Bavaria, Germany

 

Bavaria countryside, Munich and Nurenberg, may 2022. A choir trip consisting of series of concerts and exploring Germany. 

Getting there was extra memorable. I had been in Europe for a while before, on two consecutive work trips. Took a train from the Hague, Netherlands on a Thursday evening round 8 pm. Had planned out a journey from Hague to Utrecht to Dusseldorf to Bonn to Munich. It should have been easy, change times were short enough to not get bored and the last leg would have bee from midnight until 6.30 am, so perfect for a long nap. And from Munich a local morning train would have taken me within 45 minutes to where I would have met the others. And in reality.. the first train ride was smooth, train departed right on the minute, yet was around 15 minutes late, wish only left me around 10 minutes to find the correct platform and get on the new train, Utrecht station was huge and busy, and I could not see the correct train on the screens. Went to the one departing at the correct time then, hoping to get some clarifications, there were no officials, only some other confused travellers, also there was no time to think, jumped on the train on the last second. It was going to Zurich. At least the direction was right - kind of. Tried to make sense of things in the train, many people were confused, nobody was sure how to get to their destination. In the end, figured out, many trains were cancelled that night, including my last and longest train that would have taken me to Munich, so it did not matter much if I would have made my next connection or not. The Zurich train was made sort of as a substitute train, it stopped in many stations that it usually would not and took a lot longer route towards Zurich. Nobody was sure of the stations exactly, I ended up trusting a local guy who was sure it goes to Frankfurt, which took me the closest to Munich. Luckily it did, yet, somehow I exited 30 km too early, all stations including the title Frankfurt Main, am Main, Hbf.. were too confusing and I was too tired. The same moment it started pouring rain and a thunderstorm erupted.. help.. tried to go inside, there was a drunken man fighting with two police officers. The whole station was empty otherwise. By that time I had figured out a train from Frankfurt to Munich which only left me a little bit late, but now I was not sure If I would get to the right Frankfurt station by the right time. A random city train came, it seemed like it was going the correct way, and I wanted to escape the deserted station quite badly. so hopped on. My battery was also dying. But, made it, and from there to Munich, even found a plug in the train. Also made the last connection to Murnau am Staffelsee, but the town we had the concert in was 30 km from there without any proper connections and everybody else was long gone there for a rehearsal before the first concert at 10 am. By extreme luck, Trixie, one of hour hosts, was picking up her parents from Murnau and also picked me up, and as crazy as it at one point seemed, by 10.01 I was at Wieskirche.

The Pilgrimage Church of Wieskirche is a beautiful rococo church near Steingaden and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A visit to Mittenwald - a charming small town amid the Alpine peaks of Bavaria, known for its colorful painted houses and violin-making history.

Beautiful Seehausen am Staffelsee. Our home during the time in Germany. 

A hike in the Alps - check! There was either a quick way up by a cable car or a couple hour walk on the scenic route. 

Jumped in the Staffelsee lake that was literally in our backyard on quick breaks throughout the hot days for refreshment or enjoyed swimming at night. The water was amazing. 

A cultural evening and a joint concert in support of Ukrainian choirs held together with the local mens choir, a local orchestra and folk dancers. Such a fun experience and incredibly supportive and loud spectators. Even the local mayor and some other politicians were amongst the guests. 

A Sunday morning concert in Munich, followed by a tour of the city and lunch in a local beer garden. 

They're saying Munich is getting cool. The Alte Utting, a decommissioned boat perched on a bridge in Munich, that has a cafeteria/bar inside and hosts vivid nightlife on the evenings. Before being turned into a bar, Alte Utting, built in 1949, was a pleasure boat that sailed for six decades around the Ammersee, a lake about an hour’s drive from Munich.

Alter Südfriedhof - the Old South Cemetery - is a cemetery founded by Duke Albrecht V as a plague cemetery in 1563. It's like a magnificent, holy, ancient museum. Almost all the major figures of 19th and early 20th century Munich found their final resting place in the Old Southern Cemetery. A total of about 24 000 graves were laid out. Today, around 5000 of them remain. 

Marienplatz - Munich Central square

German white asparagus soup. It might not look that good, but it tasted amazing. Actually, white asparagus tastes soooo good, that I bought a bunch of it on my last day in Nuremberg from the local market, fit it in my hand luggage and brought back to Estonia. 

Last concert in our local Seehausen. 

A good-bye picnic in our hosts Trixie and Randar's backyard with these stunning views! 

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Bavaria is beautiful!

Took a very early morning train back to Munich on a Monday morning and from there to Nürnberg. Had a flight from there Monday evening. Flights from Nürnberg to Tallinn were direct and 10 times cheaper than from Munich. Also, a new town to explore for a day. 

Nürnberg

Left my bags in the train station and went to explore old town, took a scooter to go and visit the site of Nuremberg trials as well. After the visit it was a nice walk alongside river Pegnitz back to the old town.

Nuremberg trials were a series of 13 trials carried out between 1945 and 1949 to bring Nazi war criminals to justice. The defendants, including Nazi Party officials, high-ranking military officers, German industrialists, lawyers and doctors, were indicted on charges like crimes against peace and humanity.

The historic center - Altstadt - is compact and medieval, full gothic churches and vibrant half-timbered houses.

The glorious golden Schöner Brunnen fountain, dating back to the 14th century. Historically the purpose of the fountain was to display the worldview of the statehood of the Holy Roman Empire and the theocentric worldview of the Middle Ages. Throughout the history, the fountain has been restored and rebuilt several times. 

The market square - Hauptmarkt.

Nürnberger bratwurst - the local sausage protected under EU law, so it can only be produced in Nuremberg. Has been produced in the city since 1567. 

Frauenkirche - the Church of Our Lady - built on the initiative of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor between 1352 and 1362 in place of a former Jewish synagogue.