Germany

Last Day in Munich, Germany

Posted by Girl With Chalk

I spent my last day in Munich inside the Alte Pinakothek Museum. I love renaissance art, and this place had many of my favorite works.

The Alte Pinakothek houses much of the city’s most famous artwork, this museum’s collection includes renowned international works from the 14th through the 18th centuries.
Got my ticket and a locker to store my stuff.
The day that I was here, the museum was featuring Woman In Blue, a painting by the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. It’s part of the collection of Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum and on loan to Munich for 3 months.
The Raphael’s are amazing. On the left is “The Holy Family with Saints Elizabeth and John”,1506. On the right is the “Madonna Tempi”, 1508.
Peter Paul Rubens “The apocalyptic woman”, between 1623 and 1624.
Lots of Peter Paul Rubens.
Johannes Vermeer “Woman in Blue”, 1663–1664.
El Greco “The Disrobing of Christ”, between 1580 and 1595.
Rembrandt “Self Portrait”, 1629.
One of my favorite painters, Parmigianino “Mary with Child”, 1503-1540. This work is so beautiful. I could stare at it all day long.
Raphael “Madonna della tenda”, 1514.
After the museum, I had lunch at Cafe Katzentempel. This kitty’s name is Baloo.
I didn’t catch this kitty’s name…
One more walk through the Marienplatz downtown before getting on my train.
I picked up these cute Oktoberfest souvenirs. I will cherish my time in Munich forever.

Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany

Posted by Girl With Chalk

Today we went to Oktoberfest in Munich! It was wonderful.

The Marienplatz (St. Mary, Our Lady’s Square) is a central square in the city center of Munich, Germany. It has been the city’s main square since 1158. This is a view of the city hall.
View of the Neues Rathaus and Frauenkirche looking west.
View of the Mariensäule, a Marian column located on the Marienplatz in Munich, Germany. Mary is revered here as Patrona Bavariae (Protector of Bavaria). The column is topped by a golden statue of the Virgin Mary standing on a crescent moon as the Queen of Heaven, created in 1590. The Mariensäule in Munich was the first column of this type built north of the Alps and inspired erecting other Marian columns in this part of Europe.
The entrance to Oktoberfest, the world’s largest beer festival, which begins in Munich, Germany, on September 22. A celebration of Bavarian folk traditions, the event is attended yearly by more than 6.2 million tourists from around the world.
There are about 80 rides on the Oktoberfest run by carny families, most of who have been working for the Oktoberfest since the beginning of the 20th century.
Celebrating Oktoberfest with gingerbread hearts. These whimsical hearts are known as “Lebkuchenherz” (German for “gingerbread heart”). A gingerbread heart is a customary accessory for women who wear traditional dirndl dresses to Oktoberfest.
This was our beer tent for Oktoberfest. The Schottenhamel Spatenbrau is one of the most important tents of the Wiesn, as everything starts inside this tent. On the opening day of the Wiesn, at 12 pm on the dot, the mayor of Munich, Dieter Reiter will tap the first keg and call out “O’zapft is!” confirming that the tapping was successful. It is only after this that all other tents may begin to serve beer. The Schottenhamel tent, which in 1867 was just a small beer booth with 50 seats, has become the largest Wiesn tent with 10,000 seats.
Our tickets to enter the tent reservation.
The appetizers at Oktoberfest, every table gets one. We had 2 tables.
Can’t go wrong with a beer and a pretzel. The pretzels are huge.
All beer served at the Oktoberfest tents must be from one of Munich’s six breweries—Paulaner, Spaten, Hacker-Pschorr, Augustiner, Hofbräu, and Löwenbräu. The beer must also follow the Reinheitsgebot. The dinner also comes with roasted chicken and potatoes.
View from the top of the Ferris wheel at Oktoberfest. Each of the tents holds around 10,000 people.
Inside the Paulanergarten tent.
Inside the Hacker-Festzelt tent.
Inside the Hofbrau Festzelt tent.

Frankfurt, Germany

Posted by Girl With Chalk

Started my vacation this year in Frankfurt, Germany. I went with my cousins and our first stop was filled with great food and drinks.

Frankfurt’s “Old Town”, although it was partially destroyed during World War II, it’s been fully reconstructed in the years since, saving many of the original buildings.
Saint Bartholomeus’ Cathedral. This 13th-century church is the site of the coronation of German kings and Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire for centuries. The cathedral is the largest church in Frankfurt and lies on the banks on the River Main.
This is how they do their franks here!
And don’t forget their chicken and potatoes.
I even had a chance to visit one of the local galleries in town. This one had a modern art exhibit.

European Vacation Day 8 Frankfurt, Germany

Posted by Girl With Chalk

Departed from Cologne to Frankfurt. Spent the day in old town Frankfurt and visited St. Bartholomew’s Cathedral. Had a good beer & hotdog for Oktöberfest!

Our hotdogs and beer.
Our hotdogs and beer.
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Old town Frankfurt.
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The buildings in the town square.
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St. Bartholomew’s Cathedral.
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Inside the cathedral.
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Death of the Virgin 1434-38.
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Gorgeous alter relief sculpture.
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Beautiful sculpture.
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Oktöberfest in Frankfurt!

European Vacation Day 7 Cologne, Germany

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We are still in Cologne, Germany. Today we visited the inside of the Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral) and afterwards went on a one and a half-hour sightseeing bus tour of the city. It rained all day so after our tour we came back to the hotel to get our laundry washed before our departure tomorrow.

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Inside Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral), a beautiful gothic cathedral at the center of town.
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This is a beautiful building that I saw one street over from our hotel. It was so tall, I couldn’t fit it in my phone’s camera viewer.
The view from our room at Hotel Lyskirchen.
The view from our room at Hotel Lyskirchen.

 

 

European Vacation Day 6 Cologne, Germany

Posted by Girl With Chalk

Today we took the train to Cologne, Germany. We visited the Lindt Chocolate Museum. It was drizzling outside so instead of walking around, we went swimming in the hotel’s heated indoor swimming pool and afterwards entered the sauna for a few minutes.

Kölner Dom church in Colon
Kölner Dom church in Cologne, Germany.
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Lindt Imhoff Schokoladen Museum in Cologne, Germany.
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Oktoberfest in Germany! Had a little fun Snap-chatting this to a few friends!
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The heated indoor swimming pool at our hotel. Vacations don’t get any better than this!