The rain that dashed our plan to go to Garmisch kept us inside most of Saturday. We thought the extremely unusual day-long traffic jam on the street outside our apartment might have been the result of traffic light outages on Schwabing's main north/south street (Leopoldstrasse). However, when we wandered over to Leopoldstrasse after dinner at Il Grappolo, an outstanding neighborhood restaurant/wine bar "find" (Michelin has not "found" it yet), we discovered that Leopoldstrasse was closed from our cross street (Schellingstrasse), north for almost two kilometers, to Munchner Freiheit, for the first of a two-day "Streetlife-Festival".
The rain caused some booths to close down early, but it failed to put a damper on thousands of folks enjoying the live bands every few blocks, the innumerable beer stands (selling local brews (e.g., Ayinger, Paulaner) or foreign brews (e.g., Corona, Guinness) "von Fass" (from the tap)), and countless food stands (selling traditional (e.g., wurst) and exotic (e.g., American hamburger) fare). The theme of the festival appeared to be a salute to the city's environmental consciousness (e.g., "Green City" signs posted along the "Corso Leopold", sellers of solar electric panels, bicycles and bicycle tours, electric cars, and natural health remedy products, and information booths for local transportation). 
Interspersed among these booths were the "Save the Whales", "Save the Bears", "Save the Sharks", and "Rescue the Planet" booths, as well as the "Help Liberia" and "Free Tibet" booths. 
Sunday brought better weather, more revelers, and an extension of the festival about an half kilometer south to Odeonsplatz (meaning more beer, more bands, a skate boarding park, and trick bike park) (see photos).Henry commented that events like this (smaller, block-long street fairs are also popular in our neighborhood--one took place two weekends ago and another will take place next weekend) are part of why he prefers Munich to Berlin. Of course, if we had not been a stone's throw away from this fair, we likely would not even have known about it. Therefore, how would we possibly know how often such events occur almost 600 kilometers away?! In any event, I agree with Henry that Munich has a more relaxed feel than Berlin. Perhaps, this is a result of Munich having had more of an opportunity to "heal" since World War II. As a divided city for 40 years and with the continuing effort that Berliners must undertake to meld East and West into one city, Berlin may still be licking its wounds.
Having missed out on a Saturday trip to Garmisch, Henry and I took the train to Regensburg on Sunday. This city of about 130,000 people suffered no bombing damage during World War II. As a result, its Old Town has remained intact. Even some stones from a Roman gateway built in 179 CE are still in place (see photo). St. Peter's Cathedral (its Gothic spires look very similar to the spires on the St. Stephans Cathedral in Vienna) (see blog "From Bad Tolz to Berlin"), the Steinerne Brucke (Stone Bridge) (with its 16 arches and dating back to the 12th century), and the Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall) are the most prominent features of the city scape (see photos). The bridge, which crosses the rapidly flowing Danube River, was considered a masterful engineering feat in its day. We did not bother with another "cruise" on the Danube, but we enjoyed a fantastic meal at a restaurant (Silberne Gans) overlooking the river. Yes, Michelin did guide us to this restaurant! 
One other spot of note--the Place of Encounter (see photo). It marks the layout of the synagogue that was destroyed when the Jews of Regensburg where expelled in 1519. Jews had been living in Regensburg since before 1000 CE. The remains of cellars belonging to buildings in the former Jewish Quarter, as well as sections of the almost 1000 years older Roman fortress, were discovered during excavations in the mid-1990's. The Place of Encounter is intended as a reminder of Christians and Jews living together, and as a statement that today, people of all religions come together in Regensburg.
Yesterday, I managed to fit in the return trip to Garmisch, but without Henry. Marcia took the afternoon off from work (what a good friend!) and we hiked through the Partnachklamm, a spectacular gorge near the 1936 Olympic stadium and new ski jump (see photo). The gorge is about 700 meters long, with walls about 80 meters high. Water from the Partnach River has been rushing through the area long enough to create a narrow gorge next to which a slender and sometimes slippery (from water dripping down the walls of the gorge) walking path has been built. Smooth and sharp indentations in the gorge walls show off the power of the river. Every turn provides a different view. 
At the top end of the gorge, we hiked a bit more uphill to a guesthouse sporting a fine mountain view (see photos) and offering rather decent food. 
Nestled somewhere up in the mountains sits another of King Ludwig II's houses, this one with a Turkish interior. A hike up the Schachen to Ludwig's secluded mountain retreat (about 3-4 hours each way) will have to await another day, and most likely another trip to Bavaria. Although Marcia and I had the option to take a cable car down to the parking lot, I insisted on walking back through the gorge. After all, I had to pictures in both directions! Thanks, Marcia, for a wonderful day! Rather than run off more superlatives, here are some photos, which do not come close to doing the gorge full justice.
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