Quo Vado: München

Tuesday 2/10- There was a lot to do today, so I must eat breakfast. Since the hotel was a bit nicer than my previous abodes, I actually looked forward to eating. Decent spread this time and no busing your own dishes like in the hostel. I had gotten my bearings the previous afternoon/evening, so I proceeded to walk into the center of town.

Even though I only really needed to go to the Glyptothek, I wanted to see a few more things for the short time I had in Munich. I stepped into the Jesuit church which was very much baroque. Then the Frauenkirche, the Cathedral which had been totally destroyed in the war excepting the twin bell towers. The reconstruction was mostly modern- in the 1970s, so the interior is half-gutted. The elevator up the tower was closed for the winter, so I thought I had missed another one of my climbs. Fortunately, after watching the clock on the Rathaus (Town Hall) do its animation in front of dozens of screaming kids, I spied another church with people on its tower.

Since a service was going on in, I backed out and went on the the outdoor market. They really have nice stuff- fresh fruit, cheeses, honey, breads, meats, fish, flowers, etc. I think I could even live in Munich- good food, culture, music, art... In any case, I got a gurken and a cinnamon bun and ate both right away before going back to the church. I paid my 1 euro and started climbing. It was a little higher than I thought, and I suddenly regretted having the pickle/sticky bun mixture churning in my stomach. But the view was worth it- all the way to the Alps. The weather had been partly cloudy and decent, but quickly became cloudy and very windy. When I say windy, I mean gale force. So windy that I hoped the tower had been rebuilt after the war with a steel structure. After braving the winds for a while and watching the clock dance again from on high, it was time to move on. But Munich makes me hungry, so I got a bratwurst from a little shop in the market washed down with a Spezi, which is coke and orange soda mixed together, some kind of local speciality.

Half-Spezi in hand, I walked north, through small streets with shrines on the walls towards the St. Kajetan, with its yellow exterior and incredibly roccoco interior. Across the street is an odd loggia, the Feldherrnhalle- very Italianate. Nearby is where Hitler staged his abortive puscht in the 1920s. Walking towards Königplatz where the museums are located, one passes by the only remaining buildings from the headquarters of the Third Reich, still used as government buildings. Also are the remnant foundations of the temples to the Reich, left to go back to nature.

Finally, the Glyptothek. Seeing the pediments of the Temple of Aphaia at Aegina once more was a treat. I photographed everything in detail, often four or more angles per work. One of the guards befriended me and was obsessed with the Greek originals. I told him in German that I was a Roman Art Historian which seemed to impress him somewhat. Got a good deal of child imagery photographed- a good deal of Greek imagery, which may have some bearing on the establishment of precedents to Roman Art. Unfortunately, time ran out in the Roman portrait section and the woman banging the gong was not going to let me stay a second longer. I knew I would have to come back the next day and finish up the last couple of galleries and delay my departure.

Having an hour before 6pm, I literally ran to the Alte Pinakothek where the old masters are kept, but it turned out that it was open until 8pm. Bonus. Wonderful Titians, Cranachs, Rogier van der Weydens, Rubens, Rembrandts and Fra Angelicos amongst others. I would highly recommend the museum to any art lover. I walked back to the center of town to go to a restaurant I had gone to the last time I was in Munich, the Ratskeller, located under the town hall in a vaulted crypt-like space. The food was not all that good, and my vegetables consisted of a bread dumpling, a potato dumpling, and some sauerkraut. That along with my pork and .5 liter of beer left me a bit bloated. Will try another place next time. A very long day. So endeth the eighth day.

