Safta Rachel's Visit to Munich

Here are the highlights in images and words of my grandma's visit to Munich. Safta and I started the vacation without Greg because he was finishing his last day of school. We hit the Christkindlmarkt in Marienplatz, the Jewish museum and synagogue, and tried the Asam church (beautiful baroque chapel) but it was closed.

View of the Rathaus and part of Marienplatz's Christkindlmarkt at sunset

The next day we actually were able to get in and see some of the church as well as another larger church, Theatinerkirche, in Odeonsplatz. Along the way, we stopped by a gallery showing amazing black and white photos from New York in the 1940's and 50's (think Breakfast at Tiffany's). We also stopped by the Alte Pinakothek, which houses the older paintings and is one of the three Pinakotheks in the area.

Koeningsplatz near the ancient museums and close to the Pinakotheks

Sunday was museum day!! We began the day with two museums of ancient greek, roman and egyptian artifacts. The Greek and Roman museum was interesting because it had been heavily bombed during the war and when they rebuilt it, they couldn't paint the same level of decoration or detail to it. So instead they showcased photos of what it looked like before the war.

Greg looking like a priest in the Pinakothek der Moderne
(and doesn't Safta kind of look like Julie Andrews here, right?)

After Pakistani food, we stopped by the Pinakothek der Moderne, which was amazing. It's large, colorful (well, at least many of the paintings were) and ranged from German expressionist painters to designers to Chinese wood architecture to more modern art installations.

The next day we went to Chiemsee to see Ludwig II's Versailles-wannabe Herrenchiemsee palace. Let me tell you this: they do not heat the palace in the winter and you could feel it. But the grounds were beautiful, covered with fresh powdery snow, and the inside was extravagant and a homage to the French kind, Louis XIV. Greg especially enjoyed the mammoth-size hot tub and table that could be lowered through the floor. That night we dined with Nami and Gil (aunt and uncle on the other side of the family) at an Italian restaurant.

Snacking on the warm boat to Herreninsel and Herrenchiemsee

Fun times at Herreninsel

As this post is getting quite long, I will stop here and write another post tomorrow about what we've done from Tuesday until today. Merry Christmas to those that celebrate!

Safta enjoying her first cup of Gluehwein
(and not our only picture of her drinking alcohol...stay tuned!)