Stepping outside on a warm fall afternoon came as a great relief after spending a long day in museums but it didn't feel like surfing weather! A crowd of intrepid Germans had gathered to do just that where the Isar River propulsively enters the English Garden.
The very orderly surfers hang ten one after the other, alternating from both sides of the river.
Other people strolled or relaxed along the river's more placid banks.
The Monopteros, a faux Greek temple completed in 1836, was built on a 15-meter mound of earth removed for Residenz renovations.
The Lufthansa Airport Express bus dropped me off across the street from the seedy Hauptbahnhof where I stowed my luggage in a locker after buying a SIM card. My meandering took me past Hirmer where I eventually bought a black cashmere turtleneck. Souvenirs get pricier as you age.
The high-end, five-storey men's wear store looks pretty at night, too.
Hirmer sits on a long pedestrian mall that runs almost the length of the city center to Marienplatz.
Street vendors sell even healthy food.
Surprisingly, I didn't see a pretzel until I hit the Lego store.
Where I also discovered a marvelous image of Neuschwanstein, the raison d'être of my sudden trip.
Look closely and you'll spot a biergarten behind the hole in the wall.
After crossing back over the Isar, I strolled along Maximillianstrasse, Munich's toniest shopping street. No brand does better window displays than Hermes.
Bicycles definitely outnumbered cars.
A peculiar but well-tended Michael Jackson memorial had taken root at the base of a German statue in the neighborhood.
A skateboarder practiced next to a bronze relief of the altstadt (old city).
Water cascaded over sculptural lily pads in a submerged fountain nearby.
But like much of the area, this pretty entrance had an ersatz feel.
Meet my buddy, the wild boar.
Bavaria isn't as blond as I imagined, either in the football merch ads or on the street.
Perhaps that's why AfD, the far-right party did better than expected in state elections several days later, an outcome I wouldn't have expected after encountering this political rally on my way to the King's Hotel. The protestors and police far outnumbered supporters of the campaigning candidate.
