"Munich" Munich by Ramonq

click: Oktoberfest music

For lovers of beer, this is the place to be. Although I haven't been to Munich for the Oktoberfest, Munich's world-famous beer-orgy festival, I did venture into some of their beerhouses and tried the Bavarian golden ales. I'm more of a lager drinker and I found the Munchner brew quite agreeable. Munich is not all about beer though, this is a relatively conservative hard-working city whose living standards are amongst the highest in Germany. A wealthy First World city where most things work; and the streets are kept spotless, the verdant parks well-manicured, and the imposing heritage buildings all spruced up. It is the largest city in the German state of Bavaria, yet its infrastructure appear to cope very well. Taking the street trams and the underground trains are a breeze and travellers will find this city easy to move around.

Munich's layout is typically European. The old city centre, where many of its more famous tourist sites are located, is surrounded by ring roads. There's a complex of pedestrianised roads in the city centre that makes Munich a delightful place to explore. The Kaufingerstrasse is the main pedestrian street and here you'll be able to see Munich's beautiful Rathaus (town hall) with its bewitching clock chimes, and around the corner, the twin domed tower, Frauen Kirche which has become the city's main icon. This church is the symbol of Munich since it miraculously survived the bombardment of Allied tropps during World War II. The pedestrian street leads to Viktualuen Markt, a pleasant open air flea market where you can spend hours browsing and shopping for souvenir items. Munich's city centre is full of Catholic churches, owing to its religious beginnings as a monastery by the Isar River. Munich got its name from the German word "Monchen" which means monk. That's why the city's mascot is a friendly little monk, perhaps carrying a stein of beer.

In the 10th century, Benedictine monks built a religious community next to a toll bridge. This toll bridge was destroyed by a Bavarian duke and he set up another one further upstream and founded the town of Munich in 1158. The town grew and a prosperous family dynasty , the Wittelsbachs, then ruled the feudal city for 400 years. They transformed Munich into a prosperous medieval town and constructed parks and beautiful churches, including the Frauen Kirche. The Wittelsbach dynasty was the longest ruling dynasty in Europe which ended in the 20th century when in 1918 a popular revolt including a huge demonstration in front of the Wittelsbach Residenz that the Wittelsbach family left in exile. Despite the sad turn of events, the Wittlesbach rule gave much of Munich's character that we witness today.

One of the traditions handed down by the Wittelsbachs to Munich is the world-famous Oktoberfest, where millions of beer lovers flock to the city to imbibe their favourite beverage. Back in 1810 the Crown Prince Ludwig (later called King Ludwig I) was to be married and to celebrate the occasion, a two week wedding reception party was held. It was so memorable that locals decided to keep it as a local annual tradition of fun and merriment. Now considered as one of the biggest and longest festivals in the world bwhich lasts for about two week period each Fall.

Some interesting characters once walked around the streets of Munich. One was the Ludwig II, who later became known as Mad King Ludwig of Bavaria. In 1864 when Wittelsbach King Maximilian II died, his flighty son Ludwig II took over.  He had a great love for the opera, and he later became the patron to the talented composer Richard Wagner. Ludwig also had some grand plans for a Munich Opera House but it was so expensive that the taxpayers refused to finance it. Ludwig II did not really care much for Munich and he lived mostly in the countryside near Fussen where he spent most of his time and money building fairytale castles like the Neuschwanstein. The Munchners had enough of his bizarre antics, and in1886, Ludwig II was dethroned disgraceully. A few days later was found drowned. Mad King Ludwig drove Munich into penury that by 1918, the Wittelsbach dynasty got the boot.

Another sinister character that evolved in Munich was Adolf Hitler. After World War I Munich became a breeding ground for extreme political movements such as communism and fascism. From this chaotic environment, Adolf Hitler gained prominence by making bigoted oratorical speeches in the beer halls around Munich. His deliveries were so powerful that many were seduced by his promises of liberating Germany from poverty and foreign domination. Many of his ideas were written in his memoir, Mein Kampf (My Struggle) based on the speeches he made here. Because of Munich's close association with Hitler, the city was heavily bombed by the Allies during the war. Half of all buildings were completely destroyed,

Olympische Halle

Like a true phoenix city, Munich has risen from the ashes of the war and has completely rebuilt itself into an affluent city. The reconstruction became even more pronounced when Munich hosted the Olympics in 1972. New U-bahns, ring roads, and pedestrianisation were introduced into the city. The city has grown outwards with wide autobahns built for cars and post-modern buildings were hastily contructed around the city. It now counts Dachau-Karlfeld in the northwest, Ottobrunn in the southwest and Planegg in the southeast as part of the city's suburbs. Munich is home to one of Germany's most famous car manufacturer, BMW, where you can visit its factory in the city's outskirts.

This is a city on the move, but despite its industrialisation, Munich is as pleasant as it can be. Many prefer Munich as their favourite German city. It's now the most visited city in the country and the tourist will not be disappointed. Well, I wasn't.

• Pros:Clean and beautiful city
• Cons:Hangover
• In a nutshell:Not just beer and skittles