World Cup Blues & Nymphenburg Blues

Being in Munich and located within walking distance of Olympiapark where the World Cup games are being shown live on large screens, I spent last Friday and Saturday evenings watching the penalty shoot out dramas unfolding. Joy for Germany and boy did they celebrate but woe for England and boy was I miserable! To say I was disappointed by England’s result is an understatement but the actions of some players faking fouls and clearly attempting to influence the referee’s decisions was also very disappointing – and I am not just talking about England’s opponents!
On Sunday with the temperature approaching 30 degrees, I visited the evocatively named Nymphenburg Schloss which is more of a palace than a castle. Nymphenburg has a group of fine buildings but also magnificent grounds that comprise of formal gardens lined with statues as well as dense forest, open meadows and lakes. The many paths make it a jogger’s paradise as well as an extremely pleasant walking area. It is surprisingly large and on a hot day I just explored one half of the parkland as well as the 92 year old botanical gardens which offer a wealth of plants in both an outdoor and indoor setting. In the hot houses, I recognised many plants I have seen in the rainforests of Malaysia, the nature reserves of Singapore and the countryside of Thailand.
It is possible to visit the palace itself but, personally, I prefer the outdoors and the majesty of the buildings themselves. After several hours of wandering, I retired to Marienplatz in the centre of Munich for a couple of beers and to watch the world go by before going home.
If you are in Munich and the weather is good, Nymphenburg is a good place to spend half a day. It is not far from the city centre and if you wander off to the right or left of the formal gardens you will soon feel that you are in open countryside or a dense forest. I will be back to explore the half I haven’t seen yet.