This will be by far the most extensive visit up until now during my Promenade Days project. I visited Werner for a weekend, and we spent two days together, roaming the streets and buildings of Munich as well as Regensburg. 

Munich

Munich is the capital and most populous city in Bavaria. With its rich history and culture, and the numerous “Brauhäuser” there’s a lot to do in this big city. But, for a big city, the architecture is quite, well, let’s say, modest. The city centre is filled with old, beautiful buildings, and all the modern glass and steel buildings are in the outer rings. Something you wouldn’t expect from a big city like this, but it gives Munich its own charm. 

It was a bit more difficult for me to do my kind of photography, but I adapted fairly quickly.

Werner

Werner and I had met online on numerous occasions due to a great initiative our mutual friend Jörg had during the Covid-19 pandemic. He formed a small group on Facebook, where photo enthusiasts (Photographers, Models) from various genres of photography meet up every week to discuss photography, criticize each other’s photos and learn with each other. There are even plans for future exhibits, so, great job Jörg!

Werner was also one of the generous people who took part in my auction for ALS a while back, and he won one of my photographs. So, before we go through the hassle of sending such a big photograph, we decided it was time for a visit!

Olympia Park

After a great breakfast, we took the subway to Olympia Einkaufszentrum. From there we took a nice walk through Olympia Park, where Werner told me all about its history, from cool stuff he experienced there himself to the terror attacks. I could not have wished for a greater Guide to Munich.

Inner City

From Olympia Park, we made our way into the inner city of Munich. We stopped by Werner’s old University, the one where the Non-violent resistance group White Rose (Die Weisse Rose) had spread their pamphlets. There’s even a small exhibition about the group at the University now. It’s really worth a visit! After that, we strolled down the Ludwigstrasse, into the inner city.

Bräuhaus

Munich is famous for its Bräuhäuser (breweries), so of course, we had to visit one or two. As it was midday and we had some time to kill before we would meet up with some people from the Munich Street Collective, we decided to go for a bite to eat. Of course, Werner, as the great guide he is, also had a good idea of where to eat. We went to the Schneider Bräuhaus, which is the oldest brewery in Bavaria. We had a delicious meal there, and an even more delicious beer, a Schneider Weisse Aventinus.

Munich Street Collective

After this delicious dinner, we roamed the streets some more until it was time to meet up with the Munich Street Collective. We met up with Stefan Hellweger, and some others would join us later. We made our way to the Viktualienmarkt to shoot some street photography, and just as well, try and get a place to drink a beer. 

The Viktualienmarkt was quite full, so we decided to shoot a bit and make our way to the legendary Hofbräuhaus, a real tourist attraction. Despite Covid-19, it was filled with tourists from all over the world, mixed with locals, which made a pretty good, but hectic atmosphere. We were able to get a table outside in the courtyard and drank a Maß of beer. Man, that’s a bucket full! We talked about photography, work, life, and more, and eventually, Dominik Morbitzer joined us. We drank and talked some more until it was time to leave. 

More City and… surfers!

We roamed the city more, eventually also joined by another Munich Street Collective member, Mark Volz, and shot quite some street shots. It’s been a while since I shot so many street shots in one day. It reminded me again of how cool it is to have a collective to share your passion with. I should definitely try to get something like that going around where I live.

Eventually, Dominic and Mark made their way home, but it wasn’t the end for us. through the Hofgarten, where we witnessed a Turkish engagement party, we went to the Eisbachwelle. And saw surfers. I had never heard of this before, year-round surfing in the middle of a city! Wow! We stayed there quite a while and shot tons of photos until it was too dark, so we went for another beer and more conversation. 

Werner and I ended the day with dinner in a great Italian restaurant, after which it was time to go home, import some photos, and get some rest. Tomorrow there’d be another day full of surprises.

… But those I’ll save for another blog article. 

Day one, Munich, damn, what a day. Thank you, Werner, Stefan, Dominik, and Mark for an excellent day!