07-30 Day 21 (Munich sightseeing)

Mileage

Breakfast

Today’s breakfast was provided via a buffet, laid out with traditional breakfast breads and meats.

I opted for corn flakes with some rather delicious fresh fruit, coffee, juice, roll & butter. Simple, but a good start to a Glockenspiel kind of day.

Oh no, how do I get the bike out of here?

I woke up this morning and discovered that during the overnight hours, a truck/van had arrived, and secured a hotel room. It so happens that the van requires some level of refrigeration, which requires A/C power. And so, Martina allowed the man to use electricity in the garage, where my bike is parked. Unfortunately, this has negative consequences, right?

The Rathaus-Glockenspiel

The Rathaus-Glockenspiel of Munich is a tourist attraction in Marienplatz, the heart of Munich.

It dates from 1908 and every day at 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. ( as well as 5 p.m. in the summer) it chimes and re-enacts two stories from the 16th century. It consists of 43 bells and 32 life-sized figures. The top half of the Glockenspiel tells the story of the marriage of the local Duke Wilhelm V to Renata of Lorraine. In honor of the happy couple there is a joust with life-sized knights on horseback representing Bavaria and Lothringen. The Bavarian knight wins every time, of course.

This is then followed by the bottom half and second story: According to myth, 1517 was a year of plague in Munich. The coopers are said to have danced through the streets to “bring fresh vitality to fearful dispositions.” The coopers remained loyal to the duke, and their dance came to symbolize perseverance and loyalty to authority through difficult times. By tradition, the dance is performed in Munich every seven years.

The whole show lasts somewhere between 12 and 15 minutes long depending on which tune it plays that day. At the very end of the show, a very small golden rooster at the top of the Glockenspiel chirps quietly three times, marking the end of the spectacle.

As expected, the Glockenspiel started it’s fanfare right on time. Watching this thing is a little like watching paint dry, but the crowd loved it, and I have to admit that I also enjoyed watching the two knights joust. Sorry for all of the camera movement, but here’s the rendering of the display.

The square in Munich

After watching the Glockenspiel, I wandered the square, looking for interesting things, and something to eat. I devoured a delicious spicy sausage in a roll, and then came upon this headless accordion player. Enjoy.

Fountain on the square

This is a frivolous video, serving really no purpose, but I liked the fountain. So, you get a video of a fountain.

BMW Factory/Museum

OK, now, I’m probably going to take a lot of shit for this part of the post, especially after Bill V spent all that time providing me with insightful and relevant information, but honesty is always best, right?

My plan was to do a drive-by of the BMW museum, take a picture, but not spend any time there. I had already been to 1 factory tour, and 2 museums in the past couple of days, and even though it’s the BMW factory, I’m not really that interested in BMW cars, and never had a strong affinity for the old BMW bikes. In addition, I’m told that the factory tours are usually sold out in advance, so it seemed that I would only be able to see the museum. Besides, being a member of the BMW MOA, I’ve seen hundreds of vintage bikes, so I figured I’d be able to let this one go, in hopes that I could get laundry done, and get an early start tomorrow.

As it turns out, the BMW museum is the least appealing of all of them, from the outside. Bills suggestions indicate that it’s awesome on the inside, but the outside is very plain, so I did not even bother taking a picture.

I kind of feel guilty, but then, I kind of don’t.

Laundry Day

I hate doing laundry, even under the best of conditions, so having to do laundry on the road is undesirable, but really necessary. So, after several days of wearing walking clothes, and a few days of riding, I’ve got a bit of laundry to get done.

The hotel does not have a laundry facility, but Martina has offered to do the laundry for me, so after arriving back at the hotel at about 1:00 PM, I turned over all of my dirty stuff, and sat down for a beer and a little ‘Blogging.

What will tomorrow bring

Tomorrow is a longish day, expected to be about 375 miles or so, and which will include a stop at the Eagles Nest, one of Hitler’s “homes” in the hills of Austria. I am making today an early day, so I’ll be packed, and ready to set out immediately after breakfast tomorrow morning. With any luck, I’ll pack the bike, take a shower, eat breakfast, and hit the road.