Dear readers,
Do not despair, I have not forgotten about you. Sorry, but I’ve been busy being sick and finalising our April trip around Europe. But now it is time to update you on the last couple of weekends, starting with Easter in Munich.
Neues Rathaus (new town hall) in the main square
While I think it is difficult for a place to be both a charming old town and a modern city, Munich successfully does both. The long mall stretching through the centre of the city is dotted with historic buildings, none more imposing than the new town hall and the Glockenspiel (carillon) in the main square. However Munich also has a modern feel, with a really great underground metro system and many things to see and do.
Munich is famous for ‘Oktoberfest’, a festival where hordes of tourists descend on Munich to drink beer. It’s origins – to celebrate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig in 1810 – seems to have been long forgotten. Due to this festival, Munich caters for tourists (particularly English speakers) and displays the traditional dress and food of the region. It is said that the people of Munich are so proud of their state, Bavaria, that they consider themselves Bavarian first and German second. Many of the costumes and foods that people think of as typically german, such as lederhosen, pretzels and beer steins, are actually typically Bavarian.
Mikey and I arrived in the absolute freezing cold via train on Thursday night (20 March). After finding our hotel, we headed out for dinner and were pleasantly surprised to find the metro very efficient and the restaurants offering English menus. I tried the turkey schnitzel, which was covered in cornflakes…interesting and delicious. It went down perfectly with a glass of orangeschorle (half orange juice, half mineral water).
Turkey schnitzel in cornflakes
On Friday, we braved the cold (2°C) and rain to explore the city, particularly the old town. We saw the Karlstor, which was once a gate to the city, and the Michaelskirche, Germany’s earliest and grandest Renaissance church. In the main square, Marienplatz, we admired the old and new town halls and then wandered to view the Residenz (palace), which housed Bavarian rulers from 1385. After a coffee and a bit more of a walk around large impressive structures, we succumbed to the cold and took the metro to Alte Pinakothek (art gallery) to see some paintings by Dürer, Botticelli, da Vinci and Rembrandt.
Karlstor
That night we went to the Hofbräuhaus am Platzl for dinner.
The Hofbräuhaus is a well- known Bavarian beer hall catering for tourists. I understand it can seat about 3,000 people and is packed during Oktoberfest. We had dinner on the second floor, where there are long rows of tables from one end of the room to the other.
Hofbräuhaus
The room was filled with the noise of laughing drunk people, and we understood why when the waiters seemed a lot more interested in delivering beer than food.
Mikey enjoying his 1L beer