11 May: Meeting the Old Masters

We planned to do some shopping today, so we started late - the shops don’t open till 10. We’re both feeling like a change of clothes, and I need to replace the strides left in Vancouver (now back in NZ), and maybe a jacket.
But all the clothes I looked at were so expensive they made Rembrandt look like Farmers!

So we settled for lunch and a return visit to the Frauenkirche, which made such an impact on us a couple of days ago.

We decided to spend the afternoon at the Alte Pinakothek. This art gallery is home to one of the largest collections of European painting in the world. I had no idea there would be such an extraordinary number (700) and range of paintings, from late medieval to early 20th century.

We were just blown away. Again and again Des would jump up and down, saying “I’ve got that picture in a book at home”, or come out (as you might perhaps have expected!) with some arcane but insightful comment about a Dürer, a Goya or a Rembrandt. She really has an extraordinary knowledge about many of these masters.

We looked at maybe three quarters of the collection before our legs ran out. Coffee and home. I resisted the 2000 piece jigsaws in the gallery shop!

Another amazing day in Munich. Last day tomorrow, on to Strasbourg Monday.Read more