Munich at the edges

23 April 2022.

A leisurely breakfast at home before getting ready for our hop-on/hop-off tour of the attractions beyond the city center. It took us about 20 minutes to walk up to the meeting point at Karlsplatz where we exchanged our mobile tickets for paper ones and boarded the bus.

There were few other riders this morning so we had most of the upper deck to ourselves. We plugged our headphones into the audioguide jacks on the seatbacks in front of us and off we went. On our way to our first stop, the Nymphenburg Palace we had the opportunity to hear about several interesting features of Munich's history as we whizzed down the Nymphenburgstrasse passed the Löwenbräukeller, home of the eponymous beer.

Arriving at the Nymphenburg Palace, we hopped off (hopping is required) and strolled over to the entrance to the palace, once the summer home of the ruling Wittelsbach family. 

At the entrance we were stopped by a staff member who asked if I was wearing an FFP2 mask (the equivalent of our KN95) under my cloth mask and I said no. "You can't go in," she replied matter-of-factly. (I recalled later that the filter in my fabric mask is in fact a PM2.5 which might have worked.) Anyway, almost immediately a woman walking by whipped out a fresh mask and handed it to me. Problem solved from the kindness of a stranger!

Once inside we got our tickets and headed upstairs to the palace. My primary objective here was to see the Gallery of Beauties, a collection of 36 19th century portraits of the most beautiful women in the region. Painted by Joseph Steiler over a period of over 20 years and collected by Ludwig I of Bavaria,  they are indeed stunning images of young women from all classes of society. 

Ludwig was keen on the women being beautiful in both body and spirit and also required the images to be as accurate a rendering of the subject as possible. 

To see the complete collection go here.

palace from the front

palace from the gardens side

one of the many hallways

grand hall

and its ceiling

gallery of beauties

Once back on the bus we headed for our second stop of the day: BMW Welt (world).

Located across from the Olympic Park (1972 games where Mark Spitz won his 7 gold medals) this complex of futuristic buildings includes the company's HQ (in the building that looks like four cylinders), a museum and our objective - BMW Welt. 

BMW Welt

the HQ is in the far distance

Walking into the building one is struck by how everything floats and flows together. We strolled among the various car models, amazed that they were all unlocked and people climbing in and out of them, getting the feel I suppose for what it would like to own one of these. Except for the Rolls-Royce display, that is. It was all look and don't touch.

The electric car area was fascinating and we loved seeing so many Mini Coopers! 

The second level consisted primarily of the BMW motorcycle displays and there were certainly plenty of people up there playing on the bikes. You could also see the showroom as well and, if I recall correctly this is where you would pick up your new BMW.

We opted for lunch here before walking back to the bus stop. 

Rolls Royce Cullinan

the new electric I series

note the batteries in the floor of the car

our favorite stop, the Mini!

the showroom, from the upper level

We just made it to the next bus and found this one had the roof open. A bit chilly to be sure but we weren't on it long before we arrived at the English Garden stop next to the Siegestor.

Siegestor, tor is gate

After a short walk from the bus stop we found ourselves in this incredible green space. The so-called English Garden is a large collection of lakes and streams set among a green space some three miles long much of which parallels the Isar River. 

We strolled up one of the many meandering paths to the Chinese Tower (the one landmark we had come across somewhere) where there was a band playing amidst a large biergarten packed with folks drinking and eating. 

the Chinese Tower

From the biergarten we made our way back roughly in the direction from which we came and walked up to the the temple-like Monopteros for a lovely view of the park and the old town in the distance.

Returning to the Siegestor stop we waited for the next bus which seemed forever to arrive. But the day had turned nice so it was pleasant to just sit and take in the sun.

We left the bus at a starting point different from where we began the day and felt a bit turned around. But we asked directions and soon found our way back to Karlsplatz and home. After dropping a few things off we headed back out to the Aroma Kaffeebar to get our afternoon hot beverage. 

Then on to Edeka to pick up a few groceries and back home before dinner.

I had made reservations at a nearby Vietnamese restaurant, Jack Glockenbach. The food was incredibly good (the best spring rolls we've ever eaten) and the service was equally so. 

filet of beef with betel leaf and rice noodles with a cucumber salad

curried chicken and rice

The end of another wonderful day in southern Bavaria.

Tomorrow it's off to Salzburg - stay tuned!