I have not seen so many beautiful people in one city for a long time. Correction, I haven’t seen so many beautiful people wearing traditional Bavarian clothing in one city zone, in, ever.
Ladies in milkmaid style Dirndls and gents in lederhosen. I was not aware that lederhosen are meant to show off your prowess as a sexy farmer with well-defined calves. It was also not until after my third Stine – a 1 litre tankard of beer – that I found myself staring at the woolly half sock many of the gents in Augustina Kellar, were wearing to show off their toned ploughman’s calves.
In case you didn’t know, Munich lies in the south of Germany, just a two hour flight away with BMI Regional, deep in Bavaria. The flight itself was comfortable and stress free and the hostesses attentive.
Most well known for Oktoberfest beer festival, held you guessed it, in October, this historical city offers up a modern edge to its age. Culture as a whole is constantly growing as you find equal amounts of history, beer and bearded hipsters on push bikes.
One such example is the delightful ParkCafe Biergarten. Set in Alter Botanisher Garten, this restaurant sits opposite the imposing neo-renaissance Justizpalast court-houses and next to a gorgeous fountain. Here you will find families and young people enjoying a paddle in the water together late in to a Saturday evening. I tried the apfel weis bier, an apple wheat beer best taken in with a breathtaking view of the gardens. And maybe a Bavarian calf or two!
Germany is a multi-denominational country and specific cities are allocated to various types of Christianity, while inexplicably being inclusive to anyone. Munich is Catholic and its oldest churches are breathtakingly ornate. Frescoed ceilings, gold leaf and painstakingly detailed figures can be appreciated for their aesthetic alone.
Munich’s most famous church and landmark, St Peter’s church, or ‘old Peter’, is well worth a visit. Each day at noon life size figurines dance on a merry-go-round of two platforms in the steeple, to a tune comprised of 42 bells.
A short walk away is the Munich Residence museum. This museum charts the Kings and Dukes of Bavaria and houses sheer decadence, such as an ancestral gallery decorated in gold leaf, an Antiquarium that once upon a time housed huge art collections and played host to sumptuous balls and a fountain courtyard covered in thousands of shells.
Bavaria is known for big hunks of meat in rich sauces, bratwurst and many other kinds of sausages, saurkraut- by the way this is fantastic with pork haxl- a large pork knuckle. At Augustina bierkellar I tucked in to the master’s plate, a seemingly mountainous serve of creamy mushrooms, pork escalope, meatball, a pretzel dumpling (or breznknödel) and Bavarian ravioli (maultaschen). I proudly finished the plate.
Similarly, the famous Ratzkellar, underneath St.Peter’s has a fantastically varied menu of typical Bavarian food and lighter options. After our walking tour of the old buildings rebuilt in 1972, I was ready for a steak with beans, herb butter and potatoes. I washed this down with a strawberry Hugo, a rose and elderflower prosecco cocktail with strawberries. When in Munich.
More delicate food like healthy salads, yoghurts, and rye bread can be found in countless back street cafes. Try Aroma Kaffee Bar on Pestalozzistraße, which is full of locals on low tables sipping great coffee and eating bagels and brot of all kinds.
From here you can, and this is what I did as it was hot, walk down to the river near to Frauenhofer straße underground station. Cross the bridge, Reichenbach brücke, and find a little spot along the river to paddle. Now, don’t be outraged by this suggestion. Yes most city rivers are dirty enough to asphysxiate in, maybe. But the Isar runs down from the Tyrolian Mountains so the water is crystal clear, clean and cool, which was perfect in the thirty degree July heat.
There is also a five kilometre cycle track here which runs along the river through the city and to the outskirts. Cycling is huge in Germany and well catered for with wide cycle paths attached to the pavements so the only traffic you need deal with is that of other experienced Bavarian cyclists.
During our weekend in this beguiling city, we managed to make a trip to the Dokumentationzentrum. This is the Museum for documentation of National Socialism. In typical German efficiency, despite the wordy title, it is exactly what it says. It is a museum charting the rise and fall of the Nazis and Munich’s role in all of this.
The museum was opened only a couple of months ago and tells you in necessary detail, without a trace of self pity, how those events came to be and what has happened since then. You get a real grasp of the chain of events from before the first world war to today, all affected each other. I must say of the efforts made to celebrate those individuals who resisted Nazi rule, much to their inevitable downfalls, which would ultimately precede that of the regime. I came out of there feeling oddly hopeful. Germany’s ability to accept, admit and learn from once terrible wrongs is something to give pause for thought.
Understandably, after learning in depth about why atrocities occur, I craved a beer. As it was Munich I didn’t have to look very far and that’s when we happened upon the aforementioned Park Café. Later we would have dinner back at the four star Hotel Maritim. Another great steak with rosemary potatoes and German red wine that I found wholly smooth, and matched the red meat wonderfully. I would also later find my way to the touch button shower in my spacious room and sink in to the comfy bed, shrouded in a cosy duvet to match the temperature controlled room. Until then I had sunshine flecking through trees in a relaxing bier garten, many beautiful people with toned calves and a cold stein in both hands.
Info- Flights from Bristol to Munich fly regularly throughout the week and all flights include complimentary food and drink onboard and free 20kg hold baggage allowance. Flights start at £79 one way. Visit http://www.bmiregional.com for more information.
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Maritim Hotel, Goethstraße 7, 80336 München is part of the Maritim Hotel group. A one night stay for two costs from £173.00 including breakfast. Visit http://www.maritim.com/en/home to make a booking.