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.
Our second day in Germany was reserved for the “Royal Castles” tour of Neuschwanstein and Linderhof castles.
The sight-seeing tour that we took.One of the stops on our castle tour was in the town of Oberammergau. We stopped here for an hour. I had never heard of this little German town tucked away in the hills of the Bavarian region about an hour south of Munich. It was a little mountainside town that had frescoes painted on the town’s homes and buildings.Some houses had fairy tales painted on them and some had religious paintings. It was so amazing to spend an hour walking through these little streets.Today I wore my “Where’s Waldo” outfit that my friend Kelly got me. She said I needed it because I travel so much. I took this picture and posted it on my social media with the caption “Where in the World is Waldo?”The gardens of the Linderhof castle.At the entrance of Linderhof castle, waiting for the tour to begin.Hohenschwangau Castle or “Schloss Hohenschwangau” (Upper Swan County Palace) is a 19th-century palace in southern Germany. It was the childhood residence of King Ludwig II of Bavaria and was built by his father, King Maximilian II of Bavaria. It is located in the German village of Hohenschwangau.Neuschwanstein Castle (New Swanstone Castle) is a 19th-century Romanesque Revival palace on a hill above the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. The castle was intended as a home for the king until he died in 1886. It was open to the public shortly after his death.The castle sits up high in the mountain and there is a bus that brings you up, but it drops you off here and it is still quite a hike to get to the entrance.Inside the Throne Hall, pictures were not allowed but I was able to sneak this one of the details of the frescoes painted on the walls.View from the castle of the town below of Füssen (where we had lunch earlier) and behind it; the core of Schwangau in front of the Forggensee reservoir.A postcard of Oktoberfest that I watercolored for one of my friends in the United States.Another postcard of Oktoberfest that I watercolored for one of my friends in the United States.A postcard that I watercolored of Neuschwanstein Castle for my friend Kelly in the United States who got me my “Where’s Waldo?” outfit.
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.
