We're The Best Of Friends!
The Sun was shining rather intensely on Saturday so I opted to head out of the city centre and into the suburbs of Munich. My destination was Schloss Nymphenburg, a summer palace which was founded in 1664 in the west of the city. Back then, you had to go through countryside to reach it, the site being chosen largely for its hunting potential, but now it has largely been swallowed up as part of the Munich municipal area.
The journey to the palace only took around 20 minutes by tram from the Hauptbahnhof, where I satiated my hunger with an early morning German snausage, half of which I managed to get down my wondrous wolf shirt so it looked like someone had given the wolf a bloody nose for the rest of the day. The route of the #17 tram goes through a business area before the surroundings become more residential, with it stopping just in front of the extensive landscape gardens for which the palace is famed. Upon walking through the well coifurred greenery and spurting fountains of the cultivated gardens, the sheer scale of the building becomes apparent. Even from half a kilometer away, the palace dominates your field of vision and you are struck by its glorious symmetry.
The palace was ordered to be built by the Elector Ferdinand Maria and his wife Henrietta Adelaide of Savoy, commissioned from Agostino Barelli, with later annexes coming in 1701. Like most buildings of this type, it has been added to throughout the ages and the usage of the different rooms changed throughout time too. The changes in this building have been exquisitely recorded though - the symmetry combined with the stunning gardens producing a very edifying and satiating sense on the soul.
Despite the weather being wondrous - perfect for a stroll in a garden modelled on the English country style - I opted to go around the house first. Some 17 rooms were open, with a further six closed for renovations, which was to be a frequent theme during my visits to museums and art galleries throughout the Munich municipality. The best room was actually the first one you come to, up the winding wooden stares you ascend from the ticket office. This white walled and narrow stairway opens up onto the Steinerner Saal, a ballroom of breathtaking beauty such is its grandeur. The large bay windows on either side of the room also allow the two gardens, front and back, into the room and the light of the sun glistening off the gold plating made the experience tremendously magical. This was nothing compared to the beautiful fresco painted on the ceiling, full of allegory and, like with so many things of that era, a contemporary interpretation of the Greek myths. The style was Rococo, which was incredibly popular in Bavaria in the eighteenth century.
The ballroom is effectively in the middle of the building, with two antechambers on either side, one for the Elector and one for his wife. It was tradition at the time for the couple to conduct their business independently and even have separate living quarters, and the rooms matched with the general symmetry of the house. So moving away from the ballroom, there were rooms for receiving guests and casual entertaining before they became more and more private as you walked further away from the centre. At the end were the bedrooms and a dressing area, with the Elector's personal space a small room decorated with exquisite black lacquer motifs on wood in a Chinese style. The love of all things Chinese started in the seventeenth century when the Portuguese and the Dutch East India Company started exporting works of art back to Europe. It became rather chic to have Chinese influenced produce in a house and these lacquer motifs - along with the wallpaper in some of the other chambers - is an example of this. Interestingly, European copies of idealised Chinese scenes started to be made in the eighteenth century, often by local artisans who had to imagine what China was like. Such examples were demostrated in the personal room, which had large Chinese scenes from China interspersed with European ones so the entire wall was covered with such art.
Another highlight, again on the Elector's side of the house, was the Gallery of Beauties. Ludwig I commissioned the artist Joseph Stieler to draw portraits of women he found particularly attractive. Many of these were noblewomen and the like, but there were some of more modest means, including Helene Sedlmayr, the daughter of a tailor the prince spotted outside the gates as she was delivering toys to the palace. At the time, these women became something of celebrities and I must admit it would be rather brilliant to have someone of such modest background immortalised in such way. There were issues with the Gallery of Beauties with the Electoress though, and indeed Ludwig I's persuit of women led him into diplomatic trouble further down the line.
The building itself is impressive but it is the gardens that people come to the palace to see. They extend for miles, quite literally, particularly at the back which is punctuated by an intrecate canal system and fountains at many points. The entire area is 180 hectares. The garden had three major periods of change, with the final Baroque version appearing in 1715 and a more landscaped version appearing around a century later. Pavilions and lodges for the prince's own predelictions were added throughout the eighteenth century and it's great fun to play hide and seek in the vast gardens to see if you can find them. Four were built in the end, along with a pumping station which was used to irrigate the canals. The first one I found was Magdalenenklause, which is probably the most wondrous of the lot. Grottoes and follies were of huge interest in the eighteenth century as they symbolised romatic desire, which was culturally popular through the poetry and written works of the age. The Magdalenenklause is the most religious of the four buildings, with neat wooden corridors splaying out into a breathtaking alter which is made entirely of sea shells. It's a rather eerie experience really, as it looks like a collection of skulls all piled up, either that or half the interior of the church has melted. Yet upon closer inspection, you see the range of shells assembled and the diligence it must have taken to create such an exquisite architectural masterpiece. Even though the member of staff was very funny about checking everyone's tickets, it didn't detract from the auora and atmosphere of the place, with the dark grey meloncholic shades contrasting sharply with the gaity of a warm summer's day.
