We were up before light on our first full day in Munich...that's not saying much when the sun doesn't come up until 8am! Regardless, it was nice to walk around the chilly, deserted streets before the rest of the city was awake.
Eventually, the sun was up and so were mom and dad. We wandered around town for a bit before making our way past the Residenz (more on that another day), through the Hofgarten, and into the Englischer Garten.
It's one of the world's largest urban parks - bigger than Central Park in New York. The last time I was there was the summer of 2000, and the place was packed with picnickers and sunbathers. This visit it wasn't near as crowded, but still pretty lively. We passed other people on walks, joggers, bikers, horseback riders (who I was very jealous of) and so many dogs who were very happy to be off their leashes and running around. There were even surfers who surf the rapids in the river!
We eventually made our way to the Chinese pagoda, a year-round beer garden, but also the site of a cute little Christmas Market.
The park is huge, and we barely saw any of it, but it's one of those places where you pretty much forget you're in a bustling city. For me especially, it was so nice to be outside, getting lots of fresh air and being surrounded by green...things I don't get a whole lot of here in Al Ain.
It was coming onto lunch time, so we headed back into Marienplatz for lunch at the Augustiner Beer Hall...the first of many delicious meals in Munich! This one is right across the street from the Hofbräuhaus and I can't recommend it enough!
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