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October 17th, part II - Continuing the first full day in Munich.


The square to the west of the Residenz in Munich
The square to the west of the Residenz in Munich

To the west of the Residenz was a small square, with two very tall poles reaching into the sky. The poles had some sort of symbols on them, probably religeous.


There were several beautiful statues on the square, one of which can be seen here.

The second picture is of the golden inscription underneath the statue.

One of the statues in the square in Munich
The inscription under the statue

The left statue
The right statue

There were copper statues to the left and right of the larger one seen above.


And then we noticed a church. It wasn't nearly as ornate as some of them we've seen so far... In fact, it didn't look like too much at all - many of the city's buildings were just as beautiful.

However, what we were looking at was the Theatinerkirche, the Theatine Church. We didn't know that at the time.

As usual, some of it was in the process of restoration, so the only obvious entrance we could find was a little, nondescript wooden door facing the square (directly behind the blue van in the second photograph). We were nervous going in, because nothing was marked - we weren't even sure it was open for tourists. But, we went in...

...

The yellow facade of the Theatinerkirche in Munich
The yellow facade of the Theatinerkirche in Munich

The inside of the Theatinerkirche in Munich
The inside of the Theatinerkirche in Munich
The inside of the Theatinerkirche in Munich

...

... And our jaws just dropped, as we stepped into the most incredible church ever. Everything was brilliant white stone, carved into impossibly complex patterns.

There were bouquets of flowers, the petals fractions of an inch thick, carved from this marvelous stone. Looping spirals, perfect crosshatch patterns, it was all breathtaking.


Scrollwork. Angels and children, their arms no larger than a real child's. Saints. Everything in perfect, exquisite detail.

The inside of the Theatinerkirche in Munich
The inside of the Theatinerkirche in Munich
The inside of the Theatinerkirche in Munich

The inside of the Theatinerkirche in Munich
The inside of the Theatinerkirche in Munich
A crypt in the Theatinerkirche in Munich

We could have easily stayed in this church for hours, taking pictures of the sheer beauty, but it was in use. A handful of the faithful were praying, and it just didn't seem right to impose any more than we already had.

There are a few people buried in the Theatinerkirche, the last photograph shows one of their crypts.


We finally left the Theatinerkirche, almost out of breath. That church was overwhelming. Tracy consulted her map, and we weren't far from another famous church, the Frauenkirche. We headed out.

After a few minutes of walking, we found it easily (the most prominent characteristic of the Frauenkirche is its high onion domes).

In the small square at the entrance, there was an odd little collection of fountains, almost like little mushrooms. Quite strange, but neat nonetheless.

Inside, the church wasn't nearly as breathtaking as the previous, but look at the size of that crucifix!

The fountain outside of the Frauenkirche in Munich
The onion domes of the Frauenkirche in Munich
The main entrance to the Frauenkirche in Munich
The interior of the Frauenkirche in Munich

At this point, we were exhausted. We'd been travelling for a week, walking for hours and hours every day on stone walkways and streets, and quite frankly, we needed a break. Our hips were killing us, our feet were swollen and sore, and we just needed to slow down for a bit.

Not to mention, Tracy's camera was out of power, and I needed to stop at our friendly local pawn shop on the way back to get an adapter for my power converter (so I could charge mine as well). So, we trudged back to the hotel.

We plugged our batteries in, and hit a local cafe for a quick bite to eat. Afterwards, we all retired back to the hotel for several desperately-needed hours of relaxation. I took a snooze and felt ten shades of fantastic when I woke up.


A beautiful church on the way to the Hacher Pschorr brewery in Munich
A beautiful church on the way to the Hacher Pschorr brewery in Munich
A beautiful church on the way to the Hacher Pschorr brewery in Munich

Once we were rested up, we were hungry again. Tracy perused her guidebooks, and we decided to head out for the Hacher Pschorr brewery, which was just a few blocks away.

Hacher Pschorr is one of Tracy and Rob's favorite beers, so it was convenient that they were so close. It also bordered on the grounds that Munich's huge Oktoberfest festival is held on, so that would be interesting as well.

And along the way, we found another beautiful church, in the most perfect light... Here are three pictures of it - the first two are close to it, the third is from Hacher Pschorr's Beirgarten.

And I really don't know why I didn't take any pictures AT Hacher Pschorr, I should have. It was a neat place, with bundles of hops hanging from the ceilings. I had an excellent roast duck, and we wandered on back to the hotel for the evening.

Tomorrow... The Dachau concentration camp.

<-- Oct 17th, part I   Oct 18th, part I -->

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