We awoke to rain and overcast skies but we still decided to take in a walking tour of Munich. It was the same tour company as in Berlin (Free Europe Tours) and we were not disappointed. Munich has a rich past, both light and dark, of war, beer, war, and…beer. Our tour included Marienplatz and the Glockenspiel, Rathaus, Frauenkirche, St. Peter's Church, Victualienmarkt and the Maypole, Hofbrauhaus, National Theatre, Royal Residenz, Odeonsplatz, and more.

As well, we heard about Munich's formation, rise to greatness, fall to the Swedish, rise with the Prussians, fall after WWI, rise to power of Hitler, fall after the end of WWII, and the years following. After the tour, we went to a most festive, jolly, and loud beer garden - the Hofbrauhaus. We played cards over a few beers, served in one-litre steins. It was a lot of fun to hear the Oompah-pah band and see the wide array of people who were there. Connor and Tessa had a different idea of what it would be like, so they were a little disappointed that it wasn't more medieval and barbaric, but we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless. Beer gardens in Munich are much different than in Canada. People sit wherever they can find space, so you are often sharing tables. Everyone sings along with the band. According to our tour, an establishment can't call itself a beer garden unless it has a chestnut tree. Why? Because the leafy trees provided shade in earlier times to keep the beer kegs cool! The Hofbrauhaus has been the backdrop for meetings of some of Germany's most powerful leaders, including Hitler, and others so it is a very famous and "happening" place.

As sad as it sounds, we walked to the train station for supper and lowered ourselves to our first fast food meal in 6 weeks. It was really quite good, considering it was Burger King. We considered hitting another beer garden after supper, but decided to head home instead and relax a little so that we'd have some energy left for tomorrow.