Bavaria Day 3: Munich
Monday. While other people went to work, we had breakfast in the pub downstairs: a selection of sliced meats and cheeses, muesli and yogurt, and assorted breads, with coffee, tea, and juices available.
Our hotel was inside the old town city centre, convenient to the sights inside. After eating, we walked the block and a half to the main shopping street, the Kaufingerstrasse.
In the centre top, you can see the onion-shaped spires of the Frauenkirche, the tall church that dominates the old town.
We stopped in a department store to get warm (though still sunny and cloudless, it was quite cold) and look around. Sarah was well pleased as we rode the escalators to the top and then down to the basement level, where Sarah and Margo picked out some chocolates.
Back on the street, I ordered a coffee in what I thought might have been perfectly inconspicuous German, but in reality the cashier probably snickered as I left. But it's not hard to feel overly self-confident. All you need to learn is "please", "thank you", count to three, "no", "yes", and perhaps "excuse me" and you are good to go. It's fun to be a culture chameleon and try to fit in with just a few words: "Einz dunkel, bitte" (one dark beer, please).
We also looked at a display of souvenirs - mostly beer mugs and cuckoo clocks.
We headed toward the town square, the Marienplatz.
This is the town hall ("Rathaus") which towers over the Marienplatz. At about mid-height on the main tower is a famous glockenspiel. Each day at 11 and 12 o'clock, and 5 pm in summers, the glockenspiel is set in motion and figures such as royalty and courtesans and jousters move along their circular tracks.
We continued on to the Viktualmarkt, a large open-air market selling fresh produce, wines, and of course beers. In fact, the market is largely ringed by beer halls.
Just to the right of centre is a large maypole. I noticed that several breweries have their logos on part of it.
We returned to our room, and shortly thereafter set off for lunch in a restaurant recommended in our guide book, the Hackerhaus pub. They serve their own beer, and the restaurant and guest house have been in the family for centuries.
After lunch, we returned to Marienplatz to orient ourselves to the subway system and ride the U-bahn a few stops north in order to see the English Garden. It is the largest city park in continental Europe, spanning three miles in its longest direction. It contains a pond, a Chinese pagoda (which we visited), and of course, more beer halls.
We returned to our room. Margo and Sarah took some down time, and I took the S-bahn a few stops to the train station, to take in some of the city outside the old town, and walked back. Along the way I found a Saturn store that sells home electronics and music and movies. I was keen to look for some German electro music to take home, but was unable to find bands I was looking for.
After night fell and we were properly rested, we went for dinner in the Hofbrauhaus, the most famous beer hall in Munich.
This brings me to two things I wanted to mention. The Hofbrauhaus is also the very beer hall where Adolf Hitler first began agitating the German peoples. Germany's role in the second world war is something Germans are keen to forget. I'm not sure we saw a single German flag on display in the entire city. Nationalism is greatly discouraged. People are eager to avoid repeating this mistake.
And as an ex-Portlander, I must write about the beer. You see, Portland has more breweries than any city in the world, except for Munich. This is sort of a beery Mecca. The annual Oktoberfest is like a pilgrimage for many. The city map's legend has an icon for beer halls. So, you ask, how does Munich's beer compare?
I have to say that I was disappointed. In every pub we visited, we typically had two choices: the lighter Weissbier wheat beer, and the darker Dunkel. I was quite looking forward to having some Doppelbock, a dark, strong, and moderately sweet variety that is one of my favourites. I've had many bottles of it from the Spaten and Paulaner breweries of Munich, even occasionally on tap in Portland. I was unable to find any. Of course, we only visited a few pubs, and only in touristy areas, so I'm sure that a greater variety of beers were available elsewhere. I was just disappointed at the lack of choice.
But. Back to our dinner. The Hofbrauhaus may be historic, but it is also extremely touristy. Our waitress was of Asian descent.
We ordered some pretzels (which make you quite thirsty).
