Saturday slow start and then a museum stroll.

A slow start to our day as it was so cold and windy but the allure of the cafe won out so off we went for another day of cafe and museum exploring.

This mornings treat was another cinnamon scroll…and a coffee. The owner is very friendly now and we wished her Frohe Weihnachten. Santa is not really part of Christmas here.

Tram to the Bavarian National Museum and first stop was the section devoted to nativity scenes…not what we expected at all and so many rooms full of them. I had not expected to see Bavarians dressed and portrayed as part of the traditional nativity scenes. But there they were. The models were huge and we did not know that they were used to instruct ‘the peasants’ in the biblical events of the year…like a calendar. A surprising exhibit. This is also an extraordinarily large museum with curious exhibits about life in Bavaria in the past. The china, glassware, medieval and modern Christmas nativity exhibitions were all something to see. I would hate to have to clean the silverware in the silver plate section!!

The ivory objects were just incredible…how many poor elephants died to supply the ivory is not to be contemplated…so sad. However the craftsmanship was just incredible. The pieces were so intricate

and fine.

A brief stop at the museum cafe for yet another tea and cake and we were amused to see the staff all drinking wine and having a great old chat…maybe a quick Christmas party drink in between customers. Somehow again it was dark out side…we had lost another day inside where it was warm and we certainly did not see any sunshine today. We caught the tram to another Christmas market that Sean suggested and then met he and Michaela at an Irish pub…Molly Malone’s... to watch a large screen with soccer or rugby. Just the sort of thing you do in Germany. We had a nice meal and a chat about life, events and travels and then caught a tram after a bit of a brisk walk to the tram stop. Home for a cuppa and writing our diary. A good day.