MUNICH, 23rd July.
Munich, the capital of Bavaria, is an ancient Gothic city of venerable
appearance. The houses are very solid in structure, and the streets
sufficiently broad to give to the city a cheerful appearance. There are
some suburbs added to it, built in the modern taste, which embellish it
greatly. A large Place outside the old town, called the Carolinen-Platz,
presents a number of villas disposed in the form of a circus. In these
suburbs the people assemble on holidays and Sundays, to smoke and drink
beer, of which a great quantity is consumed, it being the favorite and
national beverage. From the lively scene of the lower class of the
bourgeoisie, male and female, meeting here in the Biersschanks and
Tanzsaale I was reminded of the lines in Faust:
Gewiss man findet hier
Die schoensten Maedchen, und das beste Bier,
which may be thus rendered:
Here let us halt! 'tis here we're sure to find
Beer of the best and maidens fair and kind!
There are other very agreeable promenades outside the town, laid out as
jardins anglais, the garden of Ostenwald for instance; and should you
wish to extend your walk further, there is Nymphenburg, a royal Palace and
gardens, just one league distant from the city.
