The English Garden is Munich's largest public park. It's actually even bigger than Central Park. A man-made stream runs through it and people often swim in it during the summer months, even though the water is freezing cold. There's also an area where a "wave" is created by a pumping mechanism. Surfers surf this "wave" during the day, during all months of the year. Yes, even the winter. We saw them in late November last year. There is also a lake in the park where you can rent paddle boats. We spent a Sunday afternoon relaxing here. We can be there in 15 minutes on our bikes, so it's pretty convenient.
While it is legal to bring your own alcoholic beverages into the park, many people choose to drink at the various beer gardens throughout the park. The largest is the Chinese Tower. (I know, I know, a Chinese tower in the English Garden in Germany...bizarre) Traditional Bavarian bands often play in the afternoon.
The second largest park is Olympiapark, which was created solely for the Olympic summer games that Munich hosted in 1972. It includes many of the facilities used for the games, including a huge stadium, pool, tennis courts, track, etc. There are also a few artificial lakes and ponds. This park is much closer to us, as we can get there within 5 minutes by bike. Kristin also runs here in the mornings. Many festivals are held here throughout the year. We went to Tollwood back in June. In the middle of the park, there is a huge hill created from rubble from the war. If you take the trail up to the top, you can have a great view of Munich.
Full disclosure: We didn't actually take this photo, but the one we took looks exactly like it and right now, I'm too lazy to go get the camera and attach it to the computer for one measly photo.
One thing that is obvious from the view from Olympiapark is how "flat" of a city Munich is. There aren't really any large sky scrapers like in most other large cities. It definitely gives the city a more historic, traditional, and "quaint" feel.
On the public holiday last week, we also traveled by train about an hour outside of Munich to Tegernsee. Tegernsee is a town located on the Tegernsee lake in the Bavarian Alps. People come here to sail, swim, and hike. It's really quite beautiful. There are also many cafes and beer gardens.
We rented a rowboat to go out on the lake and Matt rowed it for us. How sweet.
And it wouldn't be a German town without great beer...
There's a monastery located in Tegernsee which also brews another Bavarian beer. It's actually one of Matt's favorites. There are two rumors as to why the monks began brewing beer. The first (and most realistic) is that they sold the beer to fund the operation of the monastery. The second is that the monks brewed and drank the beer when they were fasting (Kristin is dubious). Either way, the beer is delicious.
A great thing about Munich is that we get to live in a big city, but still enjoy beautiful parks, lakes, etc. We're trying to take advantage of it as much as possible before the weather gets colder in the fall. Looking forward to many more picnics in the parks!
Cheers,
Matt and Kristin
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