Our acquaintance with Munich began on Friday evening at the central square, Marienplatz, when all the central streets were filled with crowds of people, each having their own way of having fun.
Marienplatz is the heart of Munich.
It’s the heart of Munich, its liveliest part. Pushing through the bustling crowd, you can see the column of the Virgin Mary, the new and old town halls, buildings representing different epochs, restaurants and cafes serving Bavarian beer and sausages, and listen to the chime of the famous clock in the new town hall. On Friday evenings, chaos reigns here, and the city center is littered with trash. Noisy, drunken groups wander from one beer hall to another as the whole city rushes to celebrate the end of the workweek. By Saturday morning, thanks to the prompt municipal services, the city is clean and fresh again, ready to welcome thousands of tourists.
Hofbräuhaus München is one of the most famous beer restaurants in the world, opened in 1607. Initially, it served as a royal brewery, but later it transformed into a mecca for all beer enthusiasts. The Platzl square still welcomes pilgrims from all corners of our planet. Lenin and Hitler have been here, and it is even possible that they might have crossed paths.
“Hofbräuhaus” consists of three halls and a beer garden. It can accommodate up to 4,000 people at the same time. Every minute, 50 liters of beer are consumed in the restaurant. In the summer, it’s pleasant to sit in the beer garden, where the tables are shaded by chestnut trees. The garden is spacious, with room for 400 people.
In Munich, besides the Bavarian Motor Works (Bayerische MotorenWerke or BMW), the company’s headquarters, museum, and multi-functional center BMW Welt are located. All three facilities are ultra-modern constructions, showcasing the latest achievements of innovative design thinking.
For the 1972 Olympics in Munich, many new buildings were constructed, including the Olympic Tower, the stadium, and the BMW museum. It is situated near the official BMW headquarters, which is known for its unique design – four silver cylinders suspended on a central column just a short distance above the ground. The museum’s space-age design earned it endearing nicknames from the locals, who call it the “salad bowl” or the “pot for white sausages,” although its original intention was to resemble a car’s fuel tank. The BMW logo is placed on the museum’s roof, visible only from a bird’s-eye view.
The Olympic Park (Olympiapark) is located in the north of Munich, and it was specifically built for the 1972 Olympic Games. The park was established on the site of a city dump. Mountains of waste were covered with soil and transformed with landscape design, an artificial lake was dug, and an artificial hill was created. The main attraction of the park is the Olympic Tower, standing at a height of 290 meters, which visitors can ascend using a high-speed elevator to get a bird’s-eye view of Munich. Besides being a fully functional TV and radio tower, the Olympic Tower houses a range of tourist facilities: three observation decks, a café, and even a rock museum.
On sunny, cool days when the atmospheric haze disappears, the peaks of the Bavarian Alps, located about fifty kilometers away from the city, are visible in the southern direction. At a height of 181 meters, there is a rotating café that can accommodate 150 visitors. The restaurant completes a full rotation in 53 minutes, allowing diners to enjoy a panoramic view of the entire city from a bird’s-eye perspective.
The English Garden in Munich can rightfully be called the “green heart” of the city, as it is one of the largest urban parks in the world. Thanks to its beauty and truly immense size (covering an area of 4.17 square kilometers), the park has become a favorite relaxation spot for the residents of Munich and, of course, tourists. It seemed as though all the local city dwellers gathered here on Sunday to lie on the grass, engaging in leisurely conversations and relaxation.
Undoubtedly, Salzburg is one of the most charming cities in Austria, with its unique character, architecture, and history, attracting a large number of tourists.
Lucerne was the final destination of our journey; from there, we started heading back, taking a slightly more northerly route.
The Principality of Liechtenstein, with it’s capital Vaduz, covers an area of 160 km², making it one of the smallest countries in Europe, situated between Austria and Switzerland.
