Sunday morning we went to church in Munich.
This was the first ward we went to with any significan American ex-pat presence. Still so impressed with how friendly everyone at church has been!
After church we drove around Munich for an hour or so, trying to take in some of the most important city sights, especially Marienplatz, the main city square.
Rathaus (city hall) in Marienplatz
Closer detail on the glockenspiel in the Rathaus.
Driving around the city and over the Munich River, we came to the Deutches Musem. So impressive!!
Munich was also the location of the craziest traffic lights I have ever seen. Good luck figuring out this one! I just tried to go when everyone ese around me was going, and stop when everyone else was stopping. :-)
We couldn't stay in Munich for too long, because we were headed back up north. This was another last-minute change of plans. Joseph discovered that one of Europe's most extensive tank collections was in Munster, near Hamburg, way up north. We couldn't resist, even though it was very far out of our way. Compared to Texas, nothing is TOO far away in Europe, I guess.
So we drove the rest of the afternoon, and got into our hotel just before dark.
In the morning, we ate breakfast in the cute little kitchen area.
Then it was off to the tank museum!! The Deutches Panzermuseum (German Tank Museum) is concerned with the documentation of the history of German armoured troops since 1917.
Here's Wikipedia's description:
The heart of the exhibition is a collection of about 40 Bundeswehr and former East German (Nationale Volksarmee) tanks as well as 40 German tanks and other Wehrmacht vehicles from the Second World War. In addition there are tanks from the Red Army, British Army and United States Army from the war, as well as other modern tanks such as the Israeli Merkava. Most of the vehicles are in working order, with restoration work ongoing to render all examples functional. The restoration staff of the museum do extensive research on every vehicle in order to return it to its original configuration and paint scheme.
Numerous other military-historic exhibits enhance the vehicle displays, including an international collection of steel helmets and specific exhibits relating to Erwin Rommel that include many of his personal possessions. Also, every type of firearm and weapon used by the German Army in both world wars is displayed.
The large collection of armoured vehicles includes some rare or unique types. For example, the museum has an authentic replica of an A7V German First World War tank, the only example of its type in Europe, and an armoured police vehicle from the Weimar Republic era. In addition it has one of only two existing Sturmpanzer VI as well as a prototype version of the Jagdpanzer IV. From the post-war era there is a range of Bundeswehr prototypes, including a Leopard 1, Kanonenjagdpanzer tank destroyer and MBT-70, the abortive US-German design. The interior of an American M48 Patton tank, situated outside, can be entered via a flight of steps.
The boys had a great time. I learned a lot about tanks, too! It was fun to see other visitors to the museum just as enthusiastic about tanks as my boys.
Then it was back in the car and back to Frankfurt. We debated going up to Hamburg, since it was really SO close (less than an hour), but in the ended decided not to. We wouldn't have time to do it justice, and would just have been driving late into the night.
So, back to Frankfurt it was.
We did drive through the Munster city center. Ben knew someone from work who was from there, so here is his documentation that he was there!
We got to Frankfurt in pretty good time, and checked into our hotel.
For our last dinner in Germany, we walked down the street to the Gasthof Naturfreundehaus.
Of course, Brigham was already there, waiting for us and reading. :-)
Our last meal was one of the best German meals we had.
