Day 51: Munich

On my first night in Munich, I had dinner at a lovely restaurant on Leopoldstrasse with some close family friends. The traditional German meal -- potatoes and bread dumplings with pork flank in dark beer sauce -- was delicious but very heavy. I could barely finish it.

The next day, we headed out to a few of the most notable sights in Munich. Nymphenburg Palace was the first castle I visited on this trip where it wasn't pouring. That's not to say it didn't rain at all; there were still occasional light drops and those clouds could not be any more ominous.

However, I did get to walk around the grounds and gardens at my leisure, without an umbrella. I really loved the lakes and waterfowl that lived on the grounds. There were all different types of ducks and geese and more swans than I'd ever seen in my life. They casually strolled across the paths and tore up the lawn in search of food.

The palace's "backyard" was so big that I could not see the other end of it, even after walking what felt like halfway. It was a full forest.

The entire complex itself was one of the largest palaces I'd ever seen. It rivalled Versailles. Although not high, the apartments continued all around the lakes and lawns, making a near circle.

Our next stop was the Olympiapark, the facilities of the 1972 Summer Olympics. There stood the olympiaturm, a viewing tower that offered the best panorama of the city and its surroundings.

After spending some time up top the tower -- fortunately the weather wasn't too bad -- we took the metro downtown to Odeonsplatz, where we had lunch at an Italian place inside a pretty mall.

From there, we walked to Marienplatz, the main square with the beautifully imposing rathaus, the town hall.

The walk downtown was a very pleasant one as the streets were of cobblestone and lined with shops. Unfortunately, as I wasn't feeling well, I retired early to rest from there.