Spend a day in Munich and get run over by people

(Left) This is us at the Hofbrauhaus...a nice gentleman from three tables away noticed we were trying to take a picture of ourselves and graciously offered his service. (Right) And of course, here is another picture of me with beer in Germany. This was at the market area where they had all these little venders. We ate it outside and were frozen to our seats by the time we finished.

It was agreed by the three of us that we were really glad we had a week to get used to a foreign country staying in a fairly small town, because Munich is crazy!

We did some research online to figure out what to do today and came up with the best plan of walking all around the City Center (which is the heart of Munich). Our hotel is only a few blocks away, so after a nice breakfast (but not as nice as in Friedrichsafen), we were braced for a day of exploration.

Armed with a city map, we made our way to Marienplatz which is bordered by beautiful kirches (churches). It was hard to fathom the age of these places, and how they had to be restored after WWII. There was so much to see, you can link to the Wikipedia page to read about the places. It was sooo cold, though. We had our scarves, hats, gloves and winter coats but were still chilled to the bone. The beer didn't help, but the brat did!

After a while of exploring the historical side of the city, we found our way to the Hofbrauhaus. It was a site to behold, and packed. Amazingly we found a little table for the 3 of us, ordered our beer (not the liter size), and watched people and waitresses. It also was a good place to warm up.

Finally we hit the streets with the fabulous shopping. It was like every expensive and inexpensive store ever created, all jammed into one huge area. What amazed us more was the mobs of people. On a chilly day in March, thousands of people descended into this area. I would hate to see what it was like in the summer. Even the stores were packed with people. If you are claustrophobic, this was not the place to be. I got all my souvenier shopping done (except I can't find German coffee beans for Chris, unless I went to Starbucks--which WON'T happen).

We are resting after a long day and will adventure out again to find our evening meal. Tomorrow we will check out a little more of the city then make our way to Stuttgart. I am so glad we got to experience both the small town life and big city world. As much as I am enjoying this trip, I am starting to feel the Topeka is calling me back...there's no place like home.