Fascinating Facts About Munich

I've been living in Munich nearly four months, and it seems high time to share some (possibly) well-known and lesser-known tidbits about this city:

Arts & Sciences

• Art Nouveau lovers rejoice! Munich is swimming in opportunities to see architecture and exhibitions, and the German term for the movement, Jugendstil, was taken from the Munich magazine that popularized it.

An example of Jugendstil architecture

• Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory was filmed in Munich.

• Although he was born in nearby Ulm, physicist Albert Einstein grew up in Munich.

• The Deutsches Museum in Munich is Germany's most visited museum. Dedicated to science and technology, the museum is located on an island in the Isar River.

• Donna Summer, American entertainer, performed in the Munich production of Hair in 1967. Her signature disco sound came about through early collaboration with German artists.

Nazi History

The Munich coat of arms during Nazi rule.

• Eva Braun, model and photographer, was born and raised in Munich, where she met Hitler and become his companion.

• There is a “Hitler’s Munich” tour, which points out numerous areas of historical significance to the Nazi Party, which was founded here.

• Hitler’s failed coup attempt (Beer Hall Putsch / Munich Putsch / Hitlerputsch) took place in Munich, leading to his arrest and imprisonment for treason.

• A 2012 raid on a Munich man’s home uncovered a billion-dollar stash of artwork that had previously been seized by the Nazis, including works by Matisse, Renoir, Delacroix, Ernst Kirchner, Albrecht Dürer, Chagall, Max Liebermann, and Picasso.

Sports

• Munich hosted the infamous 1972 Summer Olympic Games, where 11 Israeli hostages, a police officer, and 5 of the Palestinian kidnappers were killed. (More on this event in an upcoming blog post.)

• Munich is home to FC Bayern, the 7th-ranked soccer team in the world, with 11 international titles and 56 national titles.

• I shared pictures of surfing in the English garden in a previous post. But for the past six years, the Surf & Style European Championship has been held at the Munich airport!

 Society & Economics

• In addition to a surfing competition, Munich’s five-star airport offers its own brewery, a visitors’ park with a playground and mini-golf, and historic aircraft to explore. 

• With 8,000 seats, Munich’s Königlicher Hirschgarten is the world’s largest beer garden.

Visiting BMW World
in April with a friend.
The HQ building towers
in the background.

• The BMW complex, which includes the corporate headquarters, BMW Museum, BMW World, and BMW auto assembly plant, has its own zip code. Fitting, since the company is Munich’s largest employer.

• Doc Martens were designed by German doctor Klaus Märtens and were manufactured in Munich before Märtens and his business partner sold the patent rights to a UK company.

• Munich has the lowest unemployment rate (approximately 3.0%) of any German city with more than a million people.

• Munich has one of Germany’s highest percentage of foreign nationals (27.6%), with folks coming from 180 nations.

• Munich has its own version of a Hatfield-McCoy feud. For more than 14 years the Kern and Bensch families have been warring from opposite sides of a 12-foot wall, barbed wire, and security cameras. The real kicker? They live in a duplex!

• Munich is home to the original shop of Dallmayr, the largest delicatessen enterprise in Europe. The company has been in business more than 300 years!

From Munich to the Mediterranean

Last week, Larry dragged himself out of the office long enough for us to go on a real vacation. Although the original intent was a mind-cleansing week on the beach, we did take advantage of some of the sight-seeing opportunities in our vacation destination: Malta.

So how to tie it back to Munich (or even Germany as a whole) for this blog in a way that is more meaningful than “just a short flight away?” 

Tough call, but here are a few tidbits:

• Although Malta is a seven-island archipelago comprising an entire country, it is roughly the same size (316 sq km) as the city of Munich (310 sq km).

• The movie Munich was not actually filmed in Munich, but one of the shoot locations was...Malta!

• The only passport that provides access to more countries around the world than a German passport? The very rare (only 500 people have it) Sovereign Military Order of Malta passport.

• Because of its strategic location and importance to British forces, Malta was heavily bombed by the Germans and the Italians in World War II.

• The members of the Maltese team for the European Youth Olympic Festival were on our flight to Munich. 😊

Now that we have the trivia out of the way, please enjoy some boring vacation photos... 

