I think divine providence was at work when it guided us, pretty much as we started our trip in Munich, into one of its most prominent beer gardens, at Viktualienmarkt. I swear, I didn’t plan this. I didn’t even have a map of the city with me. To tell you the truth, I didn’t even know beer gardens existed at that point. Oh well. Here’s to soft landings!
During our stay in Munich we repeatedly encountered on the streets a quintet of violin, cello, contrabass, flute and piano, and not just any piano–mind you–a grand piano, which they hauled every day to the different corners of the city in which they were playing. I can’t imagine how they did that. Wouldn’t they have to tune it each time after moving it? Either way, it sounded fantastic. We lied in the sun on the grass, and dozed off to the soothing sounds of Brahms.
Our CouchSurfing hosts were Jessy and Bernd. We arrived on the first evening after a sleepless night followed by a long day, and were greeted with a roasted chicken and mashed potato dumplings, which were so very appreciated. Next evening we attempted to return the favor by cooking a dinner for the four of us.
CouchSurfing is unbelievable. It’s the greatest thing, and I’m really happy that we’re in it for this trip. Jessy and Bernd hosted us with great hospitality and helped us with information about the city. More importantly, they were just the most interesting people to meet. It would have been a very different trip without it.
The devoted the first half second day to the Englischer Garten (English Garden), one of the largest city parks in Europe. It is indeed massive; it takes hours to cross it if you’re not in a hurry (and I’d say not less than an hour, if you are). We took a subway a few stations to the north and made our way back south through the park.
Inside the park there are, of course, beer gardens. What else. The one we stopped at was called the Chinesichse Garten (I hope I spelled that right), for the pagoda, not for the food. The pagoda is there just for the name; the food and the beer are distinctly Bavarian. And on a sunny day, even if it’s the middle of the week, the beer gardens are full of people. The older you are, it seems, the bigger glass you get: pensioners (of both genders) drink from one-liter mugs, and the people who have to get back to work in the afternoon take the small pint glasses. The only exceptions are younger men with girlfriends, who are apparently trying to convince them that they’re ready to spend their lives together until retirement: they also take the liters. Beers are not ordered from a waiter, they’re waiting already full on a counter from which they are collected by the crowd. The tap is constantly open, mugs are filled and the counter is continuously replenished. The beer indeed is flowing like water.
At the southern end of the English Garden there’s a spot where the Isar river comes from under a bridge and creates a standing wave, and surfers use this spot to practice when the weather allows it. Since we were lucky with the weather, so were the surfers, and they queued on the river bank for their turn with the wave.
The second half of that day we spend looking at some modern art exhibitions. We found Jessy and Bernd’s advice invaluable.
On Friday we met our old-time CouchSurfing friends Inga and Stefan from Cologne. This is the third time we meet; this time they flew in to Munich to spend the weekend with us. Together we went to the Augustiner Braustuben, which is, well, I find it hard to describe exactly. It’s basically a series of large rooms, filled with thick wooden tables and benches, located inside the Augustiner brewery; dimly lit, the air full of loud talking and smells of grilled meat, and the benches full of people drinking and eating and drinking some more. This could have been a scene from a medieval movie, except it’s real and alive in Munich.
The next day we spent outside Munich around the Tegernsee lake, walking in the woods and of course wandering into the local brauhaus.
Next destination, Prague.
March 30, 2011