Britta's Letters from her life divided between city-life in German's capital Berlin and life in a Bavarian village

Wednesday, 26 June 2024

Beautiful Munich




Last week I decided to go to Munich (by train - which in Germany nowadays is a never ending adventure...) 

From my tiny village (1 track!) to Nürnberg the little red train needs only 40 minutes. But then I have to wait at least - and every time - 30 minutes, valuable time well spent on deepening my studies in mankind: the Central Station in Nürnberg is neither beautiful (but full!) nor safe (ranking position 3 in "the most dangerous Central stations in Germany" - running after Köln and Hannover - Nürnberg proudly presented 548 violent offences last year). 

But then - if it comes - the ICE to Munich speeds in 1 hour to its destination. 

This time I changed my visiting routine: nature before culture, I decided - so passing by the the Frauenkirche  

I took a few steps to the Hofgarten, bathing in the bewitching smell of flowering limes


crossed through the Diana Tempel


to reach the lovely "Englischer Garten" with the "Monopteros


and the "Eisbach" - light turquoise icy water, where surfers dash by.  





 I dashed too - and overdid it a bit to snatch up culture. 
In the heat, 31°!= 87,5 degrees Fahrenheit - Yours Truly walked all in all over 15,000 steps - meaning over 10 kilometres in relatively new ballerinas... ouch ... 
Next time I will be wiser, hopefully - otherwise: 
older, but not wiser





(Highly elegant position of legs and feet - but what can I expect after that gigantic walk? At my age?) 

Elating surprise in the English Bookshop WordsWorth (Schellingstrasse, university terrain) -  
the owner recognised me after almost 30 years! - and we chatted for a long time - but that is worth a few words in another blog post, I think. 




 

12 comments:

  1. The Diana Temple was a lovely a surprise... I had no idea it was a gazebo built in the early 17th century. Now the Hofgarten at the Munich Residenz is stunning, but 10 ks?? Are you still fit and well? :)

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    1. Dear Helen, Munich has so many beautiful places! The Hofgarten was only a third of my "walk" through Munich - and yes: next day I was a bit tired. Normally I walk almost every day between 7.000 and 9.000 steps - in much better shoes!

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  2. I have never been to Munich, but I do like Southern Germany a lot. I did not realise about the violent incidents in the stations.

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    1. Dear Tom, it is worth a journey! Well - in stations a lot of evil-looking rascals "live and deal" there, now I am glad they counter more police - I look very carefully and know where not to wait...

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  3. Such beautiful scenery. Other blogs show off their parts of the world too. We really live on a lovely planet.

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    1. Dear Emma, thank you! We find so much beauty in this world. In a huge park beauty is easy to see - in little surprises along the border of a field one has to look.

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  4. Munich is a beautiful city and I loved seeing your photos of the English Garden. Next time, however, do take some comfortable shoes - I am thinking of your poor feet Britta.

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    1. Thank you, dear Rosemary! I took the ballerinas because I do not like the look of sneakers to a dress (that's why I mostly wear Jeans). I decided now to do only half of my "program" next time - then it will be alright! (And if rain is to be expected, I wear Jeans and sneakers :-)

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  5. Beautiful gardens and lovely architecture. The trains are impressive too, though perhaps not all the track. I thoroughly approve of a temple to Diana, the goddess of the hunt.

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    1. Dear Joanne, I love Diana too - a very self-determined Goddess.
      And so good that I choose nature as first thing in the morning: the air was still fresh, it was not too hot, and I was full of vigour.

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  6. Magnificent gardens in Munich Britta! In general, I really like traveling by train but unfortunately they don't take care of them as much as they should!! I traveled by train in 1992 from Bremen to Thessaloniki and it was one of the most beautiful adventures of my life!! Thanks Britta for the beautiful ride! Amazing that the bookstore owner remembered you, you probably haven't changed too much!! Ballerinas suit you very well!!

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    1. Dear Katarina, thank you so much! Yes - trains are lovely, I always enjoy them -- but as you say: our country didn't care much for their upkeep.
      So you have been in Bremen? That is the city I come from - went there to school, and left, the city because at that time Bremen had no university (long time ago :-)

      Yes, the bookshop was a rare experience - around 1990 when I went there (being often in Munich) we always talked about English books.
      As to ballerinas: they are a compromise with getting older - although I am 1.78m tall, I wore High Heels, and Kitten Heels (they do come back at the moment) - but "back" is the key word: my back is complaining now when I wear high heels...

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