars. 

One of our first stops was at the Hopbrauhaus for a look around and our first potty stop. Wolfgang assigned John as the last rider to catch the slow ones and keep us all together. I tried to stay up front where beginners should be, but quickly fell to the back. Wolfgang was a perfect guide. We rode for 2-3 minutes, stopped for 5, then on again. 

The Residenz is where Napoleon actually lived for 8 months after making a deal with the province that they would provide 35,000 men for his army. The building, rebuilt, is not as detailed as it looks. All that color has been painted in the style of Tromp L’oeil, and very nicely done.
This is what’s left of the base of the Nazi Temples on either side of the huge arena across from the city gate, the space between creating a grand marching area to show off Nazi strength. This area got special attention from the Allies, bombed to smithereens except for these few stones. 

Nearing the end of our tour, we reached the English Garden. The tiny squiggle in the top left corner is all that we’ve done so far. The rest is the giant garden. It would take us days to see it all at this rate, so we stopped here and split a sandwich and a beer. A jolly good time.

What we all really wanted to see was the surfing. Yes, surfing in the park —and this is the way it’s done, almost. Mostly, we watched failed attempts, but still… great fun!

Back in the plaza, we did a bit of window shopping and shared a very traditional dinner of sausages and kraut. Yum.

Finally, a little dancing before bed? Not really, but the dancers on the maypole near our hotel are doing the Schuhplattler, a hopping dance where you slap the bottom of your shoe on every hop. More surprises tomorrow. Good night.