Glockenspiel of Munich

The Rathaus-Glockenspiel of Munich is located in Marienplatz and was part of the second construction phase of the New Town Hall, dating from 1908. Marienplatz (Mary's Square) is a central square in the city center of Munich, Germany since 1158.
(click on pictures to get a close up)

Close up of the Clock.

The Rathaus (Town Hall)

Every day at 11 a.m. (as well as 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. in summer) it chimes and re-enacts two stories from the 16th century to the amusement of mass crowds of tourists and locals. It consists of 43 bells and 32 life-sized figures,

The top half of the Glockenspiel tells the story of the marriage of the local Duke Wilhelm V to Renata of Lothringen. In honor of the happy couple there is a joust with life-sized knights on horseback representing Bavaria (in white and blue) and Lothringen (in red and white). The Bavarian knight wins every time of course.

The bottom half tells the story of the Schäfflerstanz (the coopers' dance). In the 16th century a particularly bad period of the plague hit town and everyone went into hiding. The first people to dare go back onto the streets were barrel makers who performed a big dance to show that it was okay to come out again.

This small model of the center of Munich was found nearby.

Signs of Confusion

I guess going up and down is okay, but side to side is Verboten.


Women and children can walk here...but what about the men?



Evidently the men are allowed to get run over by cars.

Watch out for birds attacking you on bicycle?

Downtown Erlangen

We got to explore Erlangen a bit...

The kids discovered the "mall"...

There was also a pedestrian shopping area...

There is much international food. We ate at Thai, Italian/Greek, Bavarian, and Japanese Sushi! We had traditional Bavarian food at Alter-Simpl .

For the 1000 year anniversary Jubilee in 2002 the city asked the artist Isolde Kunath to create a project of monument objects. In the metropolitan area, 16 "Pinnadeln" (Pin Needles) were placed that mark and information about the historical aspects of Erlangen.

FIS

On our visit to Erlangen, we visited the Franconian International School to meet the Admissions person, Carrie, and get a tour. The school has been in existence for 10 years. They have been adding a new class each year and this year they will be having their first graduating (12th grade) class. They also moved into a new school building this August. The girls were very excited to see potential new classmates.

A close up of the building yields a mosaic of different country's flags and the "FIS" logo.



Much to the older one's delight, there is a coffee shop right next door! Not Starbuck's, but she will have to manage with Mr. Bleck.

A couple other places that did not make the cut

This house was in a very nice part of Erlangen...but you had to access the 3rd bedroom by walking through the second bedroom. Also the inside house was painted in a beautiful, detailed way....the only problem was that it needed repainting! It would be a shame to paint it white, but too difficult to repaint what they had done before.

This next duplex was very nice, but twice as far away as all the others.

The winner is....

#4, the New house!

This house is near the town pool, a large green area, minigolf, an OBI (think Home Depot) and soon a shopping center. You can bike to downtown Erlangen across the green space on a bike path.

Obviously this house (duplex) will be brand new. The owner live in the other half where she has a design business. If our landscaping looks like hers, it will be very nice. This house has 4 bedrooms. One is on the ground floor and will be used as a guest bedroom/office. It is supposed to be done by January. Let's cross our fingers!

Here is what the street looks like:

Here is the minigolf:

Here is the bike path heading toward Erlangen:

The town we will be in is called Alterlangen (Old Erlangen)

Which house/apt. did we pick?

Shown below are some of the places to live that we saw while in Erlangen. Which did we choose?

Choice 1: Right across from school

Very convenient for the kids, but only 3 bedrooms. No room for an office.

Choice 2: Bubenreuth

5 Bedrooms, decorated circa 1970's, relatively cheap, kinda dark inside

Choice 3: Bavaria style

Only 3 bedrooms, more than one apt in this building, overlooks the parking lot and building supply center.

Choice 4: Under construction

A bit pricey, not done, 4 bedrooms, brand new

Choice 5: The Green House

The kids bedrooms must be accessed via a hall between apartments or through a steep stairs.

Choice 6: The Penthouse

Only 3 bedrooms, Lots of light, nice balcony, in the middle of apartment land.

Choice 7:The Free standing house

Only 1.5 baths

Choice 8: The Former Rectory

7 bedrooms, 3 full baths, 2 half baths,oh my

Off to Germany!

We are leaving now for the airport...I guess we will be in Germany when we find out who is the next U.S. President! Maybe we will get updates on the airplane?