There is a Botanical Garden very near the Magdalenenklause but I opted to give it a miss, partly because it cost extra and partly because I have experienced quite a few botanical gardens in my time. Again, they were another must-have item for nobility of the eighteenth century as it symbolised a desire for knowledge and an understanding of natural philosophy. All very interesting, but not for today - I had other lodges to find. The next was the Pagodenburg, which resembled the blue and white Chinese porcelain that is quite familar these days. The entire ground floor of this octagonal shaped building was done in this style - specifically Delft tiles if you know your ceramics - with a rather excitable member of staff sat at a wooden bench in one of the corners. On the floor above, there were two rooms, a black room and a red room, done in Oriental style once more and very impressively so.
With the weather getting hotter, I opted to take a seat while four people with a pushchair were arguing about how to take a picture on a bridge over the main canal overlooking the palace. They eventually managed to do this and I went across the central waterway to try and find the other two folleys. I noticed a Greek style pagoda structure standing next to a lake, its water shimmering blue in the golden sunlight, and noticed it was a commemoration to Ludwig I. There were some kids playing football next to it along with their mother, so I opted to slink away from this familial scene and find the third lodge, Badenburg. This was a most peculiar building, a little nineteenth century London suburb in style but it housed a full ballroom and a heated pool. This was one of Europe's first ever heated swimming pools and seemed to involve flooding an entire half of the building. I wasn't sure where you'd get changed, the balcony above it was way too high and I couldn't quite work out how much flooding was necessary. All I saw was two huge taps against a wall and a wooden box. Most peculiar. On the other side of this pavillion, the rooms are bedecked in very expensive Chinese wallpaper. It was printed with wooden blocks and was solely for the export market. You can see repeated patterns and the places where artists needed to go over where two strips of paper didn't quite align.
Amalienburg was the fourth and final folley to find and it took some discovering. A masterpiece in the Rococo style, built between 1734 and 1739, this was primarily a hunting lodge for Electress Amilia, and there is quite a strong hunting theme throughout the building. Sectioned into different rooms, the middle one is the most impressive, with polished mirror surfaces on the walls from top to bottom, which distorts the light coming in from the two windows of similar shape directly opposite it. The polygon shaped room, I forget whether hexagonal or octagonal, was perhaps a little chinzy for my tastes but it was quite a splendid work of art, with the kitchen at one end of the building quite unique of the time. Here there were more Chinese tiles, including some which were clearly out of place, suggesting there was an incomplete set.
In desperate need for a drink by this point, I retired to the cafe on one side of the main part of the garden where I picked up a beer and an excessively donut thing through the melee that was a German self-service kiosk. It was pretty pleasant in all honesty, sitting in the sun while I watched the speeches of a marriage party on the other side of the courtyard. There were quite a few brides wandering about, it is certainly a stunning place for such a ceremony, although I could have possibly done without that 'Happy' song from Despicable Me 2 from this particularly wedding party (although it did make me think of minions and by extension Wolfie). Still, it was quite nice relaxing in the sunshine, contentment even which is rare for me, but the complex was soon to be closed and I had one more place to go, the Marstallmuseum.
If I was being honest, the Marstallmuseum was a little bit dull. Dedicated to the carriages and sleighs once loved by Bavarian rulers, the ground floor was interesting enough, particularly observing the intricate woodwork which went into these creations. Some of the carriages were ostentatious, gaudy even, but the sleighs were quite interesting particularly as Ludwig II forced people to go out and sled with him even on the coldest of days. Along with hunting, such competition was seen as noble and the houses of Bavaria and Austria frequently held sleighing competitions as sport. Ludwig II's gilded state coach was also interesting, but my favourite part was the ornamental bits and bridles that the horses wore. Many of these were hanging up in beautiful black and red leather, the gold bits and chains not weathered through the last 200 years. For someone interested in pony play, I can never look at a bridle and harness set without thinking certain thoughts and these truly were magnificant creations of handiwork. Upstairs, there was a section dedicated to the history of ceramics, which was as boring as it sounds in all honesty, so with the palace 15 minutes from closing, I opted to leave and head back to the tram before the rush to leave set in.
