We got up on Wednesday morning and walked around Munich one last time. We visited Marienplatz and watched and listened to the glockenspiel. Mäggi's father, Günther, then picked us up and drove about an hour and a half to Regensburg. We ate lunch, toured the city a little, then went to Mäggi's village and met the rest of her family.

Day 8—Munich and the Müllers

We got up and finished packing, and then took one last stroll through Munich, including the marketplace

Theatinerkirche St. Kajetan and the City Hall at Marienplatz

Madeline and many others stand in Marienplatz and listen to the bells of the glockenspiel and watch the jousting match in the tower

Parts of Regensburg are 2000 years old. The stone bridge (left) and Cathedral (right) are both about 850 years old

We meet Günther and once he took us to Regensburg, we have a nice Bavarian meal of sausages and sauerkraut

Günther arranged a tour of the Town Hall of Regensburg, built in 1250. The tour explained its history, architecture, art, and even its torture chamber

The first novel I read as an adult, and the start of my own interest in writing was The Clan of the Cave Bear. The story and subsequent novels took place on the Donau River, which for some reason English-speaking people write as the Danube. It is the birthplace of early mankind. The Donau in Regensburg has many arms, and thus provides a beautiful backdrop for buildings and parks. It was truly wonderful to see this river that I only read about nearly 20 years ago.

Madeline and I cross the Stone Bridge

St. Peter's Cathedral, or the Dom

About 15 minutes out of Regensburg is Mäggi's home town of Wolfskofen. There, we were greeted at their house, and also met some of her neighbors. Don't let Customs know we were this close to a "farm".

Cats always seem to find me

We tour Mäggi's home and see her room. Johnny Depp was present, of course.

Although we met Miriam (center) when Mäggi was in Chicago, we finally get to meet her other sister, Teresa

Marienplatz (i.e. St. Mary, Our Lady's Square) is a central square in the city center of Munich, Germany since 1158. In the Middle Ages markets and tournaments were held in this city square. The Glockenspiel in the new city hall was inspired by these tournaments, and draws millions of tourists a year.

Marienplatz was named after the Mariensäule, a Marian column erected in its centre in 1638 to celebrate the end of Swedish occupation. It is home to Munich's Old City Hall (Altes Rathaus) and the New City Hall (Neues Rathaus).

It's a gothic council hall and ballroom and tower, which have been reconstructed. The New City Hall was built 1867 - 1909 in Flanders gothic style; its facade, over 300 feet in length, features strikingly elaborate stone ornamentation. Its 260-foot tower with carillon is, with the nearby St. Peter's Church and the twin towers of the Cathedral, one of the most distinctive features of the city's skyline.

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