Day 4 - Saturday 5 May

We said goodbye to our lovely hosts in Ulm at 08:00 this morning, and departed for München at 08:30.  It was a two and a half hour drive to Ulm with the bus, and we arrived in Münich at 11:00am.

Fun fact:  Our bus driver is called Roman Knignitskyi, he is from Russia, and he does not speak or understand English or German.  As you can imagine, communicating with Roman is a bit of a struggle.  Chef has reverted to conversing with him via Google Translate, which is quite entertaining to watch.  I shall post a clip of said conversations in the next blog...

Upon our arrival in Münich, the boys were told that they could have free time to walk around a little, but that they had to be back at the Marienplatz (the main square in town), where we were going to watch the Rathaus-Glockenspiel at 12 noon.

The Rathaus-Glockenspiel of Munich is a tourist attraction in Marienplatz, the heart of Munich. It dates from 1908. Every day at 11:00am and 17:00pm( as well as 12 noon in the summer) it chimes and re-enacts two stories from the 16th century to the amusement of mass crowds of tourists and locals. It consists of 43 bells and 32 life-sized figures. The top half of the Glockenspiel (literally: bells playing) tells the story of the marriage of the local Duke Wilhelm V (who also founded the world famous Hofbräuhaus) to Reränata of Lorraine. In honour of the happy couple, there is a joust with life-sized knights on horseback representing Bavaria (in white and blue) and Lothringen (in red and white). The Bavarian knight wins every time, of course.

This is then followed by the bottom half and second story: Schäfflertanz (the coopers' dance). According to myth, 1517 was a year of plague in Munich. The coopers are said to have danced through the streets to "bring fresh vitality to fearful dispositions." The coopers remained loyal to the duke, and their dance came to symbolize perseverance and loyalty to authority through difficult times. 

The whole show lasts somewhere between 12 and 15 minutes long depending on which tune it plays that day. At the very end of the show, a very small golden rooster at the top of the Glockenspiel chirps quietly three times, marking the end of the spectacle.

The Glockenspiel at Marienplatz

We then went to lunch at the famous Hofbräuhaus. The Hofbräuhaus am Platzl is a beer hall originally built in 1589 by Bavarian Duke Maximillian I.  Wilhelm V., Duke of Bavaria found the beer in Munich bad so he imported beer from Saxony. Wilhelm eventually asked his royal court to find a solution. They came up with the idea to create their own brewery in Munich.  Needless to say, the boys did not have any beer here :) but rather feasted on either roasted chicken, crispy pork, or Wiener sausages, and a selection of soft drinks.

After lunch, at about 14:15pm, we boarded the bus for our next stop - Wagrain in Austria.  We arrived in this picturesque market town in the state of Salzburg at 17:00pm, where we going to stay in the Jugendhotel Markushof.  As it is currently out of season, the hotel is not actually open to the public at the moment, but the owners agreed to let us stay here for the following three nights - so the boys basically have free reign.  There is much to keep them busy - a big sports centrum with basketball rings, trampolines and many other activities.

We had supper at the Jugendhotel at 18:30, after which the boys had to bring down their concert uniform, shirts and jeans to be laundered.  After an exciting day, lights out was at 21:30 - we have not heard a peep from their rooms since...

Wagrain

Wagrain

Wagrain