Marienplatz and the Mediocre Restaurant of my Dreams

After I found my way out of the English Gardens, I figured I might as well have a look at the town square, Marienplatz, and so I did.

What I first appreciated there was a fountain I discovered that happened to double as a bench. I don’t mean this as in there is a fountain in the center and benches bordering it. The thing was a nature-inspired construct to be certain. The fountain was shaped a little bit like an arena, with the water in the center, and stone surrounding it outward in a bowl-like formation. Water trickled into the center from several key stones at the top of the rim, but essentially one could sit anywhere that the trickle did not hit in its downward path. The pool itself had several large plexiglass mushrooms spouting out of the water, which several local kids were enjoying as stepping stones.

I also briefly looked into Cathedral of our Lady (after being so impressed by the Church of Our Lady, how could I resist?) but I wasn’t overly impressed. This was actually a good thing, since as I went inside it seemed that they were preparing an evening mass.

After wandering around a but more, I finally stumbled my way into the central square.

As central squares go (and I’ve seen 4 in the last week or so) it would have been less than impressive save one thing: one of the four sides of the square was taken up entirely by a giant glockenspiel. You know, those German wind-up clocks that look like castles, and have people that come out and do things when it strikes the hour? This one was massive. It looked like it had been operating for a very long time, but its base had become something between a shopping mall and a strip mall.

Looking back, I suspect that I stumbled upon the legendary glockenspiel of Munich, but I never really bothered to investigate. Instead, I was side-tracked by assorted distractions. There was a woman dancing for change, and an anti-war stand on the other side of the square. I signed a petition and angry letter heading towards Bush and John Ashcroft.

One of the most notable things I’ve seen on this trip is just how central to global politics the rest of the world sees the United States. Everything political that I’ve seen or heard – everything has concerned the U.S. No protests, allies, or programs of any local politics. There’s nothing about things within the city, country, or even the European Union. All of it has involved the United States and all of it has viewed our recent actions with great disapproval.

I myself could name maybe 2 European political leaders, and I’m certain that I could not name all the countries. Hell, I didn’t know of Slovenia until I met Slovenians. Lord knows I’m bad at global politics. But the reverse most definitely seems not to be true. From what I have seen here, the world will be sitting by their televisions and radios this presidential election almost as surely as Americans will be.

After signing the anti-war stuff, I decided to make my way to the well known Haufbruhaus – the huge state-run beer hall of Munich. I was hesitant to actually drink any beer after my last encounter in the beer gardens, but I really wanted to see it.

Then, as I worked my way towards it, I spotted the familiar restaurant I’d seen in my dreams. Though some part of me kept expecting something to happen here, I have found nothing but average food and an uneventful meal.