After a woefully insufficient nap, we headed back out around 4:00 p.m. with plans to climb one of the church towers near Marienplatz. We decided to walk there, since the hotel folks told us it would only take 20 minutes, and it takes half that just to get to the subway station. We were pleased we took their advice, because strolling through this part of Munich, which is near the Oktoberfest fairgrounds but nothing else touristy is a delight. None of the buildings are more than maybe 5 levels, I think because of a rule similar to D.C.'s that keeps everything about the height of the historic and reconstructed-post-bombing buildings throughout the city. It lends the city an almost small-town feeling despite its size and cosmopolitan atmosphere.
This is also the cleanest European city we've ever visited, hands down. Drew made an Eddie Izzard reference, "I love the way Europe smells in the morning," only to have us pause and realize that Munich doens't smell at all like Europe. It's lovely. It's also a city of dogs and responsible dog-parents. Yay.
Anyway, we wended our way to St. Peter's Church and after stumbling through a mass of German-language confusion, climbed to the top. St. Peter's is the oldest church in Munich and, like many of the others, was bombed to hell and back during WW2. It, like the others, was reconstructed beautifully, which is a little weird in that someo of the buildings look like brand-new old buildings, if that makes any sense. Drew called one of them "Disney-like." The New Town Hall is actually one of the youngest buildings but it looks the oldest.
OK, St. Peter's. I've climbed to the top of a lot of churches and other buildings around Europe, and this one wins the prize of worst planning, but does stand shoulder to shoulder with the others in the view category. All 306 steps are on rickety-feeling wooden supports that made us earthquake-country folk shudder. They're narrow, allowing room for only one person, but there's only one way to get to the top and back down.There are also no employees anywhere on the route to/from the top (probably because they wouldn't fit) to help direct traffic. The result is pretty much a mess, particularly for non-German-speakers who are wary of offending others. We did a lot of pausing, smiling, nodding, and squishing past people as carefully as possible. I can't imagine what it's like during the high tourist season in the summer.
All of that said, once we finally made it to the top the view was truly stunning. The church spires do literally tower over the rest of the buildings, allowing for unobstructed views. The rain had paused for a bit and the clouds had cleared to some extent, allowing us to see the Alps to the south. It was also helpful to be able to have Munich spread beneath us like a living map, so I could point and say, "We're going there next... Oh, that's where that is," etc. We highly recommend a trip to the top, despite the logistical challenges. Try to stay long enough to be next to bells when they ring, which is so often that that's manageable. It seems like all the bell towers in Munich aren't actually coordinated with any regular schedule and thus it seems there's a bell always ringing somewhere.
It's 9:30 p.m. and I'm about to fall asleep at the keyboard, so that's all for now. Tune in tomorrow to hear about how we had to come all the way from California to a city park in Munich to see people surf a proper wave.
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