Munich

A view of the Frauenkirche in the Altstadt.
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We spent the day exploring Munich, mostly the Altstadt (old city) and mostly on foot. Munich has been called the northernmost Italian city, and we can see why. It’s a lovely city for exploring on foot--the main sights are really quite close to one another--and it’s filled with baroque architecture. Unlike the rest of Germany, Bavaria is predominantly Catholic and the architecture clearly reflects the Counter-Reformation reaction against Lutheran simplicity.

But we are clearly in Germany. Even in a summer with record numbers of delayed flights, our Lufthansa flight left Boston ten minutes early and arrived in Munich 30 minutes ahead of schedule. It’s an easy, quiet, and smooth train ride into the city, which is served by an excellent system of equally quiet and smooth subways and trams.

A Very Civilized City

Fountain in one of the courtyards of the Residenz, the Renaissance palace of Munich's rulers. The columns in the background are trompe l'oeil.
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An especially civilized touch is the ubiquitous system of bike paths. Unlike in the United States, where bike paths are sometimes grudgingly marked on roads with barely visible and usually ignored paint, here they are clearly marked, in constant use, and often taken from what would otherwise appear to be sidewalk rather than road. I have to remind myself not to walk in the bike paths. (Doug says that years ago his friend Charlie was hit by a motorbike when they were walking on a bike path in the Netherlands and Charlie was considered at fault.) Note in the picture the bikepath that runs down the middle of a pedestrian way in the Altstadt.

A bike path in the pedestrian zone of the Altstadt.
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After several hours of wandering through the Altstadt and a pleasant lunch overlooking the Opera House, we met Dietmar Schleuter, a friend of friends, for coffee at Prinz Myshkin, a vegetarian restaurant apparently started by a fan of Dostoievsky. We had an interesting conversation about Munich--Dietmar is a native--and especially about religion in the schools. Religious education is part of the public school system here, and schools choose a Catholic or Protestant curriculum depending on local community preference. Dietmar, as a Christian Scientist, was allowed to sit out the Catholic classes in his elementary school and take ethics as an alternative in high school.

A view near the Frauenkirche.
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After coffee, Dietmar took us up the 15 or so stories of the tower at St. Peter’s in Marienplatz, and pointed out for us all the local landmarks. At some length. Dietmar is a lawyer and very thorough. We can now identify the Siemans and BMW plants as well as all the local churches and historic buildings.