It was a bit of a wrench leaving this beautiful building and parkland behind, but the centre of Munich beckoned, where I was determined to watch the Germany v Ghana match, which was due to kick off at 9pm local time. This gave me a little while to grab some food before choosing an appropriate venue to watch the game. This had been my primary reason for going to Germany in the first place - to catch the game with some work colleagues, the ones who blew me off for their trip to Italy - so I was determined to see it somewhere. I thought there may be a big outdoor screening like there was when Germany hosted the World Cup in 2006 and I asked the receptionist in my hotel that morning to this effect. He gave me a list of addresses which turned out just to be pubs showing the game, and ones clearly catered towards tourists at that, so having walked around and deemed neither suitable (I did grab a beer in one about an hour before the game but it was a cellar bar that was stiflingly hot so I had to leave), I was at a loose end.
Anyway, all this happened after I had some food. After walking around with the guidebook for a while, I settled on the Pauliner Im Tal, on the road of the same name near Isartor. It's one the guidebook recommended for good Bavarian cuisine and I was soon tucking into some Schweinshaxn with globular potatoes and red cabbage. Schweinshaxn is pigs knuckle on the bone, with thick crackling surrounding it. It came in a gravy in which you could see a fair few globules of oil. The potato was the gelatonous type with crutons at the centre, perfectly spherical and perfectly spongy. It was all rather nice though, the meat fell off the bone well and it was all flavoured nicely, particularly the cabbage whose sweetness combined with the meat exquisitely. The potatoes were a bit heavy but with Pauliner beer on tap, there was a regular supply of delicious liquid and I thoroughly enjoyed the meal - not bad too for aound €17.
So after this I struggled to find a decent bar in which I was comfortable, so much so I ended up in the gay district. This is odd in itself as I feel less comfortable in gay bars than I do in regular ones. Also, when I say gay district, Munich doesn't really have one, not like the ones in the UK where all the venues are clumped together. The gay places are all around Fraunhofstrasse but are spread out from it, with up to a kilometer between them all and other establishments in between, including residences. Perhaps that's the sign of a more liberal attitude, I don't know. Anyway, the one with the sauna is actually a popular restaurant for all walks of life, but the TV there was too far away from the only available spaces. Bar Wolf, although sounding awesome, was busy so I ended up in a place called Beer and Burger, at the bar, listening to the staff complaining about the quality of the new parmesan cheese they had just bought. The staff here were quite nice, they kept plying me with beer and we chatted a bit. They were particularly interested in my Top 10 Munich Guidebook, telling me which places they had and had not been to. The game itself was quite a good one, particularly in the second half when Germany had to come back from a goal down to draw 2-2 with the Ghanians, with Miroslav Klose reaching the record for top World Cup scorer ever. The atmosphere in the place, which was quite dark due to its decor, was not as intense as I thought but the bar was near the entrance and the main TV and seating area was away from where I was. Had I been caught up in it, I may have had a different experience. As it was, it was very much like watching an England match at home (I don't know what else I was expecting in all honesty) but there was a strong sense of relief with Klose's effort. I guess Germany didn't reach the blistering heights they had done against Portugal the preceding week, hence the muted atmosphere.
The beer here was more local one, which had won the best beer in the whole of Germany in 2012. The name escapes me, but it was a deliciously sweet effort and by the time I left the bar after 11pm I was a little tipsy although nowhere near out of control. Luckily I was only two U-bahn stops from where my hotel was situated and the U-bahn station was just down the road from the bar. At the other end, I had about a ten minute walk from Silberhornstrasse U-bahn to my hotel but it was a route well rehearsed and I got home without incident. I then opted to go to McDonald's, where the silly waiter thought I had ordered ten cheeseburgers instead of just the one, obviously getting confused with my accent as 'ein' and 'zehn' sound completely different. I was quite incredulous when he rang up the price as over €12 but despite huffing and sighing from him, we managed to get it sorted in the end. The cheeseburger wasn't that nice anyway - I only went there due to the lack of food in the hotel and the fact the McDonald's was round the corner. I should have perhaps tried the Imbiss place on the main square or perhaps the Gelateria which always seemed to be open. It was quite a nice area around the hotel in fact, residential, but next to a dual carriageway on one side. There were cranes parked in the middle of the road at various intervals as some of the buildings, including the one next to the hotel, were being rebuilt. How they placed the cranes in the middle of the road I have no idea, they were proper full-sized ones, and the noise did wake me up in the moring from time to time but aisde from that the area and the hotel was fantastic.
