Germany

Michelle's Galleries

Germany

The Glockenspiel in Munich is one of the most famous clocks in the world. When the folk music begins doors open and several mechanical figures emerge and begin to “dance”. There are two different dances occurring representing two separate events in Munich’s history.

The first event is in celebration of the end of the plague in 1517. This is why the dancers are doing the Schafflertanz, the dance of the coopers.The other event is the tournament of knights that took place in Marienplatz in 1568. The little dancers are reenacting a famous tournament that was held for a royal wedding.

Germany

Here they are: one hundred year old animatronics. A clock that moves and dances on the hour. We waited for forty-five minutes to see it with about a thousand other people, and if you’re looking for the world’s largest cuckoo clock, or something that will knock your socks off, don’t hold your breath. It’s about as technologically impressive as your refrigerator.

Germany

Munich is the capital of Bavaria. The figure on Munich’s coat-of-arms is a monk referred to as the Münchner Kindl, the child of Munich. Black and gold – the colors of the Holy Roman Empire – have been the city’s official colors since the time of Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor.

Germany

Overlooking the city of Heidelberg

Germany

Behind me sprawls Heidelberg’s Castle which towers above the wooded hillside of the Königstuhl where the poet Johann Wolfgang Goethe once strolled.

Germany

Tourists can get a good view of the castle from Heidelberg Belltower. Heidelberg is not just a beautiful city, it is also the place where the bicycle was invented by Karl Drais in 1817.

Germany

The charming alleys of Heidelberg in which a soldier stands guard over the street.

Germany

The Germans love their beer, and have entire halls dedicated to drinking where people go simply to grab a cold one and listen to German music.

This is the very famous Hofbrauhaus which was created in in 1589 when the Duke of Bavaria decided that the beer in Munich was not good enough for His Highness’ palate. Therefore, he created his own brewery next-door to the royal palace, overseen by the world’s greatest brewer, Heimeran Pangraz of the Geisenfeld Monastary.

Today, Heimeran Pangraz is like a patron saint to the people of Munich— the patron saint of drinking that is.