Natalie said that this day in Munich was the one she was MOST looking forward to, but also the one she was least looking forward to because it was our last full day in Germany (or so we thought!)
And of course, the day we leave the Alps, the snow capped Alps finally appear to us!
We said goodbye to our cute little hotel in Garmisch-Partenkirchen...
... and we were greeted with the most beautiful view of the Zugspitze and it's surrounding mountain friends.
Stunning.
It was so pretty, that we pulled the car over on the way out of town to get one last look. Mother Nature wasn't kind to us to give us THIS view as we were leaving town! (Well, I guess it's good we got to see it at all!)
But... we were on our way back to Munich because I REALLY wanted to visit the Residenz! On our way there, we spotted the Theatine Catholic Church in the Odeonsplatz. It was built between 1663 and 1690 (although the façade is from the 1760s). Many famous Bavarian Electors and Kings are buried here, such as King Maximillian II and King Otto of Greece. Otto was the second son of Ludwig I. The last heir apparent of Bavaria, Rupprecht is also buried here. I LOVE the Empress Elisabeth (definitely recommend watching The Empress on Netflix) and her niece is buried here!
We finally got to visit the beautiful Residenz in Munich where the Wittelsbach family ruled from the 11th century until 1918, although they "only" lived here for 400 years! The first stop at the Residenz is the golden Ancestral Gallery, built by Karl Albrecht after he became Elector in 1726.
This Rococo style room displays over 100 members of the Wittelsbach family with each portrait set individually in the gilt framed paneling.
This might have been my favorite thing that I saw at the Residenz though - this grotto in the courtyard is almost entirely made of seashells! It's hard to see that this actually IS in a courtyard because there is a ceiling attached. The original courtyard that was built in 1580 was destroyed in WWII.
Bavaria was broke after WWII, so the residents collected what must have been hundreds of thousands of these freshwater seashells so they could recreate the original grotto.
The Antiquarium is an impressive room that was built in 1568 to house (you guessed it) antiquities but it was rather quickly (in 1580) converted to a ballroom.
The Antiquarium is the oldest room in the Residenz, and even though a bomb destroyed much of the Residenz during WWII, this room largely survived. Some water damage destroyed parts of the ceiling (unfortunately) but it's been painstakingly renovated in the years since.
While I enjoyed the Court Church of All Saints, most of the rest of my family was a bit annoyed with it. Ludwig I commissioned the building of this church between 1826 and 1837 but you would be correct in guessing that most of it was destroyed during the war.
Natalie was very displeased with the way that they rebuilt it - and the fact that it was only reopened in 2003. Almost all of the frescos and the dome were destroyed and they had actually planned to tear down what remained in the 1960s until it was saved and renovated. You can clearly see a difference in the brick work between what is old and original, and what is new. The new brickwork is almost "too" pretty.
Our next stop was the Ornate Rooms. And boy were they ornate! I could immediately tell I was going to like these rooms, just based on the name! The Ornate Rooms were the official apartments of the Elector Karl Albrecht who ruled from 1726-1745 (and he was Emperor after 1742).
These rooms are considered some of the most important examples of South German Rococo interiors. If you like shiny and sparkly things like I do, always search out museums, churches and castles that have the words Rococo or Baroque. You won't be disappointed!
This room was so cool, we had to take a family selfie in it. Damask wall coverings are definitely my fave.
But of course, you should also stop to take a selfie with your daughter (or two separate selfies) in a mirror at the Residenz in Munich!
And then there was THIS. Everyone has agreed this was a super funny photo, so I decided to include it because of the pure ridiculousness of it.
The Green Gallery was another one of the magnificent Ornate Rooms at the Residenz which was built between 1731 and 1733 (and of course, the original ceiling frescoes were destroyed in 1944.)
This was taken right before Natalie leaned on her brother, causing him to almost fall into that mirror on the left side of the picture (major face palm.)
The Green Gallery was a picture and mirror gallery (as you can see here!) and was also a place for festivities held by the Electorate for his closest pals.
The Audience Room is where the Electorate received foreign diplomats (under the red velvet canopy).
The Cabinet of Mirrors (and Porcelain) contained a lot of mirrors (of course) and that doesn't seem like a huge deal to us these days, since we likely have mirrors all over our houses. But in the 1700s, mirrors were one of the MOST expensive decorative items of the aristocracy!
The Cabinet of Miniatures is situated directly next to the Cabinet of Mirrors - you can't go in here, but you can take pictures from the doorway. A lot of this was reconstructed (except these fabulous doors and the actual miniatures themselves), but it was intended to be a "pendent" to the large gallery of paintings at the other end of the Ornate Rooms suite.