Like much of the Mediterranean, one of the first things you notice are the various stunning shades of blue of the water.

We wanted low-key, so opted to stay in this converted farmhouse on the island of Gozo
instead of staying on the main island of Malta. 

The name of our accommodation? Rustic Farmhouse With Views. Appropriate for a scene like this, where you can see the Blue Lagoon in the tiny neighboring island of Comino, and in the distance you can see the main island of Malta.
This shot also shows the traditional rock walls that line most streets in Malta. It's all dry-fit stone and the perfect habitat
for lizards and (per a street sign urging driver caution) hedgehogs!

We stayed in the town of Qala (pronounced without the Q), where evenings in the town square meant
pulling chairs out on the street to have a drink and chat with neighbors. 

Most Malta beaches are rocky, like Hondoq, which was down the hill from where we were staying.

We were lucky to visit Ramla's red sand beach on a day that wasn't too crowded, and took full advantage of
comfortable sandy sunbathing and warm Mediterranean water.

To balance beach time, we visited a local artisan crafts village, and Ggantija, a 5000-year-old temple complex.

We also went on a kayaking trip (my first!), on a guided tour from Gozo to Comino,
where we stopped to swim a bit in the Blue Lagoon.

While Larry looked into dive options close to home, I enjoyed a solo day of sightseeing on Malta.
First, to the capital city of Valletta.

View from Valletta's Upper Barrakka Gardens out over the fortress armory to another fort across the way

View over part of Valletta and its waterfront

...Then a visit to what turned out to be my favorite spot of the trip:
the ancient (4,000 years old!!) walled city and former capital, Mdina

Stretch of wall to the right of Mdina's main entry gate

Interesting architecture in Mdina

Views of two streets in Mdina. Although cars were present and people still live here, the only traffic was the horse-drawn carriages giving guided tours.

View out over the walls of Mdina

Malta is definitely a land of contrasts.

Yup, they're making sun-dried tomatoes!

Many private homes have niches
in the outer walls, like this one,
with statues of Christ or patron saints.

Trying to do a scenic selfie,
with Larry mocking my constant nagging
for him to smile like he's actually enjoying himself.

On one of our last nights we visited Xlendi Bay, and had dinner at a restaurant overlooking the cove and the beautiful sunset.
Taking a break in "paradise" was nice, but it's good to be home and ready for the next local adventure!

Travels by Train: Hanau, Part 2 (A Grimm Journey)

The 600-km German Fairy Tale Route

Once upon a time, there was a magical trail that wound its way through scattered towns and scenic countryside with rolling meadows, dense forests, and whispering streams.

Turns out the time is now, and the trail is real. 

The German Fairy Tale Route starts in Hanau and meanders north to Bremen. Along the way, you’ll find places where Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm lived and worked, and locations that served as inspiration for their stories.

I first learned about the fairy tale route last year, while we were living in Hamburg. I visited Bremen, and pondered the feasibility of traveling the full length of the trail. 

When we moved to Munich, I realized that instead of working backwards, I could start my adventure from the beginning. 

One of my strongest memories from living in Hanau centered around our bedtime ritual, when one of our parents would read to us from our copy of Grimm’s fairy tales.

Listening to those stories sparked my imagination. I guess you could say it’s where my appreciation of storytelling and love of writing were born. Appropriate, since Hanau was also the birthplace of the Grimm brothers!

Every summer, Hanau holds a festival to celebrate the Grimm brothers' legacy. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to explore a city with some personal meaning. But as I related in my last post, my trip to Hanau was not what I expected... 

Statue of the Grimm brothers in front of the Hanau Rathaus

"Brothers Grimm City"

Aside from the city logo, a statue in front of city hall, a street name, and some understated festival posters, there was not much to-do about the Grimms in Hanau.






I'll admit I was expecting the extremely American over-marketing scenario where there would be pennants lining the streets, and street vendors selling t-shirts, baby bibs, and Grimm brother bobble heads.

But things didn't even rise to the level of promotion I saw in Bremen. That's a one-fairy-tale town, yet not only were there different depictions of the Bremen Town Musicians all over the city, there were multiple forms of merchandise.

