After almost 2 1/2 years of not being able to travel because of the Covid 19 pandemic, we were finally embarking on our Blue Danube with Oberammergau tour. We flew into Munich, arriving a day before our tour began so we had time to do some exploring on our own. We had been to Munich when we took the Alps and Dolomites tour in 2015 and had seen the Residenz Museum from the outside, but had never been inside to see the beautiful rooms. So this was first on our list. The Residenz Museum is the former royal palace of the Wittelsbach monarchs of Bavaria. It served as both their residence and the seat of government.  

The first picture below is of the Ancestral Gallery. Charles VII, prince-elector of Bavaria and later Holy Roman Emperor, had the Ancestral Gallery designed in 1726. There are over 100 portraits of members of the Wittelsbach family displayed in the Gallery. The second picture is a close-up of a hallway designed as a grotto. It is decorated with shells and crystals.

The last two pictures are of the Antiquarium, also in the Residenz Museum. Duke Albrecht V had it built from 1568 to 1571 for his collection of antique sculptures. His successors used it as a ballroom and banquet hall. Although the Antiquarium suffered some damage to the ceiling during World War II, it was repaired and is relatively unchanged from its earliest days.

After visiting the Residenz Museum, we walked to the Frauenkirche, a Catholic church originally built in the 1400’s. The church was heavily damaged during World War II. The roof collapsed and most of the interior was destroyed, with the exception of the Teufelstritt, or Devil’s Footstep – more on that to come. The renovation work was completed fairly recently – in 1994.

We took the picture of the exterior of the church from the tower of the New Town Hall in Munich. The bell towers are the most recognizable feature of Munich’s skyline. The next picture is the church’s sanctuary. Notice that from the back of the church only the window behind the altar is visible.

There is a footprint – supposedly the Devil’s – in the back of the church. So why is the Devil’s footprint in the church? One story is that the church’s architect made an agreement with the Devil to design the church without windows, honoring darkness. In exchange, the devil would provide funds to build the church. When the building was complete, the Devil stood in the back of the church. Columns blocked all of the windows on the sides of the church and a huge altar blocked the one in front. But when the Devil took a step forward, he saw the windows between the columns and stomped his foot in anger, leaving behind his footprint.

And, in fact, the church does have beautiful stained glass windows. Some of Europe’s oldest stained glass windows are said to be in the Frauenkirche, one of which is pictured below.

Munich had great food. We ate at an outdoor market, the Viktualienmarkt, which is pictured above the blog’s title. It was a beautiful day to eat outdoors and we enjoyed sausage with sweet mustard. The Viktualienmarkt began as a farmer’s market in 1807 and today is a popular market catering to both tourists and locals. In addition to excellent places to eat, there are also stalls selling meat, fruit, vegetables and flowers.

We also wandered around the Marienplatz, the central square in Munich. We watched the Glockenspiel which features two stories. The second picture below shows one of the stories, the Cooper’s Dance. Legend says the dance signaled the end of the plague and that it was safe for people to leave their homes.

We also took two elevators in the New Town Hall tower for views of the square and beyond. The observation deck is about 278 feet above ground. The picture of the Marienplatz Square (last picture in this section) was taken from the observation deck as was the picture of the exterior of the Frauenkirche (pictured in the section above).