Walking into the old part of town

The Jesuit church, St. Michael

Shrine on house near the Dom

The clock on the City Hall at the moment that the jouster is hit off his horse

Statue of Mary and Jesus in front of City Hall

Detail of Heilig Geist Church

St. Peter's tower with people on top

Viktualienmarkt- cheese and wine stand

Viktualienmarkt- fruit stand

My pickle

City Hall and twin towers of the Frauenkirche from the top of St. Peter's

View of the Alps from the top of St. Peter's

Detail of old mass cards in St. Peter's

Bones of St. Mundicia in St. Peter's

Interior of St. Peter's

Johann Nepomuk Kirche Upper

Johann Nepomuk Kirche Lower

St. Kajetan Kirche (Theatinerkirche) and Feldherrnhalle

Interior of St. Kajetan

Detail of St. Kajetan

Building of the Third Reich

Detail of Rogier van der Weyden altarpiece

Panels of the Evangelists by Cranach the Elder

Jesus by Cranach the Elder

Holy Family by Raphael

Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus by Rubens

Early Self Portrait by Rembrandt

Hellenistic girl with bird

Archer from the west pediment of the Temple of Aphaia at Aegina

Color reconstruction of that archer

Fallen warrior from the east pediment of the Temple of Aphaia at Aegina- this is the moment the Classical style began

Me with fallen warrior from the east pediment of the Temple of Aphaia at Aegina

Me being dork and mimicking the pose of the archer from the east pediment of the Temple of Aphaia at Aegina

Relief of sacrifice with child attendant

Census/sacrificial relief from the base of the so-called Domitius Ahenobarbus altar

Portrait of a Flavian woman

Nero

Portrait of a Roman boy

Wednesday 2/11- No breakfast today. I had to check out, rush over to the Europcar location in the train station to have them call the main location telling them I would be late, but to keep the reservation. Then, I took the subway to Königplatz and finished the Glyptothek. Some museum officials seemed 'concerned' about me taking so many pictures. I think they thought that I might be using them for publication. Informing them of my student status seemed to satisfy them. I said goodbye to my guard friend and got two postcards. I also saw a new book in German on ancient childhood, but decided not to get it to save weight.

I ran across the street to the Altes Museum, where the decorative ancient arts are kept. Got a few good pics of children on Greek vases playing games and such. The exhibition on "Stärke Frauen" was amateur at best. Time to hop on the subway to get my bag. By the station was a Kandinsky exhibition, and the lines were totally insane. No matter. Got my bag, lugged it for about fifteen minutes to the Europcar location. By now it was snowing again, lightly. The lady looked up my reservation and informed me that she didn't have my automatic, but she had a great standard for me. I asked why the car wasn't there, and she said that the person decided to keep it another week. Great excuse. By this time, the snow was blizzard-like outside and there was no way that I was going to drive stick in snow and in a foreign country and old city. She called around in the city- no automatics "nie, never", she kept saying. I was pretty mad at this point. I always have had good experiences with Europcar to this point. The lady finally said she had a luxury Mercedes "Jeep", but that it was €20 more. I tried to argue that it was their fault. Another guy tried to place the blame on me, saying that I was late. But the car wouldn't have been there in the morning anyway!! I didn't have time for this. I paid the extra €20 and resolved myself to call/email Europcar later to complain.

I found the parking lot, go into my new 'luxury jeep', and began my pre-flight checks. The car had navigation, so I programmed a trip to Trier and was off. The snow kept up for quite some time. The weather here is very fickle. One minute it will be blindingly sunny, the next a white out. There were a few white-knuckle moments due to the snow, road construction and Schumacher wannabes in their souped-up Opels. I tried to get off one time for gas, but I messed up and it turned into a 15 minute detour. Luckily the navigation would automatically re-route me, and the German lady would tell me when to turn links and rechts and other various commands. Unluckily, the roads in the old town are not made for 'luxury jeeps', so taking a left, poking out of a little alley onto a major street was not too fun. The next time I stopped for gas would be on the autobahn.

By now it was dark, but at least not snowing. I was approaching Trier, so I pulled off and topped off the tank. The trip cost €80 in gas alone, way more due to the unforeseen increase in the tonnage of my car. I called Europcar on my cell (my first call so far) to let them know I was coming. I had no idea where I was for a long time. I drove in circles, stymied by one-way signs and pedestrian zones. I finally found the Porta Nigra and called the office again. I was very close and pulled in a few minutes later. The car was covered in salt, but none the worse for wear. I got a taxi to my hotel, checked in, and went outside to look for grub. I ended up going to an Indochine place- don't know how authentic it was considering two German women were running it. However, the soup I got was large, healthy and warm, something I needed after the long drive in the snow. Without any surprise, I watched CNNi and BBC World. Mind-numbing. So endeth the ninth day.