Visit to Münich & Füssen

12 - 14 May 2007

To kick start the backpacking trip, I almost missed my train to Frankfurt in the morning...but I was still lucky to catch it at last moment *phew* so there are times like this that you wish trains could be late... Thereafter, I reached Münich safely in the afternoon...

Some introduction of Münich...
:Quoted: München (in German) it refers to the city of monks. It was founded in 1158 and soon became the residence of the Wittelsbachs, who ruled Bavaria until 1919. Today, München is an oversized folkloristic village populated by happy beer drinkers, and indeed it has also conserved much of its charm from old days.

The town area begins here at this gate Karlstor or Karl's gate. In the olden days, this used to be the gate to the inner city of Münich, which meant the heart of the entire city, and usually the inner city then was usually surrounded by high walls and barriers. Passing the gate and walking through the street, it will lead to the main square, known as the Marienplatz.

Also along the way, you can see lots of 'hen' parties or 'bachelor' parties going on. Those to-be-marrieds have to dressed up in funny costumes and hang around the street to do stupid things to raise money for beer treats. Of coz, it is more for the fun, than to raise money! Eg. stupid things = selling panties, hugs & kisses, singing, dancing, selling candies, cross-dressing...these are the mild ones I guess ;)

In the Marienplatz, it is famous for the neo-Gothic Town Hall, which has a mechanical clock aka Glockenspiel. At certain times of the day, those little figurines on top of the tower will start dancing. It begins with a Bavarian jouster fighting a French one, followed by a Coopers Dance to keep the plague away.

I also chanced upon a violin concert in the Münchner Stadtmuseum, which offers free entry every Sunday. This concert is a special one because instruments produced by master violin and bow makers from the Münich area will be exhibited and played by the orchestral during the concert. Really enjoyed the concert very much :D The most interesting piece is 'Playful Pizzicato' written by Benjamin Britten, which is played purely by plucking on the strings, because the tempo is short and fast and quick, it is just unique that violin can also be played without the bow though...

Frauenkirche or Church of our Lady, aka the Dom. Its distinctive domes, which were built in 1525 would serve as a model for many of Bavaria's towers.

You can't miss this, Münich's famous 1000-acre park is best known for its 4 beer gardens, and nude sunbathers. Yes, this is also known as the nude 'beach' in Münich.

If you really enjoy beers, the best place to be in is the famous Hofbräuhaus. The HB house was first opened in 1589 to produce the booze for the Bavarian royals and their servant exclusively. It is about 100 years old now, and it is still state-owned, with their own oompah band that plays traditional Bavarian songs.

The beer is served in 1-litre steins called Mafl (yes, only 1 choice), and you really need the strength to drink from it... The correct way is, put 4 fingers through the handle, so that your palm is holding the stein, not the handle...also must try the sausages and roasted pork...

Met some cute Korean girls who are also travelling alone, and we had our first Mafl at the HB House, bitching about life and travels, in the midst of hand-signs, broken English and common laughters... :D

On the 2nd or 3rd day, I made a trip to Füssen, about 2 hours from Münich. Everyone seems to have been there before, and I first heard of it as being the fairytale land which contains romantic castles and lakes, so I thought it might worth a visit...

So do you believe it now? The Neuschwanstein Castle, a beautiful, romantic composition of towers and walls in the perfect setting amongst the mountains and lakes. Castles in Füssen are no longer built for the purpose of defence or strategic reasons, but purely for the sake of fantasy and inspirations...

Also met some cute Japanese girls on the way, also lone travellers like me. Actually most of these Koreans or Japanese are all jobless, taking as long holidays as they want to travel around, before they return to look for a new job then. That's the spirits!!! ;)

Discovered that the German national flag has the same colour combination as Belgian flag. The difference is that German flag has horizontal strips, while that of Belgium is vertical. Although the order of the colours is different, it is still the same 3 colours combination (brown, red, yellow).

3 things achieved:
- Learnt some excuses or stupid topics to pick up new friends ;)
- Dare to venture without map, but I still had the map...
- Drank from the 1-litre stein, yeah V