The journey to the palace only took around 20 minutes by tram from the Hauptbahnhof, where I satiated my hunger with an early morning German snausage, half of which I managed to get down my wondrous wolf shirt so it looked like someone had given the wolf a bloody nose for the rest of the day. The route of the #17 tram goes through a business area before the surroundings become more residential, with it stopping just in front of the extensive landscape gardens for which the palace is famed. Upon walking through the well coifurred greenery and spurting fountains of the cultivated gardens, the sheer scale of the building becomes apparent. Even from half a kilometer away, the palace dominates your field of vision and you are struck by its glorious symmetry.
The palace was ordered to be built by the Elector Ferdinand Maria and his wife Henrietta Adelaide of Savoy, commissioned from Agostino Barelli, with later annexes coming in 1701. Like most buildings of this type, it has been added to throughout the ages and the usage of the different rooms changed throughout time too. The changes in this building have been exquisitely recorded though - the symmetry combined with the stunning gardens producing a very edifying and satiating sense on the soul.
Despite the weather being wondrous - perfect for a stroll in a garden modelled on the English country style - I opted to go around the house first. Some 17 rooms were open, with a further six closed for renovations, which was to be a frequent theme during my visits to museums and art galleries throughout the Munich municipality. The best room was actually the first one you come to, up the winding wooden stares you ascend from the ticket office. This white walled and narrow stairway opens up onto the Steinerner Saal, a ballroom of breathtaking beauty such is its grandeur. The large bay windows on either side of the room also allow the two gardens, front and back, into the room and the light of the sun glistening off the gold plating made the experience tremendously magical. This was nothing compared to the beautiful fresco painted on the ceiling, full of allegory and, like with so many things of that era, a contemporary interpretation of the Greek myths. The style was Rococo, which was incredibly popular in Bavaria in the eighteenth century.
The ballroom is effectively in the middle of the building, with two antechambers on either side, one for the Elector and one for his wife. It was tradition at the time for the couple to conduct their business independently and even have separate living quarters, and the rooms matched with the general symmetry of the house. So moving away from the ballroom, there were rooms for receiving guests and casual entertaining before they became more and more private as you walked further away from the centre. At the end were the bedrooms and a dressing area, with the Elector's personal space a small room decorated with exquisite black lacquer motifs on wood in a Chinese style. The love of all things Chinese started in the seventeenth century when the Portuguese and the Dutch East India Company started exporting works of art back to Europe. It became rather chic to have Chinese influenced produce in a house and these lacquer motifs - along with the wallpaper in some of the other chambers - is an example of this. Interestingly, European copies of idealised Chinese scenes started to be made in the eighteenth century, often by local artisans who had to imagine what China was like. Such examples were demostrated in the personal room, which had large Chinese scenes from China interspersed with European ones so the entire wall was covered with such art.
Another highlight, again on the Elector's side of the house, was the Gallery of Beauties. Ludwig I commissioned the artist Joseph Stieler to draw portraits of women he found particularly attractive. Many of these were noblewomen and the like, but there were some of more modest means, including Helene Sedlmayr, the daughter of a tailor the prince spotted outside the gates as she was delivering toys to the palace. At the time, these women became something of celebrities and I must admit it would be rather brilliant to have someone of such modest background immortalised in such way. There were issues with the Gallery of Beauties with the Electoress though, and indeed Ludwig I's persuit of women led him into diplomatic trouble further down the line.
The building itself is impressive but it is the gardens that people come to the palace to see. They extend for miles, quite literally, particularly at the back which is punctuated by an intrecate canal system and fountains at many points. The entire area is 180 hectares. The garden had three major periods of change, with the final Baroque version appearing in 1715 and a more landscaped version appearing around a century later. Pavilions and lodges for the prince's own predelictions were added throughout the eighteenth century and it's great fun to play hide and seek in the vast gardens to see if you can find them. Four were built in the end, along with a pumping station which was used to irrigate the canals. The first one I found was Magdalenenklause, which is probably the most wondrous of the lot. Grottoes and follies were of huge interest in the eighteenth century as they symbolised romatic desire, which was culturally popular through the poetry and written works of the age. The Magdalenenklause is the most religious of the four buildings, with neat wooden corridors splaying out into a breathtaking alter which is made entirely of sea shells. It's a rather eerie experience really, as it looks like a collection of skulls all piled up, either that or half the interior of the church has melted. Yet upon closer inspection, you see the range of shells assembled and the diligence it must have taken to create such an exquisite architectural masterpiece. Even though the member of staff was very funny about checking everyone's tickets, it didn't detract from the auora and atmosphere of the place, with the dark grey meloncholic shades contrasting sharply with the gaity of a warm summer's day.