I actually took a million more pictures of the rooms we saw at the Residenz, but I don't want to bore everyone (ha!) and we didn't actually get to some of the best rooms because they were closed. After we left, we headed over to the Spatenhaus for some beer and lunch! There is a lovely view of Max-Josef Platz and the Bavarian State Opera!
And YOU GUYS. They brought my kids salads (which just came with the meal) that had funky (to them) lettuce and MY KIDS LIKED IT. They didn't eat all of it, but they tried it and said it was good! (Read: Anything that isn't iceberg is funky to my kids). I definitely finished Natalie's salad. It was awesome.
The ceiling at the Spatenhaus restaurant was also very pretty!
After a delicious meal, it was time to head out to the S-Bahn because we had tickets for a tour of Allianz Arena!
In my imagination, I see Grant walking in front of a picture of my boy King Ludwig II! (That's the name of the book - In My Imagination).
We finally arrived at the highlight of our trip - a tour of Allianz Arena where FC Bayern München plays! This stadium held it's first game in 2005, but the team played at the Munich Olympic Stadium before their move here to Allianz in 2005. Prior to that, they played at Grünwald Stadium.
You can see Allianz Arena from the A9 and the A99 autobahns so we have passed this a million times, but only just now got to see the inside. It's always looked like a puffy tire to me ha ha. But that façade happens to be the largest membrane shell in the world! Superlative, check! And although I didn't get a picture of it, Allianz Arena also has Europe's largest parking structure!
Now we all know that this stadium is home to Germany's greatest football team... but what about America's greatest football team? Why yes, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers DID play here last year! In fact, they WON the first ever regular season NFL game played in Germany when they beat the Seattle Seahawks 21-16!
FC Bayern München has won 30 championship titles, and they've won more than half of the Bundesliga titles since it's inception in 1963! Meanwhile, the Bucs, who have only been around since 1976 have one TWO. Ha!
Mia San Mia is the FC Bayern München catch phrase and it's the Bavarian way to say "We are who we are."
FC Bayern München has been the home club for some of the best players in Bundesliga history, like Gerd Müller, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Sepp Maier, Robben and Ribery (aka: the Robbery), Franz Beckenbauer, Robert Lewandowski, Phillip Lahm, Thomas Müller, and of course, the GOAT, Manuel Neuer. You know. If he would stop skiing during the season and breaking his leg.
This stadium is so pretty, it almost looks fake!
These are the real champions right here, folks.
People say that FC Bayern München is the New England Patriots of Germany. They win A LOT, and people hate them for that. I cannot even BEGIN to list all of the records that they hold, individually and as a team. Haters gonna hate, right???
This hallway leads down to the press club. The press know how to get there, because the walls are colored this macaroni and cheese color.
Everyone needs to bow down to Robert Lewandowski on their way to the press club! (I miss him!)
There is a bar and food service in the press club!
We followed our guide down to where the press asks questions of the coaches. Players do NOT come into this room and the press is only allowed to talk to them and ask them questions (and only WITH their permission) in the tunnel.
Oh my goodness, I'm in an episode of Ted Lasso, only with a much better team! I need a Roy Kent interview, stat!
I think it would be Natalie's dream job to work here!
It would be my dream job to meet the GOAT, Manuel Neuer! Is this really happening? Am I really at Manuel Neuer's locker???
The GOAT of sons everywhere - Grant Bailey.
I seriously cannot believe I'm sitting here. And yes, those are his shoes down on the floor.
Todd appreciates the king, Thomas Müller. He's not the oldest on the team (that honor goes to Neuer) but at second oldest, he's definitely one of the best ever! We love the old guys!
Natalie and I *might* have a crush on Joshua Kimmich. Just a little one.
Sadio Mané apparently PUNCHED Leroy Sané in the Manchester City locker room only a few days before we were here! Whaaat?
Manuel Neuer is NOT Natalie's favorite player but I feel like everyone should get their picture taken at the GOAT's locker!
No, no... her favorite player is Jamal Musiala! He is a mere 4 years older than her, and she is madly in love! His mom is German, his dad is Nigerian and he spent the first 7 years of his life in Germany before moving to England. We can't wait to see what Bambi does in his future!
Meanwhile, next door to Musiala's locker is my other favorite player (errr, boyfriend...) - Alphonso Davies! We won't fault him cause he's an Edmonton Oilers fan though!
I snapped this one when everyone left the locker room!
We moved next to the visitors locker room. You can see it is... not as exciting ha ha.
That's my GOAT!
Someone please tell me that play is Pepper Shakers, The Sandman or even Midnight Poutine from Ted Lasso.
