Europe, The 1972 Munich Olympics

This is the final day in Munich, so I want to see as much of the city as possible. I woke up earlier and went to Lidl, which opens at 8:00, to buy something for my breakfast.

As usual, I start my excursion with visiting the city's centre. I have explored Max-Joseph-Platz with impressive buildings of Munich Residence and National Theatre, Odeonsplatz with the Hall of Generals and other sights.

I have also visited another magnificent church, The Theatine Church of St. Cajetan, which undoubtedly brings a taste of Italy to Munich. Actually, the church was built in Italian High Baroque style with stunning facade, 71 metre-high dome and twin towers.

Another must-see attraction in Munich is the modern museum. The museum includes many exhibitions, permanent and temporary ones, featuring graphics, applied art and architecture as well as paintings. So, I went there.

The museum has a large collection of industrial design, from simple furniture to the automobile.

However, the museum is especially strong in its collections of German artists including Klee, Schlemmer, Nolde, Baselitz and Kiefer. Among the large collection of modern and contemporary art there are works by Magritte, Kandinsky, Francis Bacon and Warhol. Personally, I became the worshiper of the works of Picasso here.

For lunch I stayed at Schneider Brauhaus, the great place with authentic Bavarian food, where many of the locals come to meet each other. It is the oldest wheat beer brewery in all Bavaria and since 1928 has been in the possession of the Schneider family. In fact, it had the name of Weise Brauhaus in former time. 

You can find this place right in the middle of Munich's old quarters, just a few steps away from famous Marienplatz, the Viktualienmarkt and the Heilig-Geist church.

So, I ordered roast pork with white bread dumpling and Schneider Weisse Original beer. The meat was juicy and very tender with delicious sauce. However, the most tasty thing about this dish was crispy crackling skin. Yet, it is extremely fat and unhealthy, but it is worth trying for sure. Moreover, my mood was greatly elevated by the enthusiastic and funny waitresses, which were dressed the traditional costumes.

Olympic park is my next point of destination. There is even the metro station with the consonant name Olympiazentrum, so you can easily get to this place.

The Olympic Park was constructed for the 1972 Summer Olympics. And today the Park continues to serve as a venue for cultural, social and religious events.

The unique futuristic tent-like architecture of the Olympic forms with their tensile structure looks really fascinating, even after almost 40 years of the completion.

The 290-meter high Olympic Tower (Olympiaturm) is another well known landmark of Munich. At a height of 190 metres there is an observation platform, which I have decided to visit.

The tower has two visitor lifts with a speed of 7 m/s. And the travel time from the ground to the viewing platform is about 30 seconds. When we reached the top my ears were completely loaded.

Nevertheless, if you find it too windy standing on the platform, you can also have a view on the city of Munich from the revolving restaurant in the tower. A full revolution of the restaurant takes 53 minutes.

Finally, if you turned out to be in the Olympic Centre don't miss the fascinating BMW Museum across the street from the park. The BMW Museum is partly housed in the futuristic-looking silver circular building – sometimes referred to as the salad bowl. You can find it next to the companies headquarters, which is constructed in the shape of a four-cylinder engine.

The BMW Museum is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm. Admission is a fairly pricey €12 for adults and €6 for children under 18. A family ticket is €24 for two adults and up to three children. Tickets are valid for five hours.

Unfortunately, I did not have enough time to visit the BMW Museum, but I have visited the BMW World exhibition, where admission is absolutely free.

First of all, the BMW Welt impresses with its unmistakable, futuristic architecture. Moreover, you will discover a wide range of exhibitions and events inside.
The latest BMW products, ranging from cars to motorbikes, are on display, and customers can also pick up their new car from this site.

You also can join the tour of the BMW factory on weekdays, and usually it lasts two and a half hours. However, for that tour you should make the reservation in advance.

Europe, The Oldest Brewery

It is the beginning of the working week. And the traffic is much heavier than it was on the weekend. Now I can see in the streets so many cars and lots of bicyclists, which even have their own line. The arrival of my bus to the centre is changing all the time. Here is my bus, at last.

The temperature outside is freezing cold, literally it is minus 1. I go to the Central Station and choose S-bahn S1 to visit Schleisshaim palace, which is only 14 kilometres north of central Munich. Actually, the Schleissheim Palace represents three individual palaces in a grand baroque park. These ones are located on grounds of over 80 hectares. The complex is situated in the village of Oberschleissheim, and it used to be a summer residence of the Bavarian rulers.

Schleissheim Palace was also used as a film location for some notable motion pictures. One of the last movies is "The Three Musketeers" by Paul W.S. Anderson. 

Unfortunately, the complex is closed on Mondays, and I could not get in, but I had opportunity to walk in the park around the palaces. Nevertheless, the combination ticket for visiting all three palaces would cost 8 euro.

The grand park is one of the rare preserved baroque gardens in Germany. The dominant feature of the landscape here is the system of canals. And the special place occupies The Grand Canal with these beautiful swans.

With its embroidered parterres, pools, fountains and cascades the park presents a unique design, the basic features of which have remained unchanged as it was planned by its author.

After leaving Schleissheim, I continue my journey with S1 and go to city of Freising, which is 43 kilometres from Munich. It is small but the oldest city in Bavaria with an almost 1300 year history.

One interesting fact about S1 train is that it goes in two directions simultaneously. And at some stop passengers from the rear part of the train are asked to change the carriage. Luckily, I was in the rear part of the train, so I did not need to leave the wagon.

There are numerous picturesque squares, nooks and alleys here. And I could not miss opportunity to stroll around and have a look at the quiet, secluded lifestyle in the town.

After meditation I had to make up my physical strength. I went to the Greek restaurant Delphi at the entrance to the old city. There was "Mittagessen" time and I could choose the meal with attractive price. I went for giros with zucchini and rice. The salad was complimentary. For the drink I ordered Greek coffee in a genuine cezve.

Honestly, the real reason why I came to Freising is Weihenstephan brewery. Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan, "the oldest brewery in the world, which is in operation these days". Now it is owned by the Free State of Bavaria and can be found in the buildings of the former Weihenstephan Abbey.

I did not have any idea how to get to the brewery. However, somehow with the directions on the street I came across to this place. It is located on the Weihenstephan hill, from where you can observe breathtaking view of the old town of Freising and the distant Alps.

Later, I entered the local bier hall. For the start I ordered the tasting menu consisting out of three different kinds of beer - Original hell, which is actually lager, Wheat beer and Dark beer. The most tasty beer was the first one. However, I decided to continue with unfiltered Pilsener.

It is time to pay the bill. The whole sum is 16.20 euro. The remarkable thing, and this is a common thing in Munich, the waiters do not go to the cashier desk. Instead, they always have the terminal with them and promptly print the check for you. Moreover, they have a big wallet to give you the change. Service in a German manner :-)

Due to the relatively compact size of the city, Freising is easily navigable on foot. Moreover, there are directions everywhere. So, it was not a problem to find the way back.

In fact, if you arrive at the airport of Munich and have a few hours of waiting for the next flight you may go to Freising to spend a lovely time here, especially as there is a regular bus which connects the airport and the town and runs every 20 minutes (it is also possible to use S-bahn).

Do not miss visiting in Freising such attractions as Marienplatz with St. Mary's column, Cathedral of St. Mary and St. Corbinian, the Town Hall and an impressive baroque St. George Tower.

I came back to Munich when it was totally dark. So, I had another great opportunity to stroll around the night city.