A full day during which we went shopping, had lunch at the Viktualienmarkt (a very large farmers' market in the center of Munich), visited St. Peter's church and went to the Hofbrauhaus, Munich's largest beer hall. Turns out that Augustiner biergarten, where we had dinner, is larger and older and "nicer" (re: more real...meaning that the Hofbrauhaus, while old and real, also...it was really touristy, while the Augustiner biergarten is really...I mean in reality...preferred by the locals, not the tourists...although how we got in may be in question). The first bier brewed at the Augustiner brewery was in 1328. Anyway, it was an amazing place. Literally thousands of people were at large picnic tables and benches outdoors under a forest of elm trees eating, drinking and watching the soccer World Cup live. That night the USA tied England 1 to 1.
St. Peter's church was spectacular; the sculptures, frescos and paintings were awesome - overpowering. The pipe organ below is spectacular.
They had full size sculptures of all twelve apostles lining the nave. Here are a couple of the most striking: The lunch we had in the market was "real" too...just basic sausages, potatoes and vegetables. We met a young couple there, where we shared a table again, this time with Florentine and Eva who were originally from Austria and had moved to Munich for better job opportunities.
I think I can sleep tonight.
I like the explanations of the sculpture that represent the rivers. I recently heard a podcast about Michaelangelo on www.historyclass.net? I'm sorry my vision is still blurry from the pain meds. Anyway, search Things You Forgot in History Class and the podcasts are archived there. The Michaelangelo podcast has some fun facts about the cranky sculptor, artist, + big production crew chief. Keep them coming!
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