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lupestripe) wrote2014-06-20 11:54 pm
With The Beer Flowing
I arrived in Munich yesterday after flying from Manchester, where Enteirah had very kindly put me up for the night. The flight wasn't particularly early, 10.50am, but early enough to travel the night before if possible. I didn't get into Manchester until 9.15pm the previous evening due to never-ending work commitments but the bunny still met me at the station and we had an enjoyable evening with Angela and Dave. One of those is a real person, the other a TV channel.
The flight was largely uneventful but as it was Lufthansa, we got a free hot turkey sandwich on suspicious bread and delicious Warsteiner beer to prepare us for our trip to the brewing capital of one of the world's biggest brewing nations. The sandwich turned out to be rather delicious and the hour and a half flight largely flew by (pardon the pun).
Munich is a very easy city to navigate - at the airport I got a five-day pass which works like a Travelcard in London. There is an on-site brew house at the airport and the temptation to sit in the little paved area, with a colossal sculpture, in between the two terminals and have a beer was strong but I decided it may be best to get to my hotel particularly as rush hour was approaching. I soon hoped on the S8 S-Bahn and was soon travelling through the verdant countryside on the edge of the city. The landscape changed into more industrial territory as we got closer and closer to the centre, before the beautiful Baroque houses which highlight the region slinked into view.
Munich is often described as Italy's northern most city and there is a definite Italian feel to the architecture. The heart of the city is the Marienplatz, which I visited once I dumped my bag off at the hotel and picked up the obligatory Bratwurst from a takeaway kiosk. The square is dominated by the imposing Neues Rathaus, a huge intricate structure with an ornate clock tower. Here is a good meeting place and I noticed a handful of people embarking on a brewery tour I had seen advertised. Not for me though, I had sightseeing to do. And then admittedly drinking.
The square also has a gold statue of the Virgin Mary dating from 1638 and tucked behind it is the Altes Rathaus, a building of less grandeur than its newer equivalent but no less beautiful. This Gothic structure was built in 1464 and now houses a toy museum which was unfortunately closed by the time I had dragged my sorry (but sassy) arse to it. To the right as you look at the Neues Rathaus, you see Peterskirche, a 13th century building built on the highest part of the town. There is an archway adjacent to this and you can follow the street down to the bricked frontage of Isortor, one of the city's original gates.
All of this is largely pedestrianized and is now home to high street shops including an Apple store, which is round the corner from Marienplatz. It being 6pm and all the shops having closed I opted to head north towards the cultural and university area, soon becoming distracted by the sounds of a brass band playing inside the Hofbrauhaus & Platzl. This is basically Munich's most famous pub and home of Hofbrau, the beer you find in England with the distinctive HB label. The pub dates from 1896 but this was the original royal court brewery, founded in 1598 by Wilhelm V. There is space for one thousand patrons and it serves ten thousands liters of beer a day. Live bands play throughout the evening and, desperate for a beer anyway, I opted to stay and grab one. The system is somewhat chaotic, with people running around everywhere, so I opted to just find a seat and see what happens. A charming chap then came up to me to take my order - I opted for HB Dunkel - and I settled down to watch the second half of the World Cup match being screened. Slightly later, another man was wandering around selling pretzels so I opted for one, which was a perfect accompaniment to the delicious stein of beer. And yes it was a stein, a full litre, they don't really seem to accept anything less here. Before leaving, and possibly because I had been drinking, I bought some gifts for Wolfie from the shop because nothing says beer house more than a scarf and a moose in an HB uniform.
With an hour to kill before the England game and knowing that nearly everywhere would be showing it - and I mean literally everywhere, from takeaways to standard restaurants to high-class establishments - I decided to do a little more exploring, walking through the heart of the thirteenth century Altstadt. I soon came out next to a large theatre adjacent to the Residenz, the palace occupied by the Bavarian rulers from 1385 to 1918. It dominates this part of the city and is Munich's largest historical complex - I visited it on Friday, it was closed on Thursday night - and I'll detail the trip in my next journal.
On the north side of the Residenz is the Hofgarten, a quaint genteel little grassy area with arranged flower beds and a stone pagoda in the middle, the Temple of Diana. Hedges and linden trees line the pathways and again the city's Italian influence can clearly be seen. The Hofgarten comes out at Odeonplatz, a neat little square with an orange church, currently undergoing restoration, on the opposite side. The Feldherrnhalle is also here, with statues of the Bavarian field marshals Tilly and Wrede displayed. Walking through the city, you do get an appreciation of just how loved dogs are here. There are dogs everywhere, particularly small to mid-sized ones and it's great to watching them a-sniffling and a-snuffling. Dogs always make me happy, so it's been a happy trip so far.
Kick off was fast approaching so I wandered around the centre of the city looking for a suitable bar. I eventually decided on Paulaner Im Tal, a no-nonsense cafeteria place with a frumpy no-nonsense woman serving. There were no completely free tables but I spotted a lone Spaniard who had finished his food and he said it would be fine to sit at his table. He soon buggered off, leaving me alone for all of five minutes as a group of students joined me - an Englishman, two Americans and a New Zealander who were all backpacking and were staying at the same hostel, the Munich 10. They were not traveling together, they had just met each other that day and had already been drinking for some of the afternoon. As it turned out, the Englishman was from Harrogate, near to where I live and he had worked for one of my company's clients. Suffice to say, we got on quite well and for the next torturous 90 minutes, we sank beers, chatted and cheered our team to World Cup elimination. The Germans were generally behind us, but it was us who were the loudest, even in the face of defeat. It was a tough match to watch, defensive frailties cost us, but the evening was generally a good one.
The Americans and New Zealander left just before the end, leaving Conor and I alone. He was going to Budapest that night, leaving on the 11.40pm train out of the Hauptbahnhof so we walked back to the station together, where we swapped details and bid each other goodbye. Despite the result, last night was one of those truly magical nights you get when traveling, bumping into random people and sharing experiences. I was quite drunk on the underground back to the hotel but I was happy, despite England's loss. I got back to the hotel and tried to watch the Greece game but half a litre of Spaten (literally spade) later, I needed to head to bed.
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Before leaving, and possibly because I had been drinking, I bought some gifts for Wolfie from the shop because nothing says beer house more than a scarf and a moose in an HB uniform.
Whoever thought up the idea of a gift shop there must have deserved one hell of a bonus. =:D What was the selection like, overall? Here, of course, all you'll find of them is that deeply regrettable generic lager, presumably made under lucrative license.
they had just met each other that day and had already been drinking for some of the afternoon
Yay! Beer sometimes gets a poor reputation because of twits for whom its inhibition-lifting effects result in a proclivity toward antagonism, but for so many more, it's just like that - a facilitator in enjoying a shared experience like the game, in freshly forged friendly company. ^_^
I really ought to see München properly someday. We've been through a few times, but usually just en route somewhere else, and Mum's from Hamburg, an entirely different city altogether. (Frustratingly, we've never managed to make our way into Denmark! I must remedy that someday. Have you been? Probably a silly question =:)