Munich, Germany, part 2

When our train pulled into the Hauptbahnhof, we closed the Austria-Slovakia-Czech Republic loop that we'd planned before we left. We only had an afternoon (again) on this visit to Munich, so we decided to spend most of it at the Augustiner Kellar, an authentic Münchner biergarten.

It was here that we first ran across a group that would continue to provide us with laughs throughout our trip, the fans of FC (Fußball Club) Bayern München. They were singing their team's songs, cheering, drinking, throwing coasters and having a grand old time. It was fun just to watch them. (Curiously enough, we were able to recognize most of the tunes they were singing. The lyrics were new to us, of course, but the tunes were old standards like "Yankee Doodle" and "Clementine.")

Our beer order was a sight to behold as well. One Maß each, a Maß being a full liter of beer. The steins were about a foot high. We drained them, but it took a while.

Afterward, we walked back to Marienplatz to see the famous Glockenspiel at the Neues Rathaus. Somehow we'd missed it on our first stop in Munich. At five o'clock, the bells began, and soon after, mechanical figures began parading in the bell tower. A multimedia display, nineteenth century style.

Our last stop of the day was at the Englischer Garten. According to our guidebook, it's the oldest and largest city park in the world. It's three miles long, so we just took a quick look around before hurrying back to the Hauptbahnhof to claim our packs and catch an overnight train to Rome.