München (/ˈmjuːnɪk/ MEW-nik; German) (English: Munich). Population, 1,594,632. It is the third largest city in Germany and the largest city in the state in Bavaria. The city is first mentioned in 1158. It was heavily bombed, 71 times during World War II. München was liberated by US troops on April, 30, 1945. Old Town has been restored and the city boasts nearly 30,000 old buildings from before the war.
Royal Palaces, Jewels, and Grand Boulevards makes München a culture powerhouse.
Meanwhile, the concentration camp memorial in nearby Dachau reminds us that a century ago, München provided a springboard for Nazism.
München’s Old Town center, has colorful pedestrian zones. I spent the time in a frosty beer hall (German: Biergarten), eating a big pretzels amidst an oompah band belching with Bavarian atmosphere.
The 1971 Willy Wonka film scene at Bill’s Candy Shop was filmed at Lilienstraße, München, plus, other scenes throughout München.
■ BMW Group (legally, Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, commonly abbreviated to BMW (sometimes anglicized as Bavarian Motor Works) headquarters in München, founded in 1916.
■ Eva Braun (1912-1945), Longtime companion and briefly the wife of Adolf Hitler.
■ Albert Einstein (1879-1955), Nobel Prize-winning physicist, grew up in Munich.
■ Harold Faltermeyer (1952- ), Composer, known for Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Top Gun (1986) and Beverly Hills Cop II (1987).
■ Verner Hertzog (1942- ) Filmmaker, actor, opera director, and author. Regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema.
■ Heinrich Himmler (1900-1945), Official head of the Nazi military Waffen-SS. Main perpetrator of the Holocaust.
■ Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), German politician and leader of the Nazi Party. Hitler began Mein Kampf while imprisoned in Munich following his failed coup in Munich in 1923.
■ Craig Lefferts (1957- ), Left hand relief pitcher for the Chicago Cubs in 1983.
■ Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924), July, 1900, Lenin left Russia for Western Europe; in Switzerland he met other Russian Marxists, and at a Corsier conference they agreed to launch the paper from Munich, where Lenin relocated in September, 1900.
■ King Ludwig II of Bavaria (1845-1886), He commissioned the construction several lavish palaces & castles.
■ Freddie Mercury (1946-1991), lead singer of Queen. From 1979 to 1985, while living in Munich, a close friend described his “great love” of Germany. In 1977 he wore an outfit based on the München flag.
■ Wilhelm Emil “Willy” Messerschmitt (1898-1978), German aircraft designer and manufacturer. He studied at the Munich Technical College.
■ Brent Mydland (1952–1990), Grateful Dead keyboardist.
■ Wolfgang Reitherman (1909-1985), American animator, who was one of Disney’s Nine Old Men.
■ Arnold Schwarzenegger (1947- ), former Governor of California, bodybuilder and actor, resided at 1 Christophstr, and worked at Rolf Putziger’s gym at 36 Schillerstr, from 1966 to 1968.
■ Donna Summer (1948–2012), In 1968, she joined a German adaptation of the musical Hair in Munich, where she spent several years living, acting, and singing. She is known as the “Queen of Disco”, and was the most successful musical artist of the Disco era in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
■ Heinrich Otto Wieland (1877-1957), Nobel Prize-winning chemist who successfully protected Jewish people.
THOUGHTS ON TRADITIONAL GERMAN FOOD
German food is coherent and highly varied, which in a way summarizes the entire country.
Germans pride themselves on good, simple foods like bread, sausages, and fruit desserts. While German food is often overlooked in favor of its much more famous neighbor France, it’s important to recognize that Germany also has many outstanding dishes, many of which should be tasted and celebrated.
Summery of München, Bavarian, Germany visit.
1a. Tuesday, May 28, 2024 – Drove 81 miles from Nördingen to München, Germany.
1b. Tuesday, May 28, 2024 – Hop On – Hop Off, Sightseeing Tour on an open top bus.
2. Wednesday, May 29, 2024 – Took train to a Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site Tour.
3. Thursday, May 30, 2024 – Road in a motor coach bus to a Neuchwanstein Castle Tour.
4. Friday, May 31, 2024 – Tour Old Town, München Walked in the rain to the Restaurant Central Café.
5. Saturday, June 1, 2024 – Taxi ride in the rain to a Bavarian Octoberfest Restaurant.
6. Sunday, June 2, 2024 – Took a Railjet high-speed train, 72 miles, from München HBF, Germany to Salzburg HBF, Austria in about an hour and 32 minutes.
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