beerfest

Despite a late night out for some, as a whole our group rallied and left our hostel to attend a free tour of the city from the city center. My mom has continuously told me how much she loved Munich and was not able to spend enough time visiting, so I was anxious to see such a beautiful and popular city. Munich is about the exact size I expected, but the old city center is small and wonderfully charming. It is interesting to see how in these old European cities there are center sections that are pedestrian only, filled with cobble stone roads and old monuments. We don’t get that kind of charm in New York City or Oxford, Ohio.

The center of Munich was very cute, and there is no comparison to the New Town Hall. Built in a gothic style, its overwhelming magnitude and decorations is enough to make your neck ache as you continue to look up at the looming clock tower. And there is nothing like this clock tower. The Glockenspiel, a major tourist attraction, goes off every morning at 11 am and is accompanied by 15 minutes of life-sized mannequins dancing and jousting and bells and music. And, in my tourist fashion, it is not overrated whatsoever and I could have watched the hypnotic and entertaining show for an hour.

Despite enjoying the Glockenspiel, I have to say, the winter weather and gray clouds dampened my Munich experience. The city center was gray and empty and it was hard to take your time and look around with cold wind nipping at your fingers and nose. I couldn’t help but imagine how adorable the city would be with Christmas Markets in December or cafes being open and people enjoying the sun in the spring and summer.

To battle the weather, we decided to apply a pub crawl method to beer halls in the city of Munich. First stop, the Hofbrauhaus. Historically the royal brewery of the kingdom of Bavaira, the Hofbrauhaus is a prime example of continued Bavarian heritage, complete with lederhosens, live music, and weiner shnitzel. We tried out first white veal sausage and sauerkraut. Not bad! And of course, our first liter of fresh beer. A full-blown glimpse into German culture in my mind. We then moved on to a few more beer halls, tasted a few more beers, and loaded up on pretzals.

We also visited the Residence, the home of the German elector and a palace in its own right. Reminiscent of Versailles, the walls were decorated in gold, statues littered the hallways, and I couldn’t help but hope that when I got back from Europe my room would look similar to the red velvet room in the palace, complete with an over-sized canopy bed. It was really cool, and I’m really glad we did it! I really think it has rivaled any other palace I’ve been in.

That night we returned to the Hofbrauhaus with the entire group. Before finding an Italian bachelor party and having Scotty be virtually adopted by a German family, we enjoyed a low key night of good conversation and good food and booze.