Reflections on Munich

I've visited Munich at a bit of a strange time - the combination of the football game against Real Madrid followed by the May Day holiday has meant that the city has been absolutely inundated with people for the duration of my stay here. Combined with what seems like neverending building works and road maintenance going on all over the city, including a huge construction site by the Hauptbahnhof, the city has felt overwhelmingly busy and very noisy - much more so than Zurich.

That isn't to say that I haven't enjoyed my time here - I really enjoyed the walking tour yesterday and the many Bavarian beer gardens dotted around the city have been well worth experiencing - but I think my favourite moments have been early in the morning, before Munich has had a chance to wake up. These have included exploring the Altstadt yesterday, climbing up Peterskirche's tower, and strolling through the enormous Englischer Garten today.

These moments have left me with a great appreciation for Munich's grandiosity, both in terms of its proud architecture harkening back to the days of the Electorate and then Kingdom of Bavaria, and in terms of the enormous swathe of land comprised of open meadows, huge lakes, clean rivers and gentle woodland preserved for public enjoyment and relaxation.

Within Germany, postwar construction has been approached in many different ways. The philosophy of Berlin's reconstruction was to eradicate the past and rebuild from a clean slate. Munich's approach has been more nuanced, seeking to preserve what it can be proud of, erasing the physical manifestations of what it is ashamed of but trying to provide an honest education of both to its population and visitors alike. While I've yet to visit Berlin and other German cities that have taken the former approach, I feel the latter is more my style.Read more