Our next stop was the tunnel. Our poor little guide wasn't getting much love from our group, so when he asked for volunteers to be the two team captains that would lead us down the tunnel and he got absolute CRICKETS, I felt really bad for him. So Todd and I started pointing at Natalie, thinking she would be really excited to be a captain. NOT. THE. CASE.
The Captain got to sit in the first seat on the bench and she was LESS than pleased with us. She was so embarrassed, but later told us she wished she could have been happier about it (because in hindsight, she was glad she did it!) I told her we would never see any of those people again, and they would likely never remember who were the actual captains so you might as well have fun with it! (Note: She is not having fun.)
These two are honey badgers and don't care what the world thinks of us.
Did you know that the entrance to the tunnel is actually a part of the pitch that can raise up and down to let players, coaches and staff in and out? Also, the stadium announcer sits right there at that little table. Kind of my dream job, actually.
Hilariously, the sprinklers came on when we were on the pitch! And - another interesting fact about the pitch is that it's heated by water pipes underneath the grass!
Dreaming of being a future FC Bayern player. (Just kidding, he doesn't even play soccer!)
After we finished the incredible arena tour, we went into the museum and were greeted with an NFL helmet! That wasn't super surprising since (as I mentioned before) the Bucs played the Seahawks here back on November 13 of last year, 2022.
Love him or hate him, he brought my team another Super Bowl, so I'll always be grateful!
This explanation of American football is everything.
Game ball! I also love the ticket down below the ball - the sign says this is one of the 69,811 tickets that were sold for the game, and that it sold out in minutes! I'm sure Ticketmaster overcharged EVERYONE who bought a ticket, and the game wasn't even in America!
Now, on to the REAL story... the championship trophies held by FC Bayern München!
You know I love a good superlative! Our superstar Thomas Müller was the youngest player to win 50 UEFA Champions League matches and he did it back in 2015!
It's so ridiculous how many great players FC Bayern München has had over the years. Bastian Schweinsteiger (who is sadly still 8 years younger than me) was one of the greatest midfielders of all time before he retired in 2019 (although he left Bayern München in 2015 when he transferred to Manchester United).
I'm like, oh there's Manuel Neuer! And wait! There's Jerome Boateng! The kids still remember watching him in the World Cup when we were on the Mediterranean cruise back in 2018!
I seriously considered for about five seconds stealing this cardboard cutout of Manuel Neuer.
But dang, if I take Neuer, I have to take the whole team, RIGHT?
Alas, it was time to head back into the city on the U-Bahn - but not before we made some purchases at the official Bayern München store! Natalie got a Jamal Musiala jersey, and I got a cool scarf! Even Grant and Todd scored some t-shirts.
Where to next? Natürlich, we had to head down to the Englisch Garten for some beer, music and dinner.
One of our favorite sayings over the years has been, "Here we are, four Americans, in an Englisch Garten, by a Chinese Tower, in a German city!" (Or something to that effect!)
The Englisch Garten is larger than both Hyde Park in London AND Central Park in New York!
This is just getting out of hand.
Voila! There I am! It was a bit cool but we enjoyed the blue sky and the leaves that were just sprouting from the trees.
The original Chinese Tower (or Chinesischer Turm) was built around 1790, but it unfortunately burned down during the war. It was originally designed by Benjamin Thompson, aka: Count Rumford, a loyalist during the American War of Independence who was born in Woburn, Massachusetts! They rebuilt it in 1952 and it still stands as a place where the oompa band plays!
If it's not a beer mug in front of my face, then it must be a photobombing Grant!
Look at this feast!
The pretzels in the Englisch Garten are literally bigger than your head.
Not even kidding! They're HUGE! Funny story about why she is wearing my hat... she was getting a sunburn on the top of her head!
While I did not have ANY Maß while I was in Germany, I did have a sip of Todd's just for the photo op.
Mmmmm. Bier.
The band kept us entertained at the Chinese Tower!
Bailey selfie at the Chinese Tower! I'm thankful Todd's gigantic wing span can accommodate these photos.
You guys would never believe how much they fight! Yet here they are, strolling through the massive Englisch Garten, hand in hand.
They were feeling very worldly when they built this garden. This is the Monopteros, which was a Greek Tower commissioned by Ludwig I in the 1830s. You know, to go along with the Chinese Tower (and a Japanese Teahouse!)
See, this is GOOD floodplain management. A stream (the Schwabinger Bach) that runs through green space. They knew what they were doing in the late 1700s!
Finally, we headed back to the hotel (a lovely Marriott - we rarely stay in a Marriot because it's out of the Bailey budget but we used points to get this one!) and prepared for our trip home the following day. OR SO WE THOUGHT.
Until next time, Munich! (Or until tomorrow!)
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