Dear Munich: May I come back, please?

When I was a kid, my family moved around a lot. I saw (and lived in) well more than my fair share of the United States, and maybe that burned me out on travel. I certainly never had the wanderlust that many people I know have. Sure, I thought it might be neat to see London or maybe Paris once, but you know, I hate planes, and travel means a lot of hassle and time away from home...

So that's how it came to pass that I spent thirty years on this spinning blue ball and only ever visited the North American land mass. But boy howdy, did THAT change in a hurry. It never rains but it pours, and a couple weeks ago I had occasion to collect a couple new continents.

I visited Munich, Tel Aviv, and London. It was a whirlwind tour, and I only really had any time to look around in Munich. That time, though, was well spent. I loved Munich, and I can't wait to go back.

My friend and colleague Jason Chen traveled with me. (I should say I traveled with him, because he's the experienced globetrotter. If you ever need to travel internationally, you could do a lot worse than picking Jason as your companion.) I mention that mostly to say that if you want to see some photos, you'll have to visit his site, since I am "between cameras" at the moment.

So as I said, I loved Munich. But there are so many questions! Like these:

• Remember, it's spelt M-U-N-I-C-H, but it's pronounced "München". I guess? I need someone to explain this to me.
• The Marienplatz is pretty awesome, but why is that building called the Glockenspiel? Was it named after a person? I need someone to explain this to me.
• Some parts of the autobahn appeared to have speed limits, but I was unable to figure out what the pattern was. I need someone to explain this to me.
• What is the name of that character that looks like a Greek beta with a long tail, and what is its phoneme? I need someone to explain this to me.
  

I realize that I could answer these questions via Wikipedia, but that would mean I'd have less reason to go back. I'd rather let them remain a mystery until I can take Aimee and go back, and have some of the amazingly friendly locals explain them to me.

Oh, and our Android session went really really well, too.