Sunday in Munich

First I want to clarify my 1000 steps post. We climbed 612 up and down the church tower.  The other 400 were in the  U Bahn's (subways),   The reason we climbed so many subway stairs was that the subways escalators were not working - or so we thought!   It turns out they are operated by photo electric eye.  We never walked close enough to break the beam.   This city is full of surprises.!

Also as those of you who have read so far can see, we are not usual tourists.   We like to hang out and see what the local people are up to,  and have conversations with them when possible.   However today we did break down and visit the ALTE PINAKOTHEK or museum of the old masters.  It is one of the 5 museums in the museum area.

ALTE PINAKOTHEK

I was reminded how after 9/11  the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston was open free for the entire month of October.   I visited several of the rooms of Christian art and found so much violence in the paintings that it did not give me relief from the stress around the tragedy.    I gravitated to the room of Buddhas which was quiet and still and calming .

The subject of art definitely affects how I respond to it.   I am not an art historian and  while I listened to parts of what one guide was saying and found it interesting for comparison - I could not appreciate the amount of violence portrayed in the mostly Christian art.  I was glad when we finally stepped back out into the sunlight.

It saddens me that this was how many largely learned "the Christian story."   So little of the love Jesus preached.

We went back through Marienplatz  looking for a place to eat and decided to check out the Hof Brau Haus, a Munich landmark.  BAD IDEA!   Although it seats hundreds, going on a weekend,   a Holiday weekend,  (Bavarians take Pentecost seriously - there is a 2 week school vacation!)  The place was filled.  It is made up of many communal tables where strangers crowd together and raise  large steins of beer while am oompah band encourages the revelry.  It was extremely crowded.

 We enjoyed "the ambiance :)" for a while and then went to more calmer quarters for our lunch and kuchen.

A walk back through Marienplatz  enjoying all the activity and a U Bahn ride "home".  Then we spent the rest fo the afternoon talking with Daniela and Emre - now good friends.  We will miss them when we leave i the morning to pick up our rental car and head North.

One more item of interest.  We kept passing nuns in traditional dress but never saw where they were going.  Daniela told me they are in the building directly across the street from us.  The following pictures of their convent were taken form our window.