Hop-On Hop-Off Munich City Tour

Peggy and I decided to see the city of Munich today while the guys went to the Bauma trade show. We met for breakfast in the hotel before walking to Hauptbahnhof Central Station to buy our Gray Line hop-on hop-off city tour bus tickets.

We were the first ones there waiting for the double-decker bus, so as soon as we could load on, we headed up to the top deck to sit in the front seats.

With earbuds in place, we settled in to learn a little about the city of Munich. The name Munich came from the Old High German term Munchen, meaning “by the monks”. There was on old Benedictine order of monks who used to run a monastery in what became the Old Town of today’s Munich. In spite of the fact that Munich was a central hub of Hilter and the Nazi regime, I didn’t feel too excited going to great lengths taking pictures of places where Hitler lived or gave speeches. But I did enjoy taking in the beautiful architecture and city squares of Munich.

A Variety of Platzs

All around Munich are many squares that end with platz, which means “place” or “square”.

Marienplatz

We hopped off the bus at the Marienplatz area so we could watch the glockenspiel on the New Town Hall and walk around the beautiful market area.

The market was bursting with colors and aromas. We especially loved the bright flowers, bold fruits and white asparagus.

I couldn’t help taking a picture of the UPS delivery man on wheels.

Some of the less beautiful displays of the markets were just as eye-catching. I literally stopped in my tracks when I saw the pig heads and feet along with bowls of internal organs, one of which was clearly a bowlful of brains. I have to admit, my stomach did a few turns and I felt like I was looking at a scene from a creepy movie. However, there is a strange part of me that would be curious to taste a dish cooked with some of these organs.

Moving on to something more appetizing…

We grabbed a pretzel at one of the food stands before hopping back on a bus to continue our tour. I later learned that it is believed that the pretzel was invented by a royal baker who had fallen out of favor with his master. The baker was thrown into the dungeon for supposedly robbing the count. The baker’s wife begged the count for mercy, to which he agreed with one condition: The baker had three days to invent a new pastry that was to be best the count had ever tasted and through which the sun could shine three times a day. Apparently, the baker’s creation was the most delicious thing the count had ever tasted and so the baker’s life was spared.

Nymphenburg Palace

Our tour continued on to the Nymphenburg Palace, which would be the birthplace of Ludwig II, the one who built Neuschwanstein Castle. We hopped off just long enough to snap a few pictures of the palace and the man-made canal stretching out in front of the palace.

BMW Welt

We then made our way to Olympia Park and BMW Welt. Olympia Park is where the 1972 Summer Olympics were held, and BMW Welt is where people can experience the brands of BMW.

In particular, we admired this hot little grey convertible BMW. This specific car was in the mid-price range listed at 157,000€ (euros).

Any policeman who gets to ride in this car must look forward to going to work every morning.

And finally, this Rolls Royce was quite a looker. We wanted to see the price tag on this car, but we would have had to be allowed beyond the velvet ropes.

By the time we got back to the bus, we were ready to stay on the bus for the remainder of the tour. Before our tour ended we saw the Walking Man sculpture, which stands 17 meters (55 ft) tall.

Although we don’t have nearly as long of legs as the Walking Man, by the end of the night we had walked over 7 miles in the City of München.