Summer 2007 - Day 9

Day 9

Today was spent wandering around Munich. We saw the fairly spectacular interior of the Church of St Johann-Nepomuk. Dates back to 1733/46.

Also saw the Cathedral Church of Our Lady (Frauenkirche). Construction began in 1468 and the church was consecrated in 1494. At the time, Munich had a population of 13,000 people but the church was designed to hold a congregation of 20,000.

Inside the church, there was a marble grave for Emperor Ludwig IV.

Near the entrance to the church is the "Devil's Footstep". This mark in the floor resembles a footprint with a hook at the heel. Legend claims that the devil stood on this spot and ridiculed the builder, as he had built a "windowless" church. He then stamped his foot in delight at the stupidity of the architect. If you do stand on this spot, which all the tourists do, then the huge pillars hide all of the windows except for the chancel window.

Our next stop was the Munich Residence. This was the residence of the Dukes, the Electors and the Kings of Bavaria. It was also where the rulers housed their art collections and treasures.

Couldn't take photos inside the Residenz but could inside the Treasury (Schatzkammer). The Treasury contains all of the goodies the Bavarian Rulers acquired, one way or the other, over the years.

We then spent the rest of the day at the Olympic Park - the site of the 1972 Olympic Games. We couldn't go inside so we just went for a walk around the complex.

The kids went for a ride in these boats on the lake. Mark and John considered the possibility of David going on a diet. Soon.