Our second day in Munich began as we ate our typical German breakfast of bread, cheese and salami in our room. We needed to fuel ourselves for a busy day if we were
going to see anything in Munich at all. Our first stop would be the Enlishcer Garten. Its on the list of the must sees, so being good tourists we decided we'd start our day there. In order to get there we had to pass through the Hofgarten of the Residenz, where we snapped lots of pictures and explored. Then we got to the Englisher Garten and were nearly overrun by marauding ducks. Actually they were quite friendly and turned right around when they figured out we weren't going to feed them.
We studied the map and realized we couldn't possibly explore the entire park in the time we had so we wanted to at least go find the waterfall and then head on to the Residenz. The waterfall was gorgeous, and seemed like a really great thing to have in the middle of a city. After a few minutes taking pictures and enjoying the sights and sounds at the waterfall it was time to work our way to the Residenz. We wanted to see a castle while in Germany, and this was the closest that we were going to get. On our way out we passed the best surfing in Germany, but I thought it was a little chilly for me to jump in. Even the Wikipedia entry describes this as an unenforced sign, it just made us laugh to see this crazy man surfing out in the cold.
When we get to the Residenz we're surprised to see how reasonable a ticket was, and the price includes free use of the self guided tour. We chose to see the treasury first, and realized we were in trouble when the description of the first item in the collection lasted at least three minutes. We had to choose carefully what to listen to or we would have been there all day.
There were some really great items in the collection, but alas no flash photography. So some of my pictures are either dark or shaky or both, You have to check your backpack, and I neglected to take my tripod out before checking my bag. Coolest items include the one pictured here, and the baby's rattle that was attached to a badger claw. I can't hear badger without thinking of the addictive phenomenon that is badgerbadgerbadger.com. After reviewing all the items in the treasury it was off to tour the rooms of the Residenz. It's huge inside and serves as what the tour called a "museum of decoration". The walls and the furniture were very interesting to look at, and we tried to speed through because we still had a lot of day to go. Not to mention the fact we'd already walked around a lot and our German breakfast was starting to wear off. If you make your way to Munich some day the courtyard and the Antiquarium shown here are absolute must sees. They are the oldest rooms in the Residenz and are amazing to look at the detail they contain. We were starving after our two tours, so it was time to grab a pastry and a coffee at the San Francisco Coffee Company.
I know it sounds ridiculous, but the coffee was quite good, and we sat at a little table outside and had a nice little rest. Our next mission was to check out the Victualmarkt, a farmers market where your average resident of munich shops for food for the next few days. We detoured to get some lunch and bumped into the Christmas market, so we wandered around downtown menu shopping for the perfect lunch. The last street we turned down before committing to a restaurant led us to the world famous Hofbrauhaus. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the prices were reasonable, and they had the red cabbage that Francie wanted to eat and the Schweinhaxen that I wanted. We pulled up at a table (you seat yourself wherever and with whomever you can and wait patiently? for someone to come wait on you. 
We had some giant beers and a delicious lunch and overall a pretty fabulous time. By the time we got out it was time to explore the Christmas market, enjoy some more gluhwein and take in the Glockenspiel for its 5:00 performance. We position ourselves nicely with cameras in hand, and waited. Except that for some reason the moment never came. Long after the 5:00 church bells rang the clock stood still and we had to move on. I'd been called a glockenspiel many times in life and was finally about to witness one in action, and it left me more than a little disappointed. Hmm, Guess this just means I have to go back. We took in the rest of the market, visited the frauenkirche, (No pictures inside of course) and then were ready to go back to Tollwood for dinner. We grabbed some brats and some crepes and then sat down in our same tent from the night before and enjoyed a beer. It was a great finish to our day. The next morning it was off to the train, still a nice short walk from our base camp at the courtyard marriot for our 45 minute ride out to the airport. We scored sweet first class seats on our way to Washington DC. I watched one movie and crashed for the next six hours. Customs in D.C. is ridiculous, but we managed to get to the first San Francisco flight just in time. We sat in the back, In 3 of the last six seats, but at least we got home safe. It was bumpy in DC and I felt sick most of the way, but I'd survived another crazy adventure. We barted home and went straight to bed, real life was waiting for me on Tuesday morning
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