Die Residenz - Day 20, Part 1

I spent last Saturday (April 17) with Kathryn and her friend Britta, who is studying abroad in Barcelona this semester and who came to visit for the weekend.  We spent most of the afternoon walking around Munich, giving Britta the grand tour of the city.  We saw the Glockenspiel ring at noon, the Rathaus, Marienplatz, the Frauenkirche, Odeonsplatz, the Theatinerkirche, and some other sights that I've already posted pictures of.  We also went into the Hofgarten, the gardens around the royal Residence, and then went into the Residenz Museum itself:

A gazebo in the Hofgarten with the Theatinerkirche in the background: 

 

I don't actually know what this building is, but I think it's cool how it was rebuilt after being destroyed in the war - the original center section complemented by the modern glass new sections:

 In front is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier:


Next we went into the Residenz Museum itself, which served as the city residence for the Bavarian rulers through the early 1900s:

An inner garden:

One of the prince's grand dining halls:


A waiting chamber in the ruler's quarters:


It must have been the style to have long halls like this through all the rooms, because I took an almost identical picture at one of the museums that used to be a palace in Augsburg:

I should start a collection of pictures called "The Ceilings of Bavaria" - they're always so pretty!

  Another one of the main halls:

This was probably my favorite room - it's called the Cabinet of Mirrors.  The walls were white and pale rose colored and were covered with mirrors and gold detailing, and then throughout the room, white and blue porcelain sat on little shelves.  It was a really interesting little room.  I wish I had gotten a better picture of the room as a whole, but you can see the detailing in this picture:

I liked this room too - it was a little antechamber off the side of the Cabinet of Mirrors, called the Cabinet of Miniatures - the pictures on the walls are miniatures of the rulers or someone.  In the mirror, you can see some of the detailing the other rooms too:

 Britta, me, and Kathryn

By the time we finished exploring the Residenz, it was getting close to dinner time, so we made our way to Theresienwiese, where the spring fair Fruehlingsfest is taking place...