Shopping

The old part of Bern was built with arcades lining the streets. Actually, that was one of the reasons we picked Bern. If it rained (which is typical for this time of year), we could roam around most of the old town protected by the arcades. These long arcade lined streets have provided for centuries the shopping "ambiance" we seem to want to recreate in our new style outside malls.

 And, this littte shop that makes instruments (how cool is that!)

 

Munich, like Heidelberg, has a long pedestrian mall lined with shops. In general these shops aren’t tourist oriented or limited to “niche” shops, but major retailers as well. Despite the very modern styles and goods, department store shopping in Munich seemed very “old school” with the stores having store windows elaborately decorated for Christmas, different floors for each department connected by escalators and a buffet restaurant at the top catering to largely to older women (and in a few cases their husbands) seeking a break from shopping and nourishment. (We ate there too, because we’re old, needed a place to sit down, as well as food).

What is not quite so "old school" is the practice of sophisticated, upscale shoppers to bring their dogs (not just lap dogs such as poodles and terriers and the like -- we saw lots of French Bulldogs and bigger dogs, like Bernese Mountain dogs and labs) shopping with them in the stores and restaurants (never could figure out a way to get a picture without seeming a little offensive)

 

While shopping along the pedestrian mall in Munich we came to the " Deutschen Jagd- und Fischereimuseum München" (German Hunting and Fishing Museum in Munich. Here are some pictures from the outside. We didn't have time to go in (although coming from Texas I almost felt a duty to check it out)