Munich, Germany
I had been looking forward to Germany since the beginning of the trip. If you remember, before we left we did our DNA analysis. If you don’t remember, check out Tim’s Heritage Travel blog post here. It was no surprise, my results said I was 90%+ European with a high concentration in Germany. Unfortunately, I had the flu almost the entire time we were there. Thank goodness I started feeling a little better towards the end of the week and was able to enjoy some of the yummy food, drinks, and sights.
Hofbräuhaus was built on the love of beer. Hofbräuhaus is a brewery in Munich, Germany, owned by the Bavarian state government. This brewery has a huge indoor table service hall plus a beer garden. A beer garden (Biergarten) is an outdoor area in which beer and local food are served, typically at shared tables. Common entertainment includes music, song, and games. Beer gardens originated in Munich, in the 19th century, and remain common in Southern Germany. They are usually attached to a brewery, beer hall, pub, or restaurant.
We drank our fair share of beer while in Munich. Watching Beer Maids and Beer Waiters carry out armfulls of pints and liters of beer with one hand was a site worth seeing. Our Beer Waiter brought out our two beers plus four more for the table next to us using just one hand.
Sometimes when traveling you find yourself in quirky places. We ended up at the Beer and Oktoberfest Museum. The museum displays the history of beer and the Munich Oktoberfest. The museum is housed in an old town house in the old town from the year 1327. You explore each floor's tiny "bedrooms" full of trinkets and treasures. ⠀
We also found ourselves camped out at an outdoor restaurant outside the new town hall waiting for the Glockenspiel clock to strike 11am. Every day at 11 am and 12 pm a clock chimes and re-enacts two stories from the 16th century to the amusement of mass crowds of tourists and locals. The top half of the Glockenspiel tells the story of the marriage of the local Duke Wilhelm V to Renata of Lorraine.
This is then followed by the bottom half and second story: Schäfflertanz (the coopers' dance). According to myth, 1517 was a year of plague in Munich. The coopers are said to have danced through the streets to "bring fresh vitality to fearful dispositions."
It is an experience you won’t want to miss. Grab a table and order some beers and wait for the fun to start.
I probably think about the food I ate while traveling way too much. This was hands down one of the best meals I had. I had this pork schnitzel what was first coated in mustard then horseradish then deep fried. It was so good I ordered this same meal, from the same restaurant twice while we were there.
