Neptunbrunnen Market

The evening air is crisp and cold, creating a little rush to the usually casual crowds as they hop from one shop to the next, negotiating prices and pretending not to be overly interested in the apples and antique accessories. You take a seat at a cafe and catch a glimpse of your friend, who seems to be bargaining with a brown colored baker, beating his fists in the air, apparently angry at the lack of appreciation for his brilliantly baked bread. Neptunbrunnen is located in Maxvorstadt, Munich, Bavaria, Germany. One of the oldest states of Europe, Bavaria was established as a duchy in the mid first millennium. In the 17th century, the Duke of Bavaria became a Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire. The Kingdom of Bavaria existed from 1806 to 1918, and Bavaria has since been a free state of Germany. The Bavarians emerged in a region north of the Alps, originally inhabited by the Gauls, which had been part of the Roman provinces of Raetia and Noricum. They seem to have coalesced out of other groups left behind by Roman withdrawal late in the 5th century. These peoples may have included the Celtic Boii, some remaining Romans, Marcomanni, and others. The name "Bavarian" means "Men of Baia" which may indicate Bohemia, the homeland of the Celtic Boii and later of the Marcomanni. Since World War II, Bavaria has been rehabilitated from a poor agrarian province into a prosperous industrial hub.