Oh dear…the empties from last night remain on the coffee table. I was quite attracted to the idea of Becks Green Lemon until I tasted it and found it was lager and lime!

 

 

Time for a brisk walk then, past the statue of Juliet.  No surprises which part of her anatomy is polished by her devotees, I guess.

 

 

We walk through the Marienplatz once again and whilst my hero taps into the ATM, I notice the wall painting on the department store opposite, which reminds me of The Paradise rather.

 

 

I’m glad to see the window dresser in the next store utilises all the same tricks I teach my students about display and promotion: repetition, varying heights, colour themes and triangular arrangements.  How lovely to see the traditional window displays rather than the corporate installations for a change.

 

 

The geraniums are past their best but still putting on a pretty good show.

 

 

But the empty bottles in the fountain need to be cleared up.  It amuses us to see them dancing around the pump housing, however, and we watch as they swirl around in the current.

 

 

The Michaelmas Daisies are looking really pretty in the sunshine and though they’re not a favourite of mine – I find them a bit shaggy and messy – I rather like the spot of colour in this rather dark corner.

 

 

A little further on, we come to the route of the München Marathon, which is this morning.  The individual drinks are being set out on tables in the street, ready for the runners to grab them as they pass.  It’s fun to see what imaginative ways people have come up with to make their bottle stand out – some have balloons tied to them, others have plastic flowers…one simply says “Helmut” on it.  Oh my, in 20 000 runners, I hope the correct Helmut finds his drink!

 

 

The salsa drummers are creating quite a noise down the street, but their energy is contagious and we tap our feet as we listen.  The runners will be here soon.

 

 

The official measurer rides past on his bicycle.

 

 

Oh, here he is, the first man…we stand and applaud as he runs past us, first in one direction and then, having gone around a small triangular block of buildings, comes past us again in the opposite direction.

 

 

By the time we are back in Marienplatz, there are more runners.  Their steps are more laboured, their movements appear less comfortable and we can sense their weariness in spite of the determination on their faces.  I’m not sure that our applause helps much, but we do our best to cheer them on their way.

 

 

But we can’t linger any longer because we have a lunch date!