#bravaria

Fancy A Long Walk?

On my first day, I discovered the English Garden, a large public park in the centre of the city. I walked over 20 kilometres on this day, so my suggestion is that you rent a bike and explore the lovely park with two wheels and pedalling.

It’s such a pity that the English Garden hasn’t the same reputation as the Hyde Park in London or the Central Park in New York. I’ve been to the Hyde Park several times but the English Garden has definitely more to offer! I especially enjoyed the diverse nature. When you start in the South there are much more trees and it resembles more the Hyde Park. However, when you head north the landscape changes into a more spacious one with wide fields.

If you’re really afraid of dogs, just keep away from the top part of the Garden as this is a preferred space for dog owners. I do have a lot of respect for dogs and they are not my best friends when they start running towards me and barking loudly. Nonetheless, in the English Garden, although they often are not at the leash they stay very calm, even when some joggers or cyclist cross their way.

The side arm of the river Isar goes through the Garden and is called Eisbach, in English, it would be like Ice Creek. The great thing about this brook is that you can watch surfers riding on the water which has quite a strong stream current.

How Do You Feel About Religion?

Whenever I’m on a city trip I like to visit the one or other church. I’m not religious, I do believe in something but I don’t practice it and I don’t necessarily believe in God. If you are interested in my view on religion and why an atheist visits churches then you can read my post here.

On my trip, I wondered why I only should visit Christian buildings. Why not explore different religions? I found Judaism always interesting, maybe because they carry such a horrifying story with them. From this post or also this one you may already realize that I have a big interest in the entire Second World War time and especially the Third Reich.

I’ve visited the Jewish Museum and it’s definitely worth a visit. However, not only the museum itself is nice but I really enjoyed the lovely spot between the synagogue, museum and the Israelite cultural centre with its beautiful fountain on the Sankt-Jakobs-Platz, saint Jacobs square. It’s a great place to sit on a bench reading a good book or just enjoying the sound of the water fountain in front of you.

Child's play.

A photo posted by Tilman (@devteros) on May 24, 2015 at 3:48am PDT

Fancy Some Luxuriousness?

There’s a park called Nymphenburg Palace and when you enter it you immediately get the feeling of being in a different time era – the era of baroque.

If you get the feeling that you’ve done too little sports on your holiday then you’re able to compensate it by walking through the entire park. However, if you want to avoid blisters and hurting feet then just hop on a bicycle. But for me, this day meant of visiting the castle meant again a day containing lots of kilometres of walking ;-)

When You’re Hungry

If you travel on a tight budget then you are not willing to pay way too much for your lunch or dinner. Nevertheless, walking a lot, as you want to avoid buying bus tickets, takes up a lot of energy. There are two restaurant chains which I recommend if you want a good portion for little money.

One is called Vapiano a really good Italian restaurant where you can choose which sauce you prefer with your favourite pasta. If you have some spare money then feel free to add some yummy toppings like prawns.

The other restaurant is like a very much upgraded McDonald, called Hans Im Glück. Translated into English it would be The Lucky Hans (that’s a typical German forename). For a good price, you can have a delicious burger with some fries. There’s always the option of going vegan as they offer numerous vegan burgers.

Getting A Little Bit Tipsy

In Germany, you’ll be able to get a beer at almost every corner. However, I preferred to be in a typical place to be when drinking your grain, hops, water and yeast brewage. I went to a so-called Biergarten, a beer garden. This is an outdoor area where at shared tables beer and local foods are served. It often has some entertainment like music. After a long walk through the English Garden, the Chinese Tower (originally called Chinesischer Turm) is a great stop. The Chinese Tower is 25-meter high wooden structure and around the tower, you’ll find many tables where you can sip on your beer. The original tower was completely destroyed by the bombing in the year 1944 and was then rebuild in 1951.

Need Some Floral Picture?

I love taking photographs of flowers and plants in general. If you have some money left and you enjoy the nature as much as I do, then you definitely need to visit the botanical garden in the Nymphenburg Palace. It costs for students about 3 Euros but when you spend an hour there and take lovely pictures it’s totally worth it.

And when you get hungry from all the walking or cycling just stop by the restaurant in the botanical garden where you can eat a typical Alsatian and South German dish – Tarte Flambée. It’s like a pizza but with a much thinner crust and without tomato sauce but with crème fraiche.