My Bologna has a first name ...: …it’s M-o-n-a-c-o!

Ciao tutti,

(Monaco = Munich)

Un’altro viaggio! Last weekend, I visited Monaco! No not the Monaco with Monte Carlo and Grace Kelly in the South of France. I’m talking about Munich. Both Monaco and Munich are called “Monaco” in Italian, so it gets a little confusing. To clarify, sometimes Italians will say Monaco di Baviera or Monaco in Germania when they are talking about Munich.

Anyway, Munich was spectacular. I went with friends to visit Frühlingsfest (the Spring response to Oktoberfest). The festival took place near St. Paul’s, and it was set up like a carnival with the main attraction being the Augustiner tent, full of long tables, music, and an enormous amount of beer, pretzels, and wurst!

St. Paul

St. Paul's

Frühlingsfest!

"Wild Water" at Frühlingsfest!

Adrienne and I in front of the Augustiner barrels

the Augustiner tent

view of Frühlingsfest at St Paul's with the city of
Munich in the background, as seen from the top
of the ferris wheel

enjoying some Weisbier and Käsespätzle at the
Augustiner Keller, where we ate dinner that night

We spent the next day exploring the city with all its platz and gartens, taking in in the fantastic weather.

Emily and I at Karlsplatz

Sam and I enjoying a bratwurst

Viktualienmarkt, the huge outdoor open-air market
and biergarten

Hofgarten

the English Gardens

the Chinese Tower at the English Gardens

Tulips and fountain at Sendlinger-Tor

Enjoying some beer at Hofbräuhaus! (The light-colored
beer on the right is called Radler - it is actually beer
mixed with lemonade. It's so good!)

Our last day in Munich was spent a little bit outside the city center, visiting the BMW museum as well as the Olympic park. As host to the 1972 Summer Olympics, Munich developed this spectacular park, swimming facility, and stadium which are all still used today recreationally.

The weather at the beginning of the day was pretty bad, with strong bouts of rain and hail. Therefore, we decided to stay inside and enjoy the BMW museum during the morning. By the time we had finished with the museum, the weather was still bad but it looked like it was clearing up, so we ventured outside to see the Olympic park. And boy did the weather clear up! It ended up being the most beautiful weather we had all weekend, with completely clear skies and a bight sun shining. It really made walking around the Olympic park extremely enjoyable and beautiful. It was definitely the highlight of the trip for me.