Saturday 4 July 2009
Saturday 4 July 2009
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Munich is not a city for the faint-hearted.
Within the first hour of arriving, our bus driver narrowly avoided three collisions, our taxi driver sang all the street names to us in true operatic style and every train station was swarming with particularly vocal Bayern-Munich supporters. 
Coming from Berlin, we weren't ready for the energy and passion that makes Munich such a vibrant, cosmopolitan city.
Walking into Marienplatz for the first time - home to the late-Gothic Neues Rathaus with its famous glockenspiel - I was startled by the bustle and sophistication of Saturday morning shoppers.
For a moment I thought maybe we were in Milan, but then I heard the familiar strains of Bayern supporters and realised my mistake.
Munich is a very compact city with the main squares and museums all within easy walking distance of each other.
Five minutes walk from Marienplatz was Viktualienmarkt, a big leafy beer garden packed with people enjoying the spring weather and the traditional oompah band.
Everyone - including the band - seemed to have a large stein in one hand and some form of sausage in the other.
If you want to see postcard Munich, this is the place. Lederhosen abounds and the Maypole in the centre of the market points you to the next beer garden.
Another ten minutes and we were in Odeonsplatz, the site of one of the Nazi putsch attempts in 1923.
Odeonsplatz leads into the Canaletto-like Ludwigstrasse, and also seemed to be home to some of Munich's best buskers. My favourite was a soprano who had set up with a lute in the temple in the former royal gardens.
A stroll along Maximillianstrase, Munich's high fashion end of town, was also fun, even if the only thing we could afford was a coffee.
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