Hofbrauhaus

The Hofbrauhaus was one of the first beer halls in Munich.  It was originally a brewery but became a beer hall.  Because of this it was built without a bathroom inside.  If you needed to go to the bathroom you just had to go outside and pee in one of the gutters in the street.  The biggest problem with this was that by the time you got back you might have lost your seat and your beer to someone else. 

Because of this one “smart” Bavarian man decided that what they needed to do was put these same gutters in the floor inside of the Hofbrauhaus under all of the tables.  Then when you needed to pee you could just unbutton your lederhosen and go.  The problem with this is all the guys on the other side of the table would be the victims of “splash back” and no one wanted that.  

 So another “smart” Bavarian man decided that if everyone had a cane you could just hit everyone on the leg under the table and then they would pull there legs back to avoid being splashed.  The problem with this solution was this was around the time of the black plague.  Men who were getting hit in the legs with canes all day developed bruises that looked like the plague.

 So another “smart” Bavarian man decided the canes needed a channel.  This way as long as everything was lined up there were no problems.  Well all of this urinating caused quite a smell so at the end of each night there were two bells.  The first one signaled last call for drinks and the second meant that you had one minute to get out before the large barrels filled with water at the back of the hall were going to be tipped.  This washed the floors and was known conveniently as “The Wash”. 

Today there are bathrooms in the Hofbrauhaus for both males and females!      

Old Town Hall

This is a very significant spot, in the start of the Holocaust.  The Nuremburg Laws ended German Citizenship for Jewish People.  Many people were loaded onto trains and deported.  Some people were sent to Poland but the Polish government anticipated a large influx of immigrants and passed a law, just days before saying that if you hadn’t lived in Poland within the last five years you weren’t a Polish citizen either.  Therefore lots of people could not be in either country, winter was coming, and they had no supplies.   

One lady wrote a letter to her son who was living in Paris asking him to send them anything he could spare to help them out.  Her son interpreted this as a goodbye letter and went to the German Embassy and shot the secretary.  When Hitler heard of this he was at the Nazi Headquarters (the three windows) in The Old Town Hall in Munich and ordered his followers to go into the streets in normal clothing and start a riot.   This was the start to Krisallnacht or The Night of Broken Glass. 

 

Feldherrenhalle and Dodger's Alley

King Ludwig I built Field Marshall’s Hall to honor Bavarian Generals and symbolize the Bavarian Army’s strength.  There are two bronze statues in the hall commemorating General Tilly and General Wrede.  There are two large lion statues guarding the front of the hall.  One is facing the church with its mouth closed and the other is facing the parliament building with its mouth open.  This is because you should not speak out against your god hence the mouth closed and you should speak out against your government hence the mouth open.  Hitler gave many speeches on the stairs in-between these lions.    

This is also the site of the failed beer hall putsch.  Because of the curve of Residenz Str. Hitler couldn't see that the Government Troops had set up a blockade.  Hitler and the Nazis fought the Government Troops here.  When the Nazis came into power years later Hitler made this a designated national shrine and everyone who passed by was obligated to salute. 

He placed a Nazi solider by this so those who refused could be properly reprimanded.  Lots of people chose to walk around this and take other routes one popular way was to cut though a nearby alley.  Eventually the Nazis noticed and started recording peoples names that took this path.  If they walked through the alley too many times they were taken to jail.  The alley became known as “Dodger’s Alley” and commemorated today with a gold like painted down the center.      

Glockenspiel

We also got to see the Glockenspiel on the first day too.  It goes off at 11am and 12pm every day and 5pm in the spring and summer months.  It was pretty cool I guess it has over 40 bells and 32 life size statues.  But what I loved most about it was the adorable family standing next to us.  They were traveling with their four children who were probably all under the age of ten.  Hearing the mom explain things to her children was so cute!  Here is a link to it on YouTube if you want to check it out.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwJcKpv3Mzo   

Peterskirche

On our first day in Munich we took a walking tour.  It was great and our tour guide Virginia was awesome!!!  She showed us the sites of Munich, told us some funny stories, jokes, and a bit of history! 

