Travelogue :  Backpacking (Central/Eastern) Europe

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Back in Munich...

That evening, what began as innocent lounging in the hostel commons area turned into another night of drinking. Every time I say to myself, "Okay, tonight's the night I'm gonna take a day off from having a drink", a party ends up in the works.

No complaints.

But I'm sure my liver is the size of a little brown pebble from this trip.

After drinking, Adam, Ludwig, Bryon and I go on a scavenger hunt for some beer hall food. Of course, the beer halls were closed by then, so we opted for some Doner Kebabs.

After eating, etc, back we went to the bar for more drinks!

The next day...

We woke up a little past the time we were supposed to meet Ludwig for our outing around Munich. There was a little mix-up, and because Adam told Ludwig that I was still sleeping (when in fact, I was not), Ludwig took off with Bryon, and Adam and I decided to get some Thai food.

After lunch, we headed to the BMW museum and the Olympic Gardens. That was pretty eventful. The weather was perfect for summertime, just warm enough for a long walk.

After grabbing a little snack, we headed across the bridge to the BMW museum.

At the BMW restaurant, the jokester in me decided to leave a souvenir in their reservation book.

Then, to the Olympic Gardens we went!

Then onto the subway to the Englisher Gardens.

That evening, we went back to the hostel to get ready before dinner, and we met our new hostel mate, Taylor. He was a travel writer for a college magazine, and was touring all over Europe to write about his adventures. We all decided to try out the Hofbrauhaus (beer hall) located in the heart of Munich.

When we awoke bright and early to check out of the hostel, it was our last day in Germany (*tear*). We had so grown to love Munich that we didn't know how much until we left it to frequent other places. After our goodbyes with Taylor, Adam and I took off for the Marienplatz to see the crowned jewels and famed rooms of the Residenz Museum. My fave were the infant mummies encased in glass coffins with beaded jeweled cloths over their eyes and skulls.

Inside the Antiquarium:

From the Residenz Museum website:

"This hall is the oldest room of the Residenz München. 66 metres long, it is the largest and most lavish Renaissance interior north of the Alps. Duke Albrecht V had it built from 1568 to 1571 for his collection of antique sculptures. These antiquities gave the room its name "Antiquarium".

From 1581 to 1600 Albrecht V's successors, Duke Wilhelm V and his son Maximilian I, transformed the Antiquarium into a banqueting hall. They lowered the floor, erected a dais with a balustrade at one end and installed a fireplace.

The wall and ceiling paintings in the Antiquarium date from its remodelling as a banqueting hall. The 16 pictures along the top of the vault are the work of the Munich court painter Peter Candid and show allegories of Fame and Virtue in the form of seated female figures.

The vaults above the windows, and the window jambs, are decorated with 102 views of towns, markets and palaces in what was then the Duchy of Bavaria. They are surrounded by grotesques, a type of ornament derived from classical antiquity.

The busts and other sculptures displayed in the Antiquarium include both original works of classical antiquity and Renaissance copies. Some formed part of Duke Albrecht's collection; others were added in the 17th and 18th centuries."

After our Residenz tour, Adam and I went back to HBF (we couldn't resist more beer hall food for beer hall price!) and I ordered the Original Hofbrauhaus Braumeister pork steak w/ tomato rice and salad. It is highly recommended!

After our yummy meal, we went to get our stuff from the hostel, and then off to Salzburg, Austria!