There is a Botanical Garden very near the Magdalenenklause but I opted to give it a miss, partly because it cost extra and partly because I have experienced quite a few botanical gardens in my time. Again, they were another must-have item for nobility of the eighteenth century as it symbolised a desire for knowledge and an understanding of natural philosophy. All very interesting, but not for today - I had other lodges to find. The next was the Pagodenburg, which resembled the blue and white Chinese porcelain that is quite familar these days. The entire ground floor of this octagonal shaped building was done in this style - specifically Delft tiles if you know your ceramics - with a rather excitable member of staff sat at a wooden bench in one of the corners. On the floor above, there were two rooms, a black room and a red room, done in Oriental style once more and very impressively so.
With the weather getting hotter, I opted to take a seat while four people with a pushchair were arguing about how to take a picture on a bridge over the main canal overlooking the palace. They eventually managed to do this and I went across the central waterway to try and find the other two folleys. I noticed a Greek style pagoda structure standing next to a lake, its water shimmering blue in the golden sunlight, and noticed it was a commemoration to Ludwig I. There were some kids playing football next to it along with their mother, so I opted to slink away from this familial scene and find the third lodge, Badenburg. This was a most peculiar building, a little nineteenth century London suburb in style but it housed a full ballroom and a heated pool. This was one of Europe's first ever heated swimming pools and seemed to involve flooding an entire half of the building. I wasn't sure where you'd get changed, the balcony above it was way too high and I couldn't quite work out how much flooding was necessary. All I saw was two huge taps against a wall and a wooden box. Most peculiar. On the other side of this pavillion, the rooms are bedecked in very expensive Chinese wallpaper. It was printed with wooden blocks and was solely for the export market. You can see repeated patterns and the places where artists needed to go over where two strips of paper didn't quite align.
Amalienburg was the fourth and final folley to find and it took some discovering. A masterpiece in the Rococo style, built between 1734 and 1739, this was primarily a hunting lodge for Electress Amilia, and there is quite a strong hunting theme throughout the building. Sectioned into different rooms, the middle one is the most impressive, with polished mirror surfaces on the walls from top to bottom, which distorts the light coming in from the two windows of similar shape directly opposite it. The polygon shaped room, I forget whether hexagonal or octagonal, was perhaps a little chinzy for my tastes but it was quite a splendid work of art, with the kitchen at one end of the building quite unique of the time. Here there were more Chinese tiles, including some which were clearly out of place, suggesting there was an incomplete set.
In desperate need for a drink by this point, I retired to the cafe on one side of the main part of the garden where I picked up a beer and an excessively donut thing through the melee that was a German self-service kiosk. It was pretty pleasant in all honesty, sitting in the sun while I watched the speeches of a marriage party on the other side of the courtyard. There were quite a few brides wandering about, it is certainly a stunning place for such a ceremony, although I could have possibly done without that 'Happy' song from Despicable Me 2 from this particularly wedding party (although it did make me think of minions and by extension Wolfie). Still, it was quite nice relaxing in the sunshine, contentment even which is rare for me, but the complex was soon to be closed and I had one more place to go, the Marstallmuseum.
If I was being honest, the Marstallmuseum was a little bit dull. Dedicated to the carriages and sleighs once loved by Bavarian rulers, the ground floor was interesting enough, particularly observing the intricate woodwork which went into these creations. Some of the carriages were ostentatious, gaudy even, but the sleighs were quite interesting particularly as Ludwig II forced people to go out and sled with him even on the coldest of days. Along with hunting, such competition was seen as noble and the houses of Bavaria and Austria frequently held sleighing competitions as sport. Ludwig II's gilded state coach was also interesting, but my favourite part was the ornamental bits and bridles that the horses wore. Many of these were hanging up in beautiful black and red leather, the gold bits and chains not weathered through the last 200 years. For someone interested in pony play, I can never look at a bridle and harness set without thinking certain thoughts and these truly were magnificant creations of handiwork. Upstairs, there was a section dedicated to the history of ceramics, which was as boring as it sounds in all honesty, so with the palace 15 minutes from closing, I opted to leave and head back to the tram before the rush to leave set in.
