Signs of Spring

A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders, I feel alive again...spring finally is here! 

 

 

Though most of the trees and flowers are still only budding leaves, there were a few early bloomers out at the Botanical Gardens. 

 

And of course many great flowers inside the greenhouses.

 

We're still a few months too early for the baby ducks and geese, but for now we have turtles.

 

 

And most of the trees in Munich are starting to show signs of life.  Interesting that Munich is a couple of weeks behind Frankfurt. These are the trees budding in the Bavariapark here in Munich. Last week in Frankfurt, the leaves were out and plum trees covered in bloom.

 

 

I've never seen anything quite like these blue and yellow ones, also at the Botanical Garden in Munich. 

 

Some of last year's swan babies hanging out in the pond at Schloss Nymphenburg. 

 

Even better, we can finally eat dinner outside again. The Augustiner am Dom has interesting signs of spring. Not just the Easter-ish table cloths, but that they seem to have lamb as their current seasonal menu. I do think of cute fluffy lambs at Easter, but it feels a bit odd to feature them as dinner! We had flammkuchen instead....

 

 And best of all? Spring means the beer gardens are open again!  

Hard to believe how quickly things changed. This is the Nymphenburger Kanal, only a few weeks apart. We went from people on the ice to algae and ducks swimming. 

Springtime in Munich

I've always loved spring (and summer and fall), but I think it takes living somewhere with a real winter to truly appreciate how wonderful spring is.

Seemingly overnight we go from dark and cold to late evening sun, beautiful skies, flowers everywhere, and of course, baby ducks. I love the baby ducks....and swans and geese.

 The Mariensäule (Mary's Column) in Marienplatz, in front of the New Rathaus. It was installed in 1638 to honor Mary (she's the patron saint of Bavaria) after the "miracle" of Munich being spared destruction by the Swedes during the Thirty Years War.  As Herr J previously discovered, the four cherubs at the bottom are represented slaying the four plagues of humanity (represented by animal forms) - war, pestilence, hunger, and heresy.  I'm looking forward to the day that the Frauenkirche (domes in the background) restoration is complete. Since I've lived here, one dome or the other has been covered. My dream is to one day be able to take a decent picture of this Munich icon!

Lovely wisteria in the Schloss Nymphenburg gardens. Though I have a bit of a prejudice against wisteria (it strangles the lovely oak trees in the south, where I grew up), it does have beautiful flowers and can be a lovely decoration if it's kept tame.  One of the perks of having a full-time staff of gardeners, I guess!

Some early season goslings out for a morning nibble (and nap).

Spring is a great time for walks and for feeding the birds in Munich's many gardens. This boy feeds the swans and ducks in front of Schloss Nymphenburg.

 

Sadly, not everywhere let's you feed the animals.

A late tulip and colorful flower beds in the Alter Botanischer Garten ("Old Botanical Garden").  These gardens date back to the beginning of the 19th century, but were replaced in 1914 when the New Botanical Garden was built adjacent to Nymphenburg Palace.  These small gardens are now an open park by the Lenbachplatz.  The Park Cafe is a lovely bar and biergarten (Löwenbräu) that opens onto the gardens and is worth a visit.

A lovely golden green tree in front of the Salvatorkirche, a Greek Orthodox church on Salvatorplatz (behind the Fünf Höfe and Theatinerkirche) and next to the Literaturhaus (nice cafe/bistro and a program of speeches by visiting writers, such as David Sedaris and Brett Easton Ellis).  This church initially was the cemetery church for the much larger Frauenkirche, but since has been used by a variety of parishes and denominations, as well as for a depot and granary after the secularization of Bavaria. Luckily its use as storage space saved it from destruction and it still stands today on a small square amid the city center.  

    A mother goose teaches her goslings how to have fun in the lakes of the English Garden. 

More tulips, in front of the Neptune Fountain in the Alter Botanischer Garten.  Here, they've planted mainly red and white tulips and white daffodils.

Someone enjoys a warm afternoon read (before the rains arrive) in the gardens in front of the Bayerische Staatskanzlei (Bavarian Chancellery).

And back to the adorable baby ducks...