An Unexpected Journey to Bavaria: Saga of the Male Bavarian Baby-Bump - München

We left the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial site in the afternoon and made our our way south towards München. While driving, I remembered that Der Klassiker (fußball matchup between Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern München) was to be played nearby at Allianz Arena. Being Der Klassiker, I knew it was a pipe dream to find any available tickets, but Julie looked into it regardless. This polar rivalry is analogous to a those between the Yankees/Red Sox (MLB), Ravens/Steelers (NFL), and oil/vinegar (liquids). Indeed, there were no tickets available and we would've had to curtail our already short visit to München to attend. While we humored the unrealistic notion of going to the game - by the time we gathered the information, we were already in downtown München.

Altes Rathaus in Marienplatz

Neues Rathaus (Glockenspiel on left)

Mariensäule and Glockenspiel

We found a parking garage only a few hundred meters from Glockenspiel am Rathausturm, the central location of our brief walking tour. Julie printed a travel guide of sites we would visit in the few hours we had in München. Starting with the Glockenspiel, we explored the Marienplatz - taking photos and laughing as Dortumnd and Bayern fans taunted each other. We headed southeast to our next stop, the Viktualienmarkt, location of a daily food market. However, we were miffed to find an empty square and closed kiosks.

Glockenspiel

Courtyard opposite Marienplatz

Top of tower

It was Saturday, but felt like a Sunday - a day of rest in Germany when the majority of businesses and markets are closed. After some quick research, we found out it was Allerheiligen (All Saints Day), a national holiday. This meant today was essentially a German Sunday - that is, with exception to churches. We started with a stop at the Heilggeistkirche, the church of the Holy Ghost. Unfortunately, they just burned some strongly scented incense forcing Julie to vacate the building. I made a quick stroll through the church before I reconvened with Julie outside. Next, we walked to Michaelskirche which also had recently burnt incense, but of a slightly less odoriferous variety. To complete our trinity of churches, we headed back towards the Marienplatz.

Viktualienmarkt

Heilggeistkirche nave

Ceiling of Heilggeistkirche

St. Skeletor from the book of He-Man

More of the Church of the Holy Ghost

Pulpit

Our last stop was Frauenkirche, the church of Our Lady. We timed this visit so we could return to Glockenspiel shortly before 17:00. The most interesting part of Frauenkirche is the Teufelstritt, or "Devil's footprint." There are many myths about the origins of the footprint and if one stands on the it the windows of the church aren't visible. One of the legends tells a story how the devil made a deal with the builder - insisting that no windows be placed in the Baroque church. Obliging to this peculiar demand, the builder somehow deceived Beelzebub - using large columns to line the nave and blocking the view of all the windows. By the time the devil found out it was an illusion, the church had been consecrated and Satan's entry was restricted. Being a paltry loser, Lucifer stomped in his place like a callow beast and left the footprint. Having visited these churches, my parents should be very proud of their heathen son - they always wanted him to go to church and now he visited three in a single day.

Michaelskirche

Teufelstritt, Devil's footprint

The large columns that block the view of windows

To finish our quick tour of München, we celebrated our evening Bavarian-style at the famed Hofbräuhaus. Along the way, we stopped in Marienplatz to observe the soon-to-be-befuddled tourist awaiting the 17:00 chime of the Glockenspiel that wouldn't take place (we did our research, but wanted to people watch anyways). Hopeful tourist had video cameras ready and excited smiles on their faces, but the Glockenspiel wouldn't chime. The bells of the other churches echoed, but the Glockenspiel remained silent minutes after 17:00 (the last day of operation is October 31, everyone missed it by a day). While the crowd stared daggers of disappointment and curiosity at the tower, we made our way to the Hofbräuhaus.

Cenotaph of Emperor Louis IV

Hard Rock Cafe

From Ratskeller near Glockenspiel

We ended our evening engrossed in Bavarian culture - maß beers, over-sized pretzels, and delicious cuisine. Surprisingly, we found a small corner table away from the cacophonous disharmony of drunken banter and clinging glasses. Julie was the responsible one of our party and by the time we left - I appeared to be in my third trimester and my paunch was starting to kick. My over-stuffed gullet gallantly quaffed three maß beers - not a keen decision, but after some Lamaze breathing, I would make a full recovery. On the drive back to Edelweiss we listened to Der Klassiker on the radio - a final that would have FC Bayern fans celebrating a glorious victory.