Something About Zürich...: München (aka Munich)

We recently got back from our mini-Vacation to Munich and Krakow. We had a fantastic time and are both happy and sad to be back- happy because its always nice to be home and we missed the Boss (though she was in fantastic hands with our friends Jess and Corey and their dog Buddy):

Boston & Buddy: Salt & Pepper

and sad, because we were having a lot of fun and because it stinks to have to go back to work ....well .... i mean it stinks for Matt to have to go back to work ;o).

Anyway, to give you all a recap of our travels, I am breaking it down into easier to digest parts.
On Wednesday night we left for Munich. The great thing about Zürich is its central location. We can take a train directly from here to Munich in about 4.5 hours. We got in pretty late, but it enabled us to have a full day on Thursday to explore.

Welcome to Germany! A new take on balcony decor.

On Thursday we had scheduled a walking tour of Munich. Our guide was entertaining and extremely knowledgeable... maybe a bit too knowledgeable. We were walking around the city for 4.5 hrs straight- which is a lot for normal people, never mind people with small humans sitting on their bladder.

Interestingly though, we learned that as a result of the bombing of Munich during WWII, only 5% of the original city remains. They have worked hard to rebuild the city to recreate its original aesthetic, but most buildings look quite new. They have ended up with such ironies as the below two town halls:

Old Town Hall, also the site of some infamous Hitler meetings

New Town Hall

One of the more famous (and incredibly overrated) things in Munich is the Glockenspiel on the new town hall. A few times a day there is this mechanical 'It's a Small World'-esque performance. This version includes our tour guide's hilarious narration (definitely makes it better).

Also in the center of Munich stands this poor statue of Juliet (as in Romeo and Juliet). Apparently it is good luck to rub her boob. As you can see from the copper color under Matt's hand, she has seen a lot of action.

Statue of Juliet

This church was one of the few buildings that largely survived the WWII bombings.

Can you find the cannonball stuck in the building?

Theatinerkirche

During Hitler's rule, there was a 'checkpoint' of sorts where anyone passing by was required to give the Nazi salute. In dissidence, many people (at the risk of death if caught) would take an alternate route to avoid having to give this salute. The copper colored strip in the road commemorates these people and the route they would take.