They dance atop the Glockenspiel

The Big Ben in London is among the first ones that comes to mind when you're asked about bell and clock towers. Heck, if you're from Mumbai, probably the Rajabai Clock Tower tops that list. But does the Glockenspiel in Munich even ring a bell, pun intended?

It certainly didn't for us when we landed in Munich, all set for the Oktoberfest and the rivers of beer that flow their course. And it probably would have remained that way if we hadn't done our customary walking tour of the city. Beer purists may scoff at us but, as we took a day off from Oktoberfest, we reminded ourselves that we were travellers first, and beerholics later. 

After a quick round of introductions, our tour guide pointed at the building right next to our meeting point and asked us to pay attention. And then, just like that, the magic started. Right on the hour at 11 am, it chimed and the stationary figures started to move. As the crowd watched in wonder and amusement alike, a couple of stories were enacted from the 16th century. The first was a story of the marriage of the local duke, complete with a fight amongst two knights on horseback, which of course the Bavarian knight won. The second was a dance performed to symbolize the victory over the plague. After around 10 minutes, a golden bird chirped thrice and ended the spectacle to massive applause from the spellbound audience.

Theatricality aside, the spectacle was really amusing and ensured our walking tour started on a great note. Munich isn't only about the Oktoberfest; when you're there, make sure you do not miss this interesting performance.

The big list of lists

Our backpacking trip across Europe has seen us visit several monuments, parks and other attractions. In hindsight, some could have been skipped, while, given more time, others could easily have been on the list. As our trip progresses over the next two months, we'll update this list in chronological order, not one of preference though. Hopefully, the ones we miss will be reason enough to go back someday.

Museums

• Anne Frank Huis, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• Musee du Louvre, Paris, France
• Museo Nacional de Prado, Madrid, Spain

Places of Worship

• Begijnhof, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• Le Basilique du Sacre Coeur de Montmartre, Paris, France
• Cathedrale Notre Dame de Paris, Paris, France
• Le Mont St Michel, Normandy, France
• Temple de Debod, Madrid, Spain
• Mosteiro dos Jeronimos, Belem, Lisbon, Portugal
• La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain

Places of Residence

• Le Chateau de Chenonceaux, Loire Valley, France
• Palacio Real de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
• Castelo de Sao Jorge, Lisbon, Portugal
• Palacio Nacional da Pena, Sintra, Portugal 
• Castelo dos Mouros, Sintra, Portugal
• Real Alcazar, Seville, Spain
• Alhambra, Granada, Spain

Parks and Gardens

• Jardin des Tuileries, Paris, France
• Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris, France
• Parque del Buen Retiro, Madrid, Spain
• Park Guell, Barcelona, Spain

Markets

• Mercado San Miguel, Madrid, Spain
• El Rastro, Madrid, Spain
• Mercado Central, Cadiz, Spain
• Mercat de La Bouqeria, Barcelona, Spain

Interesting Monuments

• La Tour Eiffel, Paris, France
• Torre de Belem, Sintra, Portugal

Major Avenues, Boulevards and Squares

• Dam Square, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• Champs Elysees, Paris, France
• Plaza Mayor, Madrid, Spain
• Avenida de Liberdedad, Lisbon, Portugal
• Plaza Espana, Seville, Spain
• La Rambla, Barcelona, Spain

Flamenco at Las Tablas

A flamenco performance was high on our list the moment we stepped into Madrid and, after some quick research on travel forums, decided on Las Tablas near Plaza de Espana. We had dinner leisurely near the Opera metro before the show, and chose the €27 show plus drink option instead. Las Tablas has a small, intimate setting, and was quite perfect for our first flamenco experience. And thanks to our prior reservation, we got good seats when we arrived. 

A throaty singer kickstarted the show, and there was another solo guitar performance before the flamenco actually started. We had an inkling of what to expect, but the electric performance by Lucia de Miguel and Jesus Fernandez blew us away. Both performers had their own unique styles, and captivated the audience with energetic yet graceful moves. Throughout the performance, the performers elicited encouragement from the audience, who in turn were more than glad to oblige. The show went on for just over an hour, and was well worth the money we'd spent. 

Step up to the streets

Street performances are not an uncommon sight around the world these days. Every town, every performance has its own quirks and, more often than not, you'll find yourself clapping your hands and tapping your feet to the wonderful sounds of music. Just as we were crossing Plaza Mayor into the streets of La Latina today, we saw a group of women put on a simple yet foot-tapping performance. We were enthralled for a good half-hour and, though we didn't capture their entire performance, the smiles on their beautiful faces shows just how much they enjoyed that dance.

Chocolate con churros...a sweet sweet sin

Chocolateria San Gines, a cafe close to the Iglesia de San Gines church in central Madrid (and happily just around the corner from our hotel in Calle Arenal), has been serving chocolate con churros since 1894. If you are in Madrid even for a day, do not miss out on this amazing hot chocolate and deep friend dough combination. It has been highly recommended on almost all travel forums, and for good reason.

Sobrino de Botin - the oldest restaurant in the world

On our walking tour of Madrid, we came across Restaurante Sobrino de Botin, located on calle Cuchilleros just behind Plaza Mayor. Europe has its fair share of nice-looking restaurants, and we would have walked right passed this one if it weren't for our tour guide. She made us stop and look at the certificate proudly displayed on their window - "the oldest restaurant in the world", as certified by the Guinness World Records. Of course, that instantly made it a photo opportunity! 

Sobrino de Botin was established in 1725, and is famous for their specialty of cochinillo asado (roast suckling pig). Apparently, it is also mentioned in one of Ernest Hemingway's novels The Sun Also Rises, but I haven't gotten around to verifying that just yet. We didn't get to dine at Botin on this trip, but have added it to our long list of reasons to visit Europe again.

The liqueur we never had...

El oso y el madrono - the bear and the strawberry tree - is an ubiquitous symbol in Madrid. You see it everywhere - city crests, public transport infrastructure, buildings, pavements, man-hole covers, just about everywhere really. The fruit of this tree is distilled into madrono, a sweet liqueur, which interestingly is as difficult to find in Madrid as it is easy to spot the madrono tree itself. 

On our walking tour of Madrid, our tour guide explained the significance of this liqueur, and brought us to a place where the liqueur is most popular. Sadly for us though, in true Spanish holiday fervor, this place had closed shop for the period of August, and the owners had gone far away from the maddening crowd. Madrono liqueur is served in edible chocolate glasses here, and together they make sure your sugar levels aren't dropping anytime soon. We did look for the liqueur in several places around Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor over the next few days, but were mostly just greeted by looks of surprise by Madrilenos, many of whom had heard about the liqueur for the first time from us! Madrid wasn't really my favorite Spanish city on this visit, but perhaps this gives me a reason to come back some day - unfinished business as they say.