Resting Weary Legs - Enjoying the Sights by Bus

What could be better than celebrating my birthday at the laundromat? We started the day getting the laundry done so we could enjoy the day - so woo-hoo and happy birthday! 

The forecast is for rain today so plan to visit the Deutsches Museum of Transportation. It gets great reviews and looks very interesting. 

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Yesterday, after two days of what seems like miles and miles of walking, we decided to see the sights by bus and got tickets to the "Hop-on Hop-Off" bus tour. This is a double decker bus that takes one around the city and provides a running commentary of the sights. We sat on the open-air top deck and we learned so much about the history and the layout of Munich.

We took the short tour of about an hour around the central part of the city and then went around a second time and learned even more.  It is so hard to believe that so much of this city was destroyed in WW II and rebuilt using original plans and photographs. We are convinced that even if we had two weeks we could not see it all. 

Rather than bore you with history, here are just a few remarkable things we saw.

In the English Garden there actually some brave souls surfing the river under the bridge. This is a very narrow space and the water is very cold. This certainly took talent and control to prevent injury. People were lined up on the bridge to watch this incredible sight.

This is the statue of King Ludwig II. The tour guide said it was interesting that he is shown on a horse as he was not fond of horses and had fallen off many times, one time resulting in a broken leg.

Here is King Maximillian I, sitting on the throne. It is said he did not like this statue as it has him sitting  - he thought it looked too much like using the toilet. Locals say his raised hand is not greeting the crowd but rather signifies him ordering four more beers. 

This building is in the process of being refurbished. It is actually entirely wrapped in what appears to be the look of the final renovation. Amazing!

Hopped off the bus and went back to Hofbrauhaus for lunch. Ordered a vegetable pie and it turned out to be a delicious quiche-like affair  - yummy. Loved all the activity, the tourists and the locals.