Centuries--of Bavarian Stuff

Gruss Gott!
Today I walked around the city and visited the Bavarian State Museum--like the Rezidence a major project.  I began the day with a stroll up to the Hauptbahnhof where I got the underground line that I fondly thought would take me to the Bavarian State Musuem.  And it would have, too, had I not miscalculated the stop.  I ended up some ways away from the target--across the River Iser.  Munich, like all significant European cities has its river.  Indeed I think the water table here must be especially high as at almost every turn there is some kind of fountain.
Well, I realized I'd gone astray, but as I had my city map, I did not feel lost.  I simply walked down the street--and through the park--and across the river--and down more street until I reached my target just after it opened.
The building is well worth seeing on its own.  It seemed to be a nineteenth century recreation of Bavarian Renaissance, and it's packed to the brim with goodies--some of them belonging to the Wittelsbachs and some to other aristocratic families.  Plenty of ecclesiastical and monastic art is on offer as well.
I began with a special exhibit on purses.  Don't scoff.  It was fascinating.  Exhibits began with various pouches carried by both men and women in the sixteenth century.  Clear commentary explained the form and function of each type--going on through the centuries.  I could care less about designer bags, but I enjoyed looking at the lovingly created little embroidered or netted pouches carried by women who aspired to elegance and the stout utilitarian, but still carefully crafted, bags carried by men.  We ended up in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.  The purses looked interesting, but I had no desire to carry any of them.
The museum is rather like the Victoria and Albert in London with something for every taste and nearly every period of history on offer.  I rather liked the jewelry and the Art Nouveau vases.  I have a strong taste for Late Medieval and Renaissance Religious Art.  Altarpieces and statues from churches, monasteries, and private devotions are of very high quality.
But I have a complaint.  St. George is very popular in Bavaria, but I end up feeling bad for Mr. Dragon.  Dragons should be serpentine, not canine. When dragons have ears they look dog-like and silly, and I don't want George to hurt them.  He should put the lance down.
After several hours of this, I left and walked through the city again, stopping at Dallmayr to scout out the chocolates and other goodies, but I still have not yet purchased.  I took the S Bahn back and went to the good grocery store.
The beer of the day is from the famous monastery at Andechs, a place of pilgrimage since the nine hundreds, previously for religious reasons, now for brewing--although I don't suppose those things need to be mutually exclusive.  The monks have a beer hall on site, but I got mine at the grocery store.  Shall we sip?  This is very nice indeed!  It has a rich flavor, not too hoppy, and I can feel the refreshment already.