Mein erster Tag in München

September 13th

Today was especially amazing, waking up at 7am with no signs of jetlag! We began the day taking a train to see the Glokenspiel/Rathaus (Town Hall). There we waited for the clock to strike noon. When it did, the figures within the Glokenspiel came to life! Chimes filled the town square as people gathered around to see the knights jousting and dancers twirling within the Glokenspiel.

Wandering the streets in Munich is a real treat, the architecture is so beautiful and there are many colorful buildings.

Frauenkirche (church by the Glokenspiel) was simply lovely with a late gothic architecture. When first entering, there is a tile with the devils footprint. Bettina told me that when the devil initially visited the church he did not destroy believing that the church did not have windows (logic here is that no one would go to a church that didn’t have windows)… somehow when the devil realized that he was tricked he sent demons to run around the church outside and that is why it is really windy outside of the church. Trust me it is definitely windy outside of the Frauenkircke!

 

Then we visited the Olympic Park, where the 1972 Olympics took place. It was very surreal with a futuristic architecture, complete with a lake where people can wakeboard by being pulled along by a cable. Bettina and I jaunted up the large hill that was made out of the WWII building ruins- though now it is a green meadow. You could see most of Munich from the top of the hill.

So far it has been an interesting experience trying to communicate with Bettina’s mom. She is quite a lovely person I can tell, but we just haven’t quite figured out how to communicate properly. I find it quite hilarious because we both want to talk to each other and ask each other questions though we both speak very little of each other’s language. We both attempt speaking, though a lot of the times ones words are lost by the other. Though when Bettina and I were helping cook dinner, we asked if we could do anything else to help and Bettina’s mom replied, “go let your legs long!” Now THAT I could understand!

Hopefully I will be able to pick up some German while I am here- fingers crossed!