"München" München by islaazul

May 2005 was my fourth trip to Munich, and I liked it more than ever. Although you'd have to take the subway to get to places like Nymphenberg Palace and the Olympic Stadium, the center of the city is quite charming to walk around in. It's a perfect blend of modernity and history--one minute you are climbing to the top of Frauenkirche, and the next minute you are shopping at H&M.

May is also a wonderful time to go. Just the perfect temperature to walk around in a tshirt and jeans.

Neues Rathaus, Marienplatz

Since I'd been there a few times before, I knew exactly what I wanted to do, and set out with purpose to see the sights I had missed before. One of the things I'd missed out on was going to the top of Frauenkirche--the church had been closed the last time I was there.

The reward was a beautiful view of the city.

Max-Joseph-Platz

After World War I Munich became a very conservative city and a breeding ground for extreme political movements. From this environment came Adolf Hitler. Many of his ideas were written in Mein Kampf, which he used for his many speeches held in beer halls around Munich.

Because of Hitler's history in Munich (the Nazis were headquartered here), the city was badly bombed during the war. Fifty percent of all buildings were completely destroyed, 250,000 residents died and only 200 of the city's 10,000 Jews survived the war.

Munich was where the White Rose (Die Weiße Rose), a group of students that formed a resistance movement from June 1942 to February 1943, was based. The core members were arrested following a distribution of leaflets at Munich University by Hans and Sophie Scholl.

Today, Munich remains a largely conservative city.