Sometimes the only seat you can find to eat your pastry is right on the curb.

It doesn’t get any better than a train ride when you are 4! The big question, “what is faster, a train or a plane?”

The White Church

The astonishing detail of the white church.

A four hour bike tour proved to be the best way to fight through the fatigue that sets upon us the third day after crossing the ocean.

Munich comes from the word Monk.  Monks settled in the area in the 8th century.  In the 11th century they were wanting to bring salt from Salzburg to the city so a bridge was built over the Isar River by a bishop and he charged a hefty toll for them to cross.  Henry the Lion saw how much was being profited so he burned the bridge and built his own so he could be the one profiting from the toll.

The White Church is one of our favorite cathedrals because of it’s mass size and beautiful art work.

Touring the English Garden via bicycle was our family favorite.  It covers 900 acres, which is larger than Central Park in New York City.  It was originally hunting grounds for Royalty but when it was inherited by an archduke in 1777 he turned it over to the people to gain their favor.  And so it became the largest park in all of Europe.  It is flanked by the Isar River.  As we traveled along the path I looked over a vast pasture dotted with……….what……..NAKED PEOPLE?  I quickly squinted my eyes, then opened them wide and yes, I was correct, a meadow of naked people.  Okay, so I am no longer in Nebraska.  Our guide explained to us that there used to be nudists throughout the entire park, running, riding their bikes and doing what naked people do.   The government decided to restrict them to one meadow for sunbathing.  Just so I’m being clear, this is not a small area, it’s about the size of two football fields.  It is in support of (Frei Körper Kulture = Free Body Culture).  So consider that your education for the day!

There is also a man made river called the Eisbach energetically flowing through the park.  A Californian engineer-surfer dude came to Munich in the late 60’s and was impressed by the way the water flowed with great force under one of the bridges and had a vision to re-engineer the area to accommodate surfers.  So surfing is now a year round activity in the heart of Munich! We stayed awhile to watch and we could have watched all day long.  It is actually against the law but the people stood up against the government so they allowed a loop hole and call it the common sense law.  If you choose to do it and get injured or killed the city is not responsible.

Raleigh was a champ on the 4 hour tour!