With the way that the trains worked out we only really had a full day to explore Munich, but we made the most of it.

Up early and breakfast at the hotel consumed, it’s off towards the river Isar to walk along its banks. We find the rivers in Germany a great place to start learning about a city. They are the life blood, as they say. It’s a grey old day with heavy cloud as a cold change is on its way so the colours are muted.

Our walk takes us past a number of beautiful buildings including the church of St Paul, the Hall of Fame and Bavaria along the way.

We reach the river and are surprised by what we find. The Isar River is a little different as, at this time of year in early spring, it is quite shallow and couldn’t be used for transporting items by boat. This is in contrast to other cities we have visited where the river is used in much the same way as a major highway. There are numerous buildings dotted along this reach of the river including churches and museums. Interestingly, there are wading pools built into the banks at locations along its path and they were in use by one brave soul at the time.

Our walking loop takes us past the Maximilianeum which is currently under repair and will hopefully be returned to its former glory in coming years. We visit Old Town, listen and watch the chiming of the Rathaus-Glockenspiel clock and take in a pure hot chocolate drink at Eaterly before walking through the market square and admiring the different water fountains dotted through the area.

We also see signs of German humour only to realise that this particular quote was in front of an Irish Pub. Seems the Irish travel far and wide as well.

On to Strasbourg tomorrow as we slowly reach the end of this trip.