Ahh, the weekend. A wonderful time to sleep in until leaving the hotel at 9:20 to go on one of the most epic adventures known to man: spending the whole day in the capital of Bavaria itself.
The train ride from Haunstetterstraße Train Station to Munich was very smooth and comfortable. This is the second time I’ve visited this amazing city, so I was really excited to be back and revisit some of the most famous tourist spots, such as the Glockenspiel, Viktualienmarkt, Hofbräuhaus, and the National Theater on our guided walking tour. A ton of festivities took place throughout the city today: the inhabitants celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Patrona Bavariae. I saw that they were even giving out free (carbonated) water! Crowds of people were dressed in traditional Bavarian clothing and religious cloaks, and they held flags and musical instruments as they paraded down the streets. During the tour, I was able to watch the historic Willy-Wonka-esque Glockenspiel show twice; I had seen it once last year, and it’s definitely a unique experience.
Following the tour, I walked up approximately 300 stairs to the very top of St. Peter’s Church, where I took several pictures of an overwhelmingly beautiful panoramic view of the entire city. After my tired legs brought me back down to the tower entrance, I joined two of the German students for lunch at Müller Bakery in the Viktualienmarkt and talked with them in German as we ate sandwiches. Afterward, I ordered some gelato on Heiliggeiststraße and then passed by the Glockenspiel, where I saw the Archbishop of Munich leading a Catholic Mass service outside the Marienplatz in honor of the Patrona Bavariae, and I decided to join the large crowds in the religious celebration. It was a beautiful service full of music performed by a church choir and a Bavarian band; each member of the congregation received a small songbook, and we sang several Catholic hymns and Bavarian songs. I looked around and saw countless people wearing light blue scarves with the 100th-anniversary logo on it. After looking around for a while, I found the person handing out the scarves and finally got my own. After the mass ended, the Bavarian band continued to play songs. Overall, I thought this was definitely a powerful celebration. I must say, our visit to Munich was well-timed.
In the evening, after a long walk from the Marienplatz, we feasted on hamburgers for dinner at Hans im Glück. Since I don’t eat hamburgers on a regular basis, I came in with somewhat low expectations. Upon looking at the wide variety of burgers on the menu and eating the burger that I ordered, my expectations were exceeded by far–the juicy, moist beef was cooked perfectly and full of flavor. I really would like to come back and try another one of their burgers if I get a chance!
Fact: today was 100% fun and exhilarating. Time to reward myself with more sleep.