If you didn't know what you were looking for in Hanau, you could easily miss it. I'm guessing the visitors center had merchandise for sale, but their office wasn't even on the main square with city hall and a mall full of shops.

The festival venue is a theater on the Phillipsruhe palace grounds where they give performances of fairy tales. But there aren't Grimm brother actors walking through downtown handing out promotional flyers, or costumed characters from their stories to get you excited about the worlds they created.

The lack of hoopla was surprising at first, particularly in light of all of the competing forms of entertainment and diversion we have at our fingertips. 

Maybe the intent was to let the works speak for themselves, and to avoid cheapening the Grimm brothers legacy through crass commercialism. 

Maybe instead of a missed marketing opportunity for Hanau, it's a conscious effort to balance against 850+ years of non-Grimm-related history and achievements.

But now my interest is piqued. How do other cities along the route represent their connection to the Grimms? 

Maybe I'll have to hit the trail in the near future to find out!



If you’re interested in learning more about the German Fairy Tale Route, you can find an interactive map, fairy tale information, and travel tips here.

Travels by Train: Hanau, Part 1 (Home is Where the Heart Is)

From ages 4 to 14, I lived at 8 addresses in 7 cities on 2 continents. I loved the life, but because the places I lived were so scattered (and most on military bases), going back to visit the old homestead(s) was not really feasible. 

Until now.

From January 1977 to July 1978 we lived in Hanau, our second location in Germany. Hanau sits about 25 miles east of Frankfurt, with a port on the Main river. 

They say you can’t go home again, but I decided to hop the train for the three-hour trip to Hanau and find out if that was true.

a section of downtown Hanau, 1977

As eager as I was, there were small signs from the very beginning that things would not turn out how I expected:

• When I got to my track at Munich's Hauptbahnhof with carefully planned minutes to spare, I found my train had moved to another track. 

• At my transfer in Würzburg, I hurried to the track listed on my ticket, but the train waiting there did not match the train number on my itinerary. 

• After I resolved my connection dilemma, I was finally on my way. Till I noticed a strange smell, and smoke began streaming past the window. The slowdown and subsequent wait for repairs to the train put me into Hanau about 45 minutes behind schedule.

In the Hanau Hauptbahnhof, I grabbed a quick lunch and checked the map. None of the local trains ran out to the site of the old base, but it was just one stop on a regional train, so off I went.

I got a bit turned around, but once I knew I was heading in the right direction, I felt almost giddy. As I crested a pedestrian bridge into the area, I sped up at the familiar sight of barracks through the trees. I was almost there!

Even though I knew the last U.S. troops left in 2008, I didn't expect what I saw. Probably because I read about a Hanau tour that included a stop at the former barracks. I guess I assumed there'd be limited access, visitor information, something.

But it was what it was. Just an abandoned military base with some history, but no monumental value, awaiting redevelopment.

A cab was parked near the base's main gate. I'm sure the driver was wondering why I was peering through the fence and taking pictures. At some point, after trampling through some brush to try to see building numbers, I began wondering that about myself.

My early years were largely rootless. Was I trying to etch out my own version of "Kilroy was Here"?

Across the road, the buildings behind a derelict AAFES gas station had been converted into refugee housing. Despite my personal disappointment, that fact lifted my spirits a bit. I decided to move on, and explore the city proper.

Turned out the regional train only ran once an hour, and because Hanau is part of the Frankfurt transportation system, Google was confused about figuring out routes for me.

So I ended up walking. A lot. Which normally makes me happy because of all the unexpected things you discover. In this case, however, I think my expectations were just too high.

In my head, Hanau was a cute village outside the big city, where I once lived and played and loved going to school. 

a section of Hanau near Phillipsruhe palace, 2017

In reality, Hanau is a typical small city; largely nondescript but with isolated areas of charm. 

I've felt a strong connection to Germany ever since moving here nearly two years ago. Maybe it's an idealized nostalgia, or an appreciation for this opportunity to live abroad as an adult, or a combination of both.

My Hanau experience wasn't so much about not being able to go home again, but about the fact that I had no point of reference for what that was. 

