Elle’s in Europe 2025 - Day 11 - Sunday in the Park with Elle
Sometimes the hardest days on trips are the ones following the perfect ones. Yesterday was an all-timer, but we also haven’t had a lot of time in Munich itself, so today was all about rectifying that. We woke up at 7:30 AM and were down at breakfast by close to 9 AM. Elle got to sleep in a bit more while Jenn and I got ready for the day. We had breakfast at the hotel. Elle was friendly again with the waitress (Ana Isabel), who we found out will be off for the rest of our trip. Elle will genuinely be sad not to see her the next day. Jenn and Elle split pancakes and eggs with a side of fruit, and I tried their white sausage. The sausage came in a bowl of boiling water that I was told they should have taken away, but never did. Delicious as well.
We quickly left breakfast for our first destination of the day, the Munich Residence, a few minutes walk from our hotel. We were battling her first nap of the day, so we wanted to see as much of the residence as possible. After dropping off our stroller and purchasing tickets, we were off. It’s amazing to think that this was originally built in the 1300s and has undergone several renovations and additions, including being rebuilt in the 1980s after significant damage during WWII. We were able to walk through much of the stunning residence, taking in the opulence and art. Elle loved the paintings and would let us know in each room. As soon as we rounded the exit, Elle started rubbing her eyes, so we headed back to the hotel to put her down for her first nap of the day.
At noon, we headed back out and walked the twenty minutes to Alte Pinakothek, one of the oldest art galleries in the world. It was a bit surreal to see how strictly the no working on Sunday law is in Germany. Almost everything outside of restaurants and cafes is closed, and the streets are deserted. When we arrived at the art gallery, we found out to our delight that it was free to get in. We once again dropped off our stroller and went around both floors of the gallery. This was easily one of the nicest galleries we’ve ever been to. Beautifully laid out, some exquisite pieces, and a very beautiful venue. We spent over an hour there until Elle got a little antsy, and we continued on.
The last stop on our itinerary for today was the Englischer Garten. Along the 15-minute walk to the massive park, we grabbed some snacks to bring along with us. I had a pretzel with a Fritz Kola (that I tried on the Berlin food tour), and Jenn got a waffle with water. From there, we made our way to the stunning park. I guess, given that everything is closed on Sundays and it was beautiful out, everyone decided to spend the day at the park. We found a quiet bench in the shade overlooking the man-made lazy river that cuts through the park. The majority of the city dwellers were either in or near the river. We sat there enjoying our snack, Elle helping us with them before walking back to our hotel for Elle’s last nap of the day.
It ended up being a quick nap, which was great because we had 6 PM reservations at Gigi Trattoria. When we arrived, we had the dilemma of whether to sit inside or out. We chose out, but given the sunburn on Jenn’s arm at the end of the meal, it might not have been the best choice. Thankfully, it was mostly worth it given the great Italian dinner we were able to enjoy. We split some fried seafood for an appetizer that Elle helped us enjoy. For our mains, Jenn got the Ragu, and I had a meat pizza. I have two memories from dinner, though, that had nothing to do with food. The first one is that we taught Elle to wave hello and goodbye to the city tram that would go by every few minutes. It was such a relief to have something to occupy her throughout the dinner. And second was how much she loved our waiter and would smile and wave every time he came by. The one thing we’ve learned a lot from this trip is how much a kind waiter can help any meal. Just simply saying hello or waving at Elle does wonders. Outside of the heat we enjoyed our meal. Especially Elle who between the tram and the ragu pasta was living her best life.
When we finished dinner, we wanted to walk off our food and wine and make our way down to the Isar river. We had heard from the hotel that it’s a nice evening walk, but we were very disappointed. It might have been where we randomly chose to go, but we stumbled across what can only be described as the most depressing beach party along the river. The area we walked in was a bit dirty, and bugs were everywhere. Like I said, maybe we got unlucky and should have kept walking, but we crossed back over the bridge and back to our hotel shortly after.
That didn’t put a damper on what was a tremendous day. We have soaked up every second of being back in Germany. It’s been very baby-friendly with Elle, and the city of Munich is quickly becoming a new favorite spot for us. Tomorrow is our last day in Munich, and I can’t wait to soak up every last second of it.
