Munich Germany – Art & Opera

Sunday is €1 museum day at the Pinakotheks. I had Leberkäse for breakfast, then headed over to the Alte Pinakothek for my appointed time entry.

The museum is massive with a significant collection of old master (before 1800) paintings, such as Leonardo Da Vinci’s Madonna with the Carnation, Peter Paul Rubens’ The Great Last Judgement, François Boucher’s Madame de Pompadour, Jan Gosseart’s Danae, as well as several paintings by Albrecht Dürer, including the famous self portrait of the artist and panel painting of the Four Apostles.

At the time, the Alte Pinakothek also hosted a selection of 19th century masterpieces – while the Neue Pinakothek was under renovation – which includes Vicent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, Paul Gauguin’s The Birth of Christ, Gustav Klimt’s Margaret Stonborough-Wittgenstein, Edgar Degas’s Woman Ironing, and Claude Monet’s The Bridge over Argenteuil.

In addition, I got to learn some German artists that I had not heard of before, including Adolph von Menzel with his painting “Living Room with the Artist’s Sister“, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner – one of the founders of the German Expressionist group Die Brücke (The Bridge)- as well as the other expressionist painters such as Max Beckmann and Franz Marc,

The museum provides a great audio guide, which can be downloaded on the phone and listen while viewing the exhibition.

By the time I finished with the Alte Pinakothek, I was so hungry that I could almost eat a cow. So I popped into one of the top breweries in Munich for a hearty meal.

I ordered schweinshaxe (pork hocks). As I was tackling the giant lump with my knife, a man passed by, saw me working on the tender part, and advised me not to forget the crispy skin, “They are so good” he said. They were! While in Bavaria, I took a liking of the local beers. Seeing that this was the middle of a day, I ordered a Radler – half lemon soda and half Löwenbräu’s original – to accompany my meal, it was the perfect pairing for a heavy meat course.

Löwenbräukeller was used as the substitute site for the anniversaries of the Nazi Party’s Beer Hall Putsch after the failed assassination of Adolf Hitler damaged the orginal site – Bürgerbräukeller – nearby.

After lunch, I continued my museum visit at the Pinakothek der Moderne, shifting focus to Surrealists such as Max Ernst, René Magritte, Salvador Dalí and Paul Klee. The museum also houses a design section with designs of motor vehicles, computers, jewelries and furnitures such as chairs by Michael Thonet.

I had ticket for opera that evening and had to cut my museum visit short in order to go back to the hotel for a change. I love that my opera ticket also covers unlimited public transportation from 3pm the day of the performance to 6am the following day.

It was a sold-out performance of Giuseppe Verde’s Falstaff at the National Theatre. The stage was modern, minimalistic – not the type I particularly cared for – but suitable to tell the story and the Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel did a brilliant job as Sir John Falstaff.

This was my second day in Munich, and I truly enjoyed the art and culture scene of this city!

Coming up next in the travel section: That’s a Wrap – Munich, Germany