 1 Monday 21 June, 2010 Following Dr Franz Hoffman's advice, today we go to the Augenklinik at the University Hospital in Munich to get my eye fixed. It was going to be a simple matter of injecting Avastin into my eye and everything would be OK. We decided to leave the car at the station and catch the train to Munich. |
 2 Monday 21 June, 2010 We travel to Munich using the Bayerische Oberlandbahn or BOB. This system has three smaller trains that run perfectly to timetable and physically connect first at Schaftlach and then Holzkirchen. Then the whole three sections travel as one train into Munich. They do this every hour in both directions all day. Can you imagine our lot doing something as precise as this? |
 3 Monday 21 June, 2010 The trains are a joy to use. |
 4 Monday 21 June, 2010 When we arrived at the Munich Hbf, we had no idea where the Augenklinik was so we caught a cab. It turned out to be three blocks away but the driver was incredibly nice. He went into the hospital to make sure someone there spoke English, showed us where to sit and what to do. |
 5 Monday 21 June, 2010 Now for the bad news: after having the same tests as in Sydney, they told me I needed major eye surgery, hospital for four days, disabled for ten more, cost €10 -15,000 and I was booked into hospital for the following Monday. I felt like crap when we left. |
 6 Monday 21 June, 2010 We walk down Rosenstrasse to Marienplatz. |
 7 Monday 21 June, 2010 We find a restaurant and sit for a meal. An entrance to the Munich subway system is nearby. U-Bahn means Untergrundbahn (subway) and S-Bahn means stadtschnellbahn (urban rapid railroad) and it is what we would call the suburban network. We used the subway on later trips to Munich and found it extremely simple to use. |
 8 Monday 21 June, 2010 While Jenni lingers over a coffee, I go to the Mariensaule. At its base are four Putti with each Putto depicted fighting a different beast that symbolises Munich's overcoming of adversity. |
 9 Monday 21 June, 2010 This one symbolises war (the lion). |
 10 Monday 21 June, 2010 This one overcomes pestilence (the cockatrice), A cockatrice is part snake and part cock and it kills with a glance. On the Putto's shield it is called a basalis. |
 11 Monday 21 June, 2010 This one fights heresy (the serpent). |
 12 Monday 21 June, 2010 This one fights hunger and famine (the dragon or draco). Draco is the beast named on the Putto's shield and is the name of Harry Potter's mortal enemy. |
 13 Monday 21 June, 2010 The Frauenkirche (Cathedral of Our Blessed Lady) is the largest church in Munich. It is a catholic church, a major landmark and a popular tourist attraction. We are aghast to think that we might have to climb these stairs all the way to the top of the tower. Only the south tower is open for visitors at a cost of €2. |
 14 Monday 21 June, 2010 Fortunately, at the top of the stairs a lift takes us all the way to the top. The neues Rathaus is below us in Marienplatz. The Peterskirche is a Catholic church to the right and the Old Town Hall is at the far end of Marienplatz. |
 15 Monday 21 June, 2010 The Grand Hall of the Old Town Hall was the venue for propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels' speech on November 9th, 1938 which was the prelude for the Kristallnacht on November 9–10, 1938. |
 16 Monday 21 June, 2010 The mustard-yellow building is the Theatinerkirche a Catholic church completed in 1690. Down and to the right is the famed Feldherrnhalle. Kardinal-Faulharber-Strasse is a pedestrian plaza below us that leads to yet another church, the Salvatorkirche, the former cemetery church of Frauenkirche. |
 17 Monday 21 June, 2010 The imposing building with the Greek columns is the National Theatre Munich, home of the Bavarian State Opera in Max-Joseph-Platz. To the left is the The Residenz, the former residence of the Bavarian Dukes, Electors and Kings of Bavaria. Today it is a museum. |
 18 Monday 21 June, 2010 The greenery next to the residenz is the The Englischer Garten (English Garden), a large urban public park that stretches from the city centre to the northeastern city limits of Munich. With an area of 3.7 km², the Englischer Garten is one of the world's largest urban public parks. |
 19 Monday 21 June, 2010 The Frauenkirche was originally designed as a late-gothic church with a long central nave. At the end of the 17th century the interior was decorated with elaborate baroque elements. In the 19th century, after the church was promoted to the status of cathedral, all of the baroque elements were removed since gothic was considered as the only pure church style. |
 20 Monday 21 June, 2010 This is the famed Feldherrnhalle (Field Marshall's Hall). It is the site of killings associated with the Beer Hall Putsch in 1923 that eventually led to Hitler's ascension to power. |
 21 Monday 21 June, 2010 This plate is discretely placed near the site of the killings. Rough translation: "The members of the Bavarian Police, who gave their lives opposing the National Socialist coup on November 9th, 1923: Frederick Fink, Nicholas Hollweg, Max Schobert, Rudolf Schraut." Sixteen Nazis also died in the Putsch. Hitler escaped but was later arrested. |
 22 Monday 21 June, 2010 It looks strangely deserted. The Kaiserhof courtyard has its walls painted to look like columns with elaborate window dressings but it just looks weird. |
 23 Monday 21 June, 2010 It must be the time of day that is responsible for a lack of customers: it is about 3:30 pm. |
 24 Monday 21 June, 2010 The womens' clothes on the rack beside me are called dirndls. A dirndl is a traditional dress worn in southern Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria, Switzerland and South Tyrol, based on the historical costume of Alpine peasants. |
 25 Monday 21 June, 2010 We catch the 4:10pm train from Munich Hbf back to Bad Tölz. There is a bit of a trick though: because the train splits into three parts on its return journey, you need to be sure that you get into the section that goes to Lenggries. |
 26 Monday 21 June, 2010 Back at the guest house in Wackersberg, Barbara has just become the mother of some lovely little kittens. She gave most of these away during our stay. |
 27 Monday 21 June, 2010 This looks like a picture from a Cats calendar. Jenni took it - another flukey shot. |
 28 Monday 21 June, 2010 Something interesting: in a traditional farm house like this, the main residence always faces east while the barn and the animals get the western portion. I think it is to take advantage of the morning sun during the short days of winter. The animals live in the lower stone portion of the barn during winter and hay is stored in the upper portion. |
 29 Monday 21 June, 2010 This is such a lovely relaxing place. This is our third time here over the past five years and we just love it. |
 30 Monday 21 June, 2010 Bonnie and Dennis stayed in the top floor last year. Bonnie was very careful to make sure the blinds were drawn before disrobing in case there was a pervert outside in a helicopter using binoculars to look in. |
 31 Monday 21 June, 2010 This is our room, the same one we had last year, on the first floor. The room was excellent value at €45 per day including breakfast for the two of us. Even if it wasn't such a bargain, I would still chose to stay somewhere like this anyway. Next stop: Tegernsee and the BeiblsThus ends a very depressing day. |