 One of the things we saw on our tour was St. Peters Church (Peterskirche) or Old Peter.  Virginia told us it was her favorite church in Munich for several reasons.

The first reason was that the cross on top is facing the wrong way.  On top of all churches there is a cross that faces from side to side, this one faces from back to front.  The story she told us was that long ago there was a terrible storm and the cross blew down.  They needed to find someone brave/stupid enough to climb up the side of the tower to put it back.  No one volunteered for the job so the priest decided he should offer an incentive.  He offered whoever was willing, a liter of royal beer, then men from all over flocked to the challenge.  Once the priest picked someone he climbed up and put the cross on the wrong way, but no one complained about it. 

When the man reached the tower balcony the priest gave him the liter mug of beer and the man proceeded to chug the entire thing.  Then not wanting to carry the mug down with him he threw it off of the tower balcony.  The mug landed on the roof then rolled off and landed in the gutter and rolled down the street but DID NOT BREAK!!!  The priest deemed this a miracle and the mug is still and the church and brought out once or twice a year for people to view. 

The second reason that Virginia said this was her favorite church was because of the rules.  She said when she first became a tour guide she noticed them and 4 out of the 5 made sense no pets, no eating, no cell phones, and no hats.  The fourth one on this list she was unsure of and people on her tours would ask.  One day she got up the courage to go and ask someone in the church.  When she finally found an official inside she was feeling pretty nervous, all she could think of would be that the rule meant no pants but that didn’t seem right.  So she asked a large Bavarian Official and he replied very seriously, “You cannot put your hands in you pockets because the devil lives in your pants.” 

 The third and reason this is her favorite church is that after WWII the church was nearly destroyed and they didn’t have enough money to restore it completely so they built one tower instead of two.  They however took the clocks from both towers not wanting to waist them and stuck all 8 on the one tower.  She said it was good though because now 8 people can tell the time at once …hahahaha

The fourth and final reason why this is Varginia’s favorite church is because you can climb up the tower for a 360 degree view of Munich!  We did this on our last day and it was so clear out we could see all the way to the Alps!!!  After 305ish steps up I was nervous but it was very cool!

Christmas

On Christmas Eve we were invited to Ilona’s house.  It was very nice.  The first thing that you do before you sit down for the meal is everyone gets a wafer, then you go around to every other guest and tell them what wishes you have for them in the coming year.  Once wishes are exchanged between two people you break off part of the other persons wafer and eat it.  After you exchange wishes with everyone you eat the remaining wafer. 

Then we sat down, all of the dishes were on the table because you cannot go to the kitchen during Christmas Eve dinner.  The first thing we had was Mushroom Soup.  It was very good.  Then we had beat root soup with “ears” really they are small dumplings with cabbage inside, but the word translates directly to ear in English.

After that we could have anything else that we wanted, there were several types of salads, carp, bread, and desserts.  When we had finished the meal, there was 10PLN under our plates and a scale from the carp.  This is good luck if you keep it in your wallet for the year!

Before we cleared the table it was time to exchange gifts.  Then when we were clearing everything off we learned that one Christmas Eve they keep hay under the tablecloth.  They also set one extra place because if a stranger knocks on your door on Christmas Eve you let them join in on dinner.

Thank you to Ilona’s whole family for having us over for Christmas!  We had a lot of fun.  Lastly, we went to Church at Midnight, it was interesting to see Christmas Mass in Polish!

On Christmas Day we were invited to Magda’s house.  We ate similar dishes and all were delicious.   

Carp!!!

In Poland it is tradition to eat carp on Christmas Eve, and of course a few other things too.  The week before Christmas Eve venders set up tubs on the streets with LIVE carp in them and you can pick out your favorite one.  Then you take it home in a plastic bag or bucket.  

Then once home you place the carp in your bathtub for a few days to clean out the carp’s digestive track so it is ready to be eaten on Christmas Eve.  If in this time you need to take a bath or shower, you simply move the carp to the sink or nearby bucket and when you have finished replace it into the bathtub.  

On Christmas Eve the carp is battered, fried and served with 11 other dishes.