The Residenz

On Sunday, Ezgi and I agreed to meet shortly after noon and go visit the Residenz. Upon discovering that neither of us had had breakfast, we headed into a small shop to pick up some snacks. She bought a sandwhich, I a sweet roll. We tried to sit at a table outside the shop; a waitress explained to us that only customers who ordered at the tables may sit there. Apparently there is a surcharge when you use the tables (on reflection, this makes sense. Tax and gratuity are automatically added to a bill, unless you buy stuff over the counter). Anyway, that is another difference from the US.

We wandered central Munich until we found an overhang where we could enjoy our food while hiding from the rain. While standing there, an italian woman came up to us and asked "Sprechen Sie Englisch?" I'm taking this to mean that both of us could pass for Germans (this assumption isn't completely logical - there are many immigrants in Munich, so, at most, she assumed we were residents rather than natives. However, I prefer the interpretation where I look like I fit in in a foreign land).

Eventually we headed to the Residenz. We learned a couple of things here, notably, that the guide who told us that museums only cost 1 euro to enter on Sundays lied. We ended up purchasing a combined ticket that gave us access to the Residenz, the Treasury, and the Opera house.

Bacchus? I don't know. Some sort of bust in the grotto. He reminded me of Bacchus.

A courtyard near the grotto, when you first enter the Residenz.

A found that had Perseus holding up Medusa's head. Interestingly enough, the water from the fountain dripped from Medusa's head and came out of her decapitated body. Very macabre.

A figure in the grotto in the Residenz.

I can't remember the name of this hall in the Residenz. I'll probably come back and edit this entry in the future.

A hall in the Residenz.

This bed looks terribly uncomfortable.

One of the rooms. Probably an elector's room. We saw that some official called the "Elector" had a whole suite of rooms.

Ezgi in a church attached to the Residenz.

Another view of the church.

Eleazarus apparently did not like elephants.

One of the halls in the Residenz.

We are here to view the tapestries. This is a castle, isn't it? There are tapestries.

Relics containing the bones of saints (presumably. I couldn't read the German).

A church in the Residenz, or attached to it.

One of the rooms in the Residenz. I forget what this one was.

Room of mirrors in the Residenz. Can you find all the Charlies?

There were several mirrors that were as large as a door. They had a weird effect - the surface of the mirrors was bumpy, so they seemed to ripple as you moved.

I saw a ghost in the Residenz! Or an angel. Or I was just playing with my camera and liked the resulting effect.

The opera house is a separate structure - it took us a few seconds to figure out how to actually get into it. Essentially, the building consists of a glass-enclosed foyer, surrounding by a hallway filled with paintings, and the stage and seats.

This picture is taken just to the right of the entrance. I was yelled at for leaning on a rail while taking this picture.

Shot from the stage, looking back towards the entrance.

Another shot from the stage. So, in summary, the Residenz is pretty cool to go to. To see the opera house, though, you might as well just attend an actual opera rather than paying the surcharge to just walk in and view it. The treasury was -cool-, but it was really sort of short. I did like the relics, though.