Where in the World is Nana?: June 2019

We were up early as expected and went to breakfast at 7. So excited to see Sally & GiGi. After breakfast, we went to lobby to check out and board bus for 1 1/2 hour drive to Füssen Janet huffed & puffed the 1/2 mile hike up the steep mountain to the Neuschwanstein castle. We made it just in time for our tour. It was an amazing & beautiful tour. Neuschwanstein Castle is a nineteenth-century Romanesque Revival palace on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. The palace was commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria as
We cycled past meadows, forests, farms & lake Hopfen.
After cleaning up we met with the rest of the group for our welcome dinner. (Cream of asparagus soup veal stroganoff, spaetzle)

Checked into our Hotel Hirsch, had lunch and bike instruction. Changed into biking clothes and got fitted for our bikes.

Quote of the day:

Janet : ” I didn’t fall off the bike but I did fall off the bed"

Arrived in Germany bright and early where we were transferred to the Hotel Stadt Rosenheim in Munich. After checking into our room, we grabbed a quick breakfast and headed for the Altstadt (Old Town) walking along the lovely Isar River. We were in awe of how clean the river was. The old town is a quaint pedestrian area surrounded by town hall, a cathedral, shops and cafes. After wandering around a bit, we took a break at one of the cafes in the shadow of Peterskirche (St. Peter’s Church) which is the oldest in Munich. We went to the top of the 43 bell Glockenspiel on the spire of the Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall) to get an amazing panaramic view of Munich. We felt obligated to search out the Hofbrauhaus, Munich’s largest and most famous drinking hall which can accommodate 4500 thirsty people!

We opted for a quieter street for lunch and I enjoyed my first German sausage at Zum Durnbrau, one of the oldest taverns in the city. We returned to our hotel for a little rest and then went back out for a small bite before giving over to our need for sleep.

The Old Town Hall (Altes Rathaus), until 1874 was the domicile of the municipality, serving today as a building for representative purposes for the city council in Munich. The Old Town Hall bounds the central square Marienplatz on its east side.

The building, documented for the first time in 1310, had its Grand Hall constructed in 1392/1394. The former Talburg Gate of the first city wall serves as spire. The Old Town Hall was re-designed in late-gothic style by Jörg von Halsbach 1470-1480. The Grand Hall was decorated by the Morris dancers, created by Erasmus Grasser. After alterations of the facade during the Renaissance and again in the Baroque the building was restored in neo-gothic style 1861-1864. In 1874 the municipality moved to the New Town Hall.

For the passage of increased road traffic the Old Town Hall was tunneled in 1877 with a drive-through and a separate pedestrian's passage, as well as once again in 1934/35, this time finally destroying the original ground floor. During World War II the building was severely damaged and the spire was reconstructed in 1971-1974. Parts of the neo-Gothic elements, especially the statues of Ludwig the Bavarian (west facade) and Henry the Lion (east facade) and the gable design are preserved.

Wake-up cappuccino in Old Town

On August 25th 1867 the first foundation stone was laid for this honorable venue, and on August 1st 1874 the Ratskeller opened its doors for the first time. Since then guests have been delighted to the Bavarian specialties served in its historic rooms. Today the menu showcases food from Franconia and other Bavarian regions.

Many German towns in earlier times had a traditional Ratskeller restaurant or inn, housed in the cellar of the their town hall. Munich’s Ratskeller in the past years found its place in the Bavarian capitals gastronomy scene as a Wirtshaus (inn) which not only offered traditional Bavarian meals, but also offered a menu with a variety of international dishes. The huge Wirtshaus under Munich’s Town Hall currently seats 1,200 people inside and a few hundred outside at the Prunkhof of the Town Hall at the Marienplatz.

The Hofbräuhaus am Platzl is a beer hall in Munich, Germany, originally built in 1589 by Bavarian Duke Maximilian I as an extension of the Staatliches Hofbräuhaus in München brewery. William V, Duke of Bavaria found the beer in Munich bad so he imported beer from Saxony. He eventually asked his royal court to find a solution. A local brewery followed in 1589.The general public was admitted in 1828 by Ludwig I. The building was completely remodeled in 1897 by Max Littmann when the brewery moved to the suburbs. All of the rooms except the historic beer hall ("Schwemme") were destroyed in the World War II bombings. The reopening of the Festival Hall in 1958 marked the end of the post-war restoration work.