Nuremberg, where crafting lives on, but all the meat we ate did not.

June 29, 2024

The main thing we had planned for today was to visit the English Gardens. It stands out to us so much from the last time we were here and we wanted to experience it again. We first walked past the Munich Residence and Hofgarten. Our first stop in the gardens was to see the surfers we saw last time. This time though we first noticed how it was significantly more crowded than last time! There were at least a hundred people crowded around to watch them, and last time there probably less than 20. On much of this trip it seems like everywhere is more crowded than when we last visited. It could be a general change in how many more people are traveling or just that it was a hot summer day in Munich and everyone wanted to be out.

We continued on to find out first playground. Like all the parks we are finding here, this one was also well deigned to fit into it’s surroundings and fully covered in shade. We played for a bit and watched a bit of a cricket match. We then headed on to find a beer garden! We decided to grab lunch at the Chinese Tower. We grabbed some food, beers and settled into a shady picnic table to take it all in. There was also a band playing up in the tower, which made it even more lively.

We headed to the park right off to the side of the beer garden and Liam rode the vintage carousel. The carousel was first built 1823, but rebuilt in 1913 and it was such a unique sight to see. It sits in a wood house and features carriages, storks, and goats. We enjoyed another beer while watching Liam play and we think Chicago needs to rethink their proximity of playgrounds to beer gardens because this is something we could get used to.

By now we were hot and tired and decided to brave the river. This definitely seems to be a local pastime and it seems that all of Munich was in the gardens sunbathing and floating the river. We found a relatively calm spot and went in. It was cold! But also refreshing and it was fun to watch everyone float by. Chuck let Liam ride on his back, which was fun, but what no one says is that there are rocks, sharp rocks on the river bottom.

After this, we decided to try that restaurant that was booked yesterday. This time was successful! We grabbed a table and some tasty food and of course more beer. It wasn’t exactly the same as we remember, which could also be because we now have a kid with us, but it was still very good food. We realized Liam ate nearly the entire breadbasket and butter and realized this is why he loves German food so much, he has been living off bread, spaetzle, and pretzels while we’ve been here. We have been living of the beer, so I guess we are all enjoying our carbs.