Munich

Upon our arrival in Munich, it quickly became apparent that my generous little JR had shared his nasty flu virus with me.  What a sweetie.  So while we had big plans of Christmas market strolling and castle touring, we had to cut a few things out in exchange for a bit of extra rest and relaxation at the hotel.  We'll have to catch you next time, Neuschwanstein!

Travel and Leisure included Munich in it's list of "Best Places to Spend Christmas."  But after spending three days there in the thick of holiday season, I have to disagree.  Perhaps I was clouded in flu fog, or maybe it's that we were there on the Saturday before Christmas when crowds were at their heaviest, but the city just didn't feel very... festive.  Don't get me wrong, it had it's moments!  And there were some impressive efforts made, most notably the enormous Christmas tree rivaling that of Rockefeller Center, and the daily concerts performed from the balcony of the town hall.  But the market itself offered little variety in the shopping.  Half of the booths seemed to be selling Christmas ornaments made from straw or thin wood.  We did snag a few good finds, but the only reason it took us more than an hour to see all the booths is that the crowds were so thick that it was nearly impossible to navigate the aisles, especially with a stroller.  

Town Hall at night

Giant Christmas tree at the Christmas market

JR thought these things were really neat...

Christmas market during the day

Munich actually had several Christmas markets, many of them small and focused on a certain theme.  Aside from the main market, we also made it to Nativity market, where you can buy yourself Baby Jesus's by the euro, and the children's Christmas market.  The children's market had Christmas scenes on display for the little ones' entertainment, a few more booths selling straw ornaments, and lots of food and drink options.  One stall in particular gave off the irresistible smell of baking cinnamon and sugar, and after walking the small circle of the market a few times, we gave in and bought ourselves a chimney cake.  Dough is wrapped around a wooden stick and baked, then quickly removed and packaged in a plastic bag to be sold warm.  I thought they were dubbed chimney cakes because of the vertical baking apparatus used to cook the dough, but it is actually for a different reason.  We found a table and ripped ours open to discover... a steaming chimney!

Get it?  It's a chimney!

Children's Christmas market

That evening we got a sitter for JR and attended The Nutcracker Ballet put on by the St. Petersburg Festival Ballet.  By this time the flu was really kicking in, and I was grateful that our evening out required little activity and allowed me to rest my head on my handsome date's shoulder for the entire evening.  We have seen the Nutcracker many times now, but this variation was a new one for us.  Even I had to consult the program to see what exactly was happening.  Did you know that in the Russian version, Marie (or as I know her, Clara) gets married to the Prince and they have a wedding ceremony?  We also didn't see a Sugar Plum Fairy.  It is always interesting to see different culture's takes on familiar traditions.

Another necessary stop on the Munich agenda is the Hofbrauhaus, a traditional, historic, somewhat cheesy but undoubtedly entertaining German beer house, and it did not disappoint!  We went for an early lunch, figuring it would be less crowded and that bringing a baby to beer house in the evening probably wasn't a great idea.  We ordered sausages and schnitzel and two of the biggest beers we've ever seen... what is the point of mugs this huge??  Mine was warm by the time I got half way through it.  And no, I didn't finish it - the jumbo beer defeated me.  It was an enjoyable lunch, with live German music playing in the middle hall and countless waiters in costume zipping around effortlessly carrying about a dozen beers in each hand.  And they never seemed to spill even a single drop!  I would imagine that the Hofbrauhaus really comes alive at night, with all the tables filled to standing room only and volume levels through the roof.  A tourist attraction yes, but it seemed there were plenty of locals around as well, and I expect it is one of the more entertaining places to be in Munich on a Saturday night.

Making our selections...

Very excited about the huge beers!

Bar at the Hofbrauhaus 

 Munich is a big city, and that's exactly what it felt like.  It's also a German city, but that felt more like a detail than a defining factor.  The city center was full of major chain shopping and large, uninteresting buildings housing businesses and large department stores.  Munich didn't charm us, but I believe that it could.  We stuck to the city center, and while that works perfectly fine for a number of large cities (Paris, New York, Barcelona, London), I suspect it takes a little more work to find what makes Munich special.  If I ever do find myself in Munich again, I won't rely on wandering the city and enjoying it's unique atmosphere.  Instead I might look for an informative tour, venture out to some of its parks, and explore some of the smaller neighborhoods for shopping and dining.  I know Munich has more to offer than what we saw in only three days, next time I'll make sure to find it!