It was a bit of a wrench leaving this beautiful building and parkland behind, but the centre of Munich beckoned, where I was determined to watch the Germany v Ghana match, which was due to kick off at 9pm local time. This gave me a little while to grab some food before choosing an appropriate venue to watch the game. This had been my primary reason for going to Germany in the first place - to catch the game with some work colleagues, the ones who blew me off for their trip to Italy - so I was determined to see it somewhere. I thought there may be a big outdoor screening like there was when Germany hosted the World Cup in 2006 and I asked the receptionist in my hotel that morning to this effect. He gave me a list of addresses which turned out just to be pubs showing the game, and ones clearly catered towards tourists at that, so having walked around and deemed neither suitable (I did grab a beer in one about an hour before the game but it was a cellar bar that was stiflingly hot so I had to leave), I was at a loose end.
Anyway, all this happened after I had some food. After walking around with the guidebook for a while, I settled on the Pauliner Im Tal, on the road of the same name near Isartor. It's one the guidebook recommended for good Bavarian cuisine and I was soon tucking into some Schweinshaxn with globular potatoes and red cabbage. Schweinshaxn is pigs knuckle on the bone, with thick crackling surrounding it. It came in a gravy in which you could see a fair few globules of oil. The potato was the gelatonous type with crutons at the centre, perfectly spherical and perfectly spongy. It was all rather nice though, the meat fell off the bone well and it was all flavoured nicely, particularly the cabbage whose sweetness combined with the meat exquisitely. The potatoes were a bit heavy but with Pauliner beer on tap, there was a regular supply of delicious liquid and I thoroughly enjoyed the meal - not bad too for aound €17.
So after this I struggled to find a decent bar in which I was comfortable, so much so I ended up in the gay district. This is odd in itself as I feel less comfortable in gay bars than I do in regular ones. Also, when I say gay district, Munich doesn't really have one, not like the ones in the UK where all the venues are clumped together. The gay places are all around Fraunhofstrasse but are spread out from it, with up to a kilometer between them all and other establishments in between, including residences. Perhaps that's the sign of a more liberal attitude, I don't know. Anyway, the one with the sauna is actually a popular restaurant for all walks of life, but the TV there was too far away from the only available spaces. Bar Wolf, although sounding awesome, was busy so I ended up in a place called Beer and Burger, at the bar, listening to the staff complaining about the quality of the new parmesan cheese they had just bought. The staff here were quite nice, they kept plying me with beer and we chatted a bit. They were particularly interested in my Top 10 Munich Guidebook, telling me which places they had and had not been to. The game itself was quite a good one, particularly in the second half when Germany had to come back from a goal down to draw 2-2 with the Ghanians, with Miroslav Klose reaching the record for top World Cup scorer ever. The atmosphere in the place, which was quite dark due to its decor, was not as intense as I thought but the bar was near the entrance and the main TV and seating area was away from where I was. Had I been caught up in it, I may have had a different experience. As it was, it was very much like watching an England match at home (I don't know what else I was expecting in all honesty) but there was a strong sense of relief with Klose's effort. I guess Germany didn't reach the blistering heights they had done against Portugal the preceding week, hence the muted atmosphere.
The beer here was more local one, which had won the best beer in the whole of Germany in 2012. The name escapes me, but it was a deliciously sweet effort and by the time I left the bar after 11pm I was a little tipsy although nowhere near out of control. Luckily I was only two U-bahn stops from where my hotel was situated and the U-bahn station was just down the road from the bar. At the other end, I had about a ten minute walk from Silberhornstrasse U-bahn to my hotel but it was a route well rehearsed and I got home without incident. I then opted to go to McDonald's, where the silly waiter thought I had ordered ten cheeseburgers instead of just the one, obviously getting confused with my accent as 'ein' and 'zehn' sound completely different. I was quite incredulous when he rang up the price as over €12 but despite huffing and sighing from him, we managed to get it sorted in the end. The cheeseburger wasn't that nice anyway - I only went there due to the lack of food in the hotel and the fact the McDonald's was round the corner. I should have perhaps tried the Imbiss place on the main square or perhaps the Gelateria which always seemed to be open. It was quite a nice area around the hotel in fact, residential, but next to a dual carriageway on one side. There were cranes parked in the middle of the road at various intervals as some of the buildings, including the one next to the hotel, were being rebuilt. How they placed the cranes in the middle of the road I have no idea, they were proper full-sized ones, and the noise did wake me up in the moring from time to time but aisde from that the area and the hotel was fantastic.