May 7th, 2016

We have been in Munich for a couple days now. Needless to say, we’re practically locals now. However today, we had the privilege of receiving a fantastic tour around Munich. Not only did we learn some interesting German history, but we gained an entirely new perspective on the city of Munich. We were all blown away that for 860 years Munich was ruled by the same family: the von Wittelsbachs. That is longer than any other family has ruled in Europe. For those who don’t know, the German name of Munich is München, and today, we finally learned the etymology of that word. Long ago, Munich was a poor town, ruled by king Henry the Lion. Henry was envious of the neighboring town of Salzburg, which was rich because it controlled the only bridge over the Isar river. One day, Henry no longer wanted to be envious, so he decided to do something about this problem. He sent troops over to Salzburg to destroy the bridge, and then, conveniently, built his own bridge. The caravans that used the bridge in Salzburg were appalled when they saw it was destroyed; how were they supposed to get over the river? But no worries, Henry simply had people guide the caravans towards his town, which had a bridge “bei der München”, which translates to by the monks, since there was a monastery near the bridge.

This history is incredibly important to the city of Munich, and it’s obvious to see due to the many references to lions and monks embedded within the architecture of the city. Without the tour we received, it would be impossible to understand the city in depth. Although we have had many excellent educational experiences up to this point, this one has been one of the most enlightening. Travelling is all about opening your eyes to different parts of the world and being able to understand the world you know in an entirely different light. Learning about the origins of Munich within the context of the world has given us the ability to do so. There has been an extensive past left behind us, not only in America, but around the world, and today, we were able to discover a portion of that past and apply it to the present; a satisfying, and worthwhile experience to say the least.