September 14, 2019 we arrived in Munich, Germany our final destination

First visit back here in many years.  I know we drove here, and I recall spending a lot of time in the Englisher Garden since our guest quarters were nearby, and a brief visit to Danny's uncle Simon who lived here at the time.  We came at the end of Oktoberfest that time, and this time we missed it by a week - on purpose!   Munich is located at the River Isar in the south of the Bavaria region, famous for it's beautiful architecture, culture and the annual Oktoberfest beer celebration.  The whole city gives itself over to the drinking and worship of beer for about three weeks beginning at the end of September to mid October.  Beer not withstanding, Munich's cultural scene is second to none in Germany and its fine museums are considered by some to outrank those of Berlin in quality.

                                  Examples of striking architecture are everywhere.

                

The Isar River flows through the middle of the city, with a number of smaller rivers branching around it, and is enhanced by the beautiful Englisher Garden Park. This lovely fountain marked our entrance into the park - about a 45 minute walk from where we are staying at The Spot Serviced Apartments on Petra-Kelly Strasse 3.

                  

We got here around 1230 and initially, not so many people.  Later, it became more and more crowded with families and tourists, bicycles, tricycles, pedal carts and people enjoying a beautiful Sunday.

Really quite idyllic in many sections - quiet and clean.

  

One view of the River Isar, above.  Below is where surfing has been occurring in one section of the river - The Eisbach is definitely the spot for surfing in Munich - surfers can be viewed from the bridge or riverbank on either side of the river.  There is one wave about 3 feet high and 30 feet wide.  It first appeared in 1972 after the city submerged concrete blocks under the bridge to break up the current. Unfortunately the wave was very unstable and broke only during high water (in spring after the snow melts) and could disappear for most of the summer, when the weather conditions for surfing in Munich are otherwise most favorable. Locals started some "construction work" with wooden planks to stabilize the wave and since then surfing in Munich has become a year-around sports activity. Only one person at a time can surf, and would be surfers have to queue up to take their turns.  I have a couple of surfing videos posted elsewhere but they won't open here (sorry).

Here's a more peaceful view of the river - the water flows VERY fast and is considered dangerous.

                                                 Not too dangerous to dip a foot or two in!

Found in the heart of Englisher Garden (one of the largest city parks in the world!) is the Chinese Tower, a pagoda-ey multi-level structure that serves as the centerpiece for one of the city’s most beloved beer gardens. The Chinese Tower (five stories with a live German band playing) beer garden is the second largest in Munich, offering over 7000 open-air seats at benches arranged all around the tower (which also houses a band when the weather is good). Despite its immense popularity with visitors and locals, there is always somewhere to sit and imbibe the German draft lager - we managed to lose a couple of hours here on this beautiful Sunday afternoon.

 

And what's a park without a refreshment cart?

Gotta drink a beer in the beer garden - we moved to the shade where it was much more crowded.

Signs of Fall.

It was definitely warm enough today for swimming down the rivers, dangerous currents or not, and a few souls braved the chilly wanter - had I thought to bring my swimsuit it was certainly warm enough to take a swim and have the river carry me down until I scrambled out.  Nude bathing was common in years past but seemed more unusual now - except for this guy wringing out his trunks.

Beautiful window boxes brightened up this beautiful building on our way back to the apartment.