Friday 17th August: Weather 19°C to 26°C sunny and hazy and warm
Munich: A 20k sight seeing day in Munch to the English Garden and 1972 Olympic Stadium
Accommodation: Hotel Monaco Munich
Flowers in the English Garden
We’e both awake at 3.30am after a very comfortable 6 hours, disturbed only by the hotel owner knocking on the door at midnight looking for two Australians who had left a bag in a taxi - it wasn’t us Ian told him, then he couldn’t go back to sleep. It’s still pitch black at 3.30 in the morning, but we’re wide awake and have a cup of billy boiled tea while blogging and emailing and generally catching up.
By 8am, we’re out the door, following Ian’s walking circuit through the English Garden, over to Olympic Park and back to the Hotel. But first it’s a stop at Aldi to buy some breakfast of raspberries, yoghurt, and apple and nectarine - and also an apple turnover and creamy croissant to have with a morning coffee. It’s a cool 19°C and a beautiful day as we walk out of the city centre towards the English Garden.
Pretty duck pond in English Garden
Surfing the Eisbach River
Surfing the Eisbach River
Video surfing the Eisbach River
Cool in the shade
Lunch by the lake
BMW tower
Olympic Stadium from 1972
22k and 2 big beers later
There’s very few people or cars around, as Munich is like most European cities which don’t come to life til midday. When we reach the Gardens, we sit down at the first seat to have our breakfast of yoghurt and fruit. "The Englische Garten (“English Garden”) is one of the largest urban parks in the world with 78 kilometres of paths. It began in 1789 when Elector Carl Theodor ordered a public park be established along the Isar River. He put the project in the hands of the Briton Benjamin Thompson, who worked at the time for the Bavarian Army. The park was given the name Englische Garten because it was laid out in the style of an English country park.
It’s a beautiful cool walk along the winding tracks criss crossing the park and soo we come across a group of surfers - yes, surfers with real surf boards surfing the mini wave caused by turbulence when the River Eisbach races out of a loch. It’s quite a tourist attraction watching the surfers with varying levels of skill - some last one second, others a few minutes. Two hours later, and we’re still meandering through the magnificent gardens heading north. Time for a cup of coffee and our pastries by the lake.
We’re almost at the northern end of the Gardens when we turn off at the cycling sign to Olympic Park, about 5 k away. The shaded cycle path takes us through a a myriad of unit blocks, well secluded by trees. And hour along this track, and it’s time for a cup of tea. We’re beginning to feel like we’re on holidays after as hectic few days travelling.
By 2pm we reach Olympic Park, site of the 1972 Olympics - memorable for the terrorist attacks on the Israeli athletes and the 7 gold medals won by Mark Spitz. The park originally was a vacant field before becoming an airfield then a camp for the Hungarian refugee in 1956. The roof of teh stadium was recognised as one of the most impressive and innovative examples of German architecture. The futuristic and huge tensile structure is covered with Plexiglas and supported by steel pylons and cables and even today, the park throngs with tourists marvelling at the 46 year old design.
Turning the corner to head back to the city centre, the BMW tower looms high above. Time for one more cuppa while sitting in the shade marvelling at the roof over the Olympic Stadium. We’ve already walked 15k and there’s still another 5k to walk back to our hotel along the wide walk/cycle paths beside the main road into Munich. At 4pm we’re home. Time for a few emails, a shower, some washing, then off to the beer garden about 1.5k away for the same as yesterday - beer, sausage wurst and sauerkraut.
Back at the Monaco Hotel, the room is still hot, though outside had cooled down to a respectable 20°C. Time for a bit more blogging and checking out tomorrow’s walk before going to bed at 8pm. Keep the torch handy, we know we’ll be awake around 3 or 4am.