My dad and brother have now returned home after a great visit. We didn't manage to do much blogging while they were here, but we will try to catch up in the next few posts. Starting with our family foray into Munich, a.k.a. München, a.k.a. land of the little monks, or as I like to call it, Munchkinland.
In typical Bethel fashion, we got a late start. It was well after noon by the time we got to the gates of the old city at Karlsplatz. The pedestrian mall was bustling, packed with people of all ages and ethnicities--a marked contrast to the stodgy-old-white-folks feeling around Starnberg.
Our goal, to the extent we had one, was to get to the center of the city at Marienplatz, check out the noveau-Gothic town hall (pictured above), and look inside a couple of the big old churches. However, the first church we came to, St. Michael's, was closed. We realized that the day before Easter (as it was) was perhaps not the best day for visiting churches.
We did make it inside one church, however. We couldn't pass up the German Hunting and Fishing Museum, which is housed in a former church. It was quite surreal to see hundreds of taxidermied animals lining the walls of a church. Here, my dad and I are standing in front of the skeleton of an Irish elk.
Here is Rob at the top of the central staircase--looking as if he has grown antlers himself! This may seem plain silly, but just moments before, we had seen a case full of
wolpertingers, fictional Bavarian creatures made up of the parts of different animals.
Not unlike the American jackalope. But even weirder.
Here is my dad with the skull of another creature, weird enough to be a wolpertinger, but real: a narwhal. To the museum's credit, they (unlike Melville) correctly placed it in the mammal exhibit, not the fish exhibit.
The fish exhibit was particularly impressive. They proudly claimed (and I believe them) to have the world's largest collection of fish hooks. They also had some amazing vintage rods and reels, and of course many taxidermied fish. My dad was impressed with this large lake trout.
Indeed, some of the fish were larger than Gwendolyn. She did not seem particularly impressed, but she seemed to have fun.
By the time we left the museum, we were famished. The famed Augustiner beer hall (shown in the background above) was just a few doors down. We ordered while Rachel went into H&M to look at the sale racks. Gwendolyn became distressed as Rachel left, despite out efforts to reassure her that Mom would be back soon. Fortunately, we had a charming waiter who had Gwen Wren smiling after only a few moments. The large Augustiner Edelstof beer he brought had me smiling too. And the food was delicious.
We did finally make it to the Neues Rathaus on the Marienplatz. Wren was asleep, and the rest of us were ready for a nap. So we headed home for a mellow evening at home, Bethel-style, with homemade popcorn and a Clouseau movie.
In typical Bethel fashion, we got a late start. It was well after noon by the time we got to the gates of the old city at Karlsplatz. The pedestrian mall was bustling, packed with people of all ages and ethnicities--a marked contrast to the stodgy-old-white-folks feeling around Starnberg.
Our goal, to the extent we had one, was to get to the center of the city at Marienplatz, check out the noveau-Gothic town hall (pictured above), and look inside a couple of the big old churches. However, the first church we came to, St. Michael's, was closed. We realized that the day before Easter (as it was) was perhaps not the best day for visiting churches.
We did make it inside one church, however. We couldn't pass up the German Hunting and Fishing Museum, which is housed in a former church. It was quite surreal to see hundreds of taxidermied animals lining the walls of a church. Here, my dad and I are standing in front of the skeleton of an Irish elk.
Here is Rob at the top of the central staircase--looking as if he has grown antlers himself! This may seem plain silly, but just moments before, we had seen a case full of wolpertingers, fictional Bavarian creatures made up of the parts of different animals.
Not unlike the American jackalope. But even weirder.
Here is my dad with the skull of another creature, weird enough to be a wolpertinger, but real: a narwhal. To the museum's credit, they (unlike Melville) correctly placed it in the mammal exhibit, not the fish exhibit.
The fish exhibit was particularly impressive. They proudly claimed (and I believe them) to have the world's largest collection of fish hooks. They also had some amazing vintage rods and reels, and of course many taxidermied fish. My dad was impressed with this large lake trout.
Indeed, some of the fish were larger than Gwendolyn. She did not seem particularly impressed, but she seemed to have fun.
By the time we left the museum, we were famished. The famed Augustiner beer hall (shown in the background above) was just a few doors down. We ordered while Rachel went into H&M to look at the sale racks. Gwendolyn became distressed as Rachel left, despite out efforts to reassure her that Mom would be back soon. Fortunately, we had a charming waiter who had Gwen Wren smiling after only a few moments. The large Augustiner Edelstof beer he brought had me smiling too. And the food was delicious.
We did finally make it to the Neues Rathaus on the Marienplatz. Wren was asleep, and the rest of us were ready for a nap. So we headed home for a mellow evening at home, Bethel-style, with homemade popcorn and a Clouseau movie.
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