I ordered meatloaf, expecting something made of ground beef, but what I got was much closer to Spam. But who can complain amidst the live oompah music and all the beer you could hope for?
Our hotel was inside the old town city centre, convenient to the sights inside. After eating, we walked the block and a half to the main shopping street, the Kaufingerstrasse.
In the centre top, you can see the onion-shaped spires of the Frauenkirche, the tall church that dominates the old town.
We stopped in a department store to get warm (though still sunny and cloudless, it was quite cold) and look around. Sarah was well pleased as we rode the escalators to the top and then down to the basement level, where Sarah and Margo picked out some chocolates.
Back on the street, I ordered a coffee in what I thought might have been perfectly inconspicuous German, but in reality the cashier probably snickered as I left. But it's not hard to feel overly self-confident. All you need to learn is "please", "thank you", count to three, "no", "yes", and perhaps "excuse me" and you are good to go. It's fun to be a culture chameleon and try to fit in with just a few words: "Einz dunkel, bitte" (one dark beer, please).
We also looked at a display of souvenirs - mostly beer mugs and cuckoo clocks.
We headed toward the town square, the Marienplatz.
This is the town hall ("Rathaus") which towers over the Marienplatz. At about mid-height on the main tower is a famous glockenspiel. Each day at 11 and 12 o'clock, and 5 pm in summers, the glockenspiel is set in motion and figures such as royalty and courtesans and jousters move along their circular tracks.
We continued on to the Viktualmarkt, a large open-air market selling fresh produce, wines, and of course beers. In fact, the market is largely ringed by beer halls.
Just to the right of centre is a large maypole. I noticed that several breweries have their logos on part of it.
We returned to our room, and shortly thereafter set off for lunch in a restaurant recommended in our guide book, the Hackerhaus pub. They serve their own beer, and the restaurant and guest house have been in the family for centuries.
After lunch, we returned to Marienplatz to orient ourselves to the subway system and ride the U-bahn a few stops north in order to see the English Garden. It is the largest city park in continental Europe, spanning three miles in its longest direction. It contains a pond, a Chinese pagoda (which we visited), and of course, more beer halls.
We returned to our room. Margo and Sarah took some down time, and I took the S-bahn a few stops to the train station, to take in some of the city outside the old town, and walked back. Along the way I found a Saturn store that sells home electronics and music and movies. I was keen to look for some German electro music to take home, but was unable to find bands I was looking for.
After night fell and we were properly rested, we went for dinner in the Hofbrauhaus, the most famous beer hall in Munich.
This brings me to two things I wanted to mention. The Hofbrauhaus is also the very beer hall where Adolf Hitler first began agitating the German peoples. Germany's role in the second world war is something Germans are keen to forget. I'm not sure we saw a single German flag on display in the entire city. Nationalism is greatly discouraged. People are eager to avoid repeating this mistake.
And as an ex-Portlander, I must write about the beer. You see, Portland has more breweries than any city in the world, except for Munich. This is sort of a beery Mecca. The annual Oktoberfest is like a pilgrimage for many. The city map's legend has an icon for beer halls. So, you ask, how does Munich's beer compare?
I have to say that I was disappointed. In every pub we visited, we typically had two choices: the lighter Weissbier wheat beer, and the darker Dunkel. I was quite looking forward to having some Doppelbock, a dark, strong, and moderately sweet variety that is one of my favourites. I've had many bottles of it from the Spaten and Paulaner breweries of Munich, even occasionally on tap in Portland. I was unable to find any. Of course, we only visited a few pubs, and only in touristy areas, so I'm sure that a greater variety of beers were available elsewhere. I was just disappointed at the lack of choice.
But. Back to our dinner. The Hofbrauhaus may be historic, but it is also extremely touristy. Our waitress was of Asian descent.
We ordered some pretzels (which make you quite thirsty).
I ordered meatloaf, expecting something made of ground beef, but what I got was much closer to Spam. But who can complain amidst the live oompah music and all the beer you could hope for?
posted by Michael Nelson at 8:07 am
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