Sunday was also a busy day full of adventures. Mallory, Keith and I went to Englischer Garten in the early afternoon after a small lunch at Schneider Weisse. Englischer Garten is a large park in the middle of Munich that is the size of Central Park in New York City if not a little bit larger. It was a beautiful day and we were able to see some pretty cool things at the park including a Japanese tea garden and house, a Chinese tower, Monopteros, and a man-made wave. Unfortunately, the Japanese tea garden and house was not open when we were in the park. However, a tranquil pond with ducks and swans swimming in it surrounded the garden. The whole scene was quite picturesque. We also stumbled upon the Monopteros, which is a roman style structure that is situated on a small hill in the park. The structure was composed of a dome shaped roof held up by roman columns. The Monopteros was decorated with ornate pictograms and the ceiling was beautiful. We found a Chinese tower in one of the main areas of the park. The tower structure is unique and cannot be found elsewhere in the city. The Chinese tower has been rebuilt several times after being burnt down and it is continually restored to its original form. This sense of connection to history and older architecture seems to be a common theme throughout Munich. Many of the older historical buildings and churches are constantly being renovated and restored to their original beauty.
Keith and I visited the Alte Pinakotek as well. This was an exhibition of seventeenth and eighteenth century art including Durer and Rembrandt. I enjoyed working my way through each room of art and seeing the many differences and similarities between Italian, Spanish, French, Flemish and German artists during this period of time. The paintings ranged from depictions of Jesus and Mary, to children eating food, to hunting dogs chasing down game, to taverns and peasants. I most enjoyed finding paintings by Daniel Teniers and Adrienne Brouwers. These were two Flemish artists that depicted tavern scenes and the beer culture during this time. I found these paintings to be fairly representative of the beer culture here in Germany and I expect they will be accurate representations of the beer culture in Belgium. The only thing that struck me as odd was that some of Brouwers paintings depicted violent fights in the stubbes. These scenes in my opinion do not relate or reflect the beer culture in Germany at all. The Alte Pinakotek was an eye opening experience and it was fabulous to see some very old paintings from famous artists.
I enjoyed every minute of this weekend. Each day brought new adventures and old friends. I cannot wait for tomorrow!
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