Hanau was "home" like most of the other places in which I'd lived--a discrete island in a stream of life lived fully in two-year chunks. That puts me around 20 lifetimes removed from the world I experienced there. 

Building 402, Apartment 3. That's me, second from the left.

I wouldn't trade those lifetimes for anything, but there are times when I do envy people with a real "hometown." So I guess that's what I was hoping to find in my trip to Hanau--some concrete representation of the connection I feel. 

Instead, I think the experience confirmed what I've long suspected: “home” for me is a state of mind, not a physical location. 

And even though I didn't find what I thought I was looking for, I'm glad I went looking. It makes me realize how precious are each of the stops I've made so far, and reminds me that I need to cherish each connection and every adventure along the way. 

The Struggle is Real: Medieval v. Modern Life

As I’ve mentioned before, one of the things that makes Munich so interesting is its adherence to tradition and its embrace of modernity. Every event is a reason to bring out the Lederhosen and Dirndl, until it starts to seem normal to see folks in their Trachten coordinating amongst themselves on cell phones.

High reverence for the past seems to be common throughout much of Bavaria. This past weekend I traveled to Landshut—about 60 km northeast of Munich—to witness the town’s Hochzeitfest.

The Landshuter Hochzeit is one of Europe’s largest medieval events. It celebrates the 1475 wedding of Georg the Rich of Bavaria-Landshut (a Wittelsbach) to Polish princess Hedwig Jagiellon.

Festival participants are not actors, but locals who must apply and be approved for their roles. (The bride and bridegroom must have been born in Landshut and be from noble families.)

I skipped the many accompanying activities and focused on the wedding procession. Since getting a good viewing spot was pretty competitive, it was nice to have wandering entertainment for those of us who arrived extra early (see video for a sample of pre-procession fun).

The Landshuter Hochzeit only happens once every four years. Among other things, that allows time for participants to grow their hair and beards to be more authentic. Talk about tradition!

The wedding procession was a phenomenal feat, and with 2,000 people taking part, it's obviously a significant cultural investment by the people of Landshut. 

Yes, that is a real falcon. There were also donkeys, some of the
most amazing horses I've ever seen, and a gaily decorated goat.

You can see the bride's wagon coming into view on the left.
Unfortunately, she was looking toward the other side of the street when it passed closest to me.

It was an amazing experience, and made me appreciate how people maintain ties to their roots. Which got me thinking about the flip side; mainly, an article I saw last month titled “Monument Warden Warns: Munich's Cityscape Is in Danger.” 

Living in Munich is a hot commodity. Real estate prices here are the highest in Germany, and despite already having the highest population density in the country, the city continues to be one of the fastest-growing destinations.

Lovely as it is, it's not practical to build--or even
sometimes maintain--a building like this in a modern world...

Such competition, especially in an increasingly global market, means more focus on modern efficiencies. 

The monument warden’s concerns were twofold: the destruction of the city’s architectural character, and a general dislike for the prevailing modern aesthetic.

Unfortunately, Munich has a high threshold for “monument” status for its buildings, so keeping the city’s character in mind is largely at the whim of developers.

Since Germany is one of the top 20 most populous countries, and the annual world population growth is at 80 million, eventually these kinds of concerns will trickle down to smaller communities that indulge their traditions, like Landshut.

In my previous life working for a land conservation nonprofit and as consultant to the EPA, I learned a lot about market pressures and the travails that come with urban redevelopment. Even with our relatively brief national history, the battle in U.S. cities between the past and the future mirrors what’s happening over here.

...But I’m not particularly interested in seeing generic buildings
like this one, either. Who wants to see Every Same City
on every continent? I think it’s our histories and
cultures that make our differences interesting!

I'll admit to a sentimental and outdated view of "the Old World" as, well, just that. In school we learn about the rich and romantic Europe of the past, and it's hard to think why anyone would want to walk away from that.

So I instantly sympathized with the monument warden's concerns. Although my wanderings in and around Munich explore the juxtaposition of past and present, what I'm really looking for are those links to history.

Sadly, I realize my view is not practical as populations grow and needs change. But I can’t help feeling that once these emblems of the past are gone, they’re gone, and we lose a tangible anchor to the customs, folklore, and lessons--good and bad--of our past.