A Few of My Favorite Things From Munich
We were only in Munich two days in June, but we fell in love. Even fighting through extreme jet lag the first day, Munich managed to leave an indelible impression. Walking through the English Garden, learning about the culture from Ozzie (an awesome, local tour guide), bikes, bars and beer halls were the highlights. But quite possibly my favorite and where it all started was the traditional Bavarian breakfast: two white sausages, a pretzel and a wheat beer.
Bavarian Breakfast at the Schneider Bräuhaus
It was a good twenty minute walk to the Schneider Bräuhaus from our hotel that first morning. I read it was a great place to have the traditional Bavarian breakfast, so it was the first stop on our list after getting our car parked at our hotel. On our walk we got to breeze through Marienplatz (Mary’s Square) and get a peek at the famous Glockenspiel. It was quite busy, so we were happy to pop out of the busiest bubble to the brewery.
We chose a table outside in the beer garden. After sitting for a few minutes, I saw a kind gentleman indicate to the waitress that we hadn’t been helped. I had heard you sometimes had to flag down wait staff in Germany especially in beer gardens to let them know you were ready to order, but I had been too shy to do so just yet. I was working up the courage to use some of the German I had learned for the trip.
The waitress came over to our table (dressed in a traditional white and blue dirndl). We ordered the Bavarian breakfast, and had beer and pretzels in no time. The pretzel was a bit salty for our liking but we just knocked a bit off and were good to go. The beer was delicious, and Brandon liked my wheat beer so much he thought the waitress switched our orders. He doesn’t normally enjoy wheat beer but after trying a few more on our trip he decided the wheat beer in Germany was tasty.
The weather was perfect as we waited for our sausages. I soaked up the sunshine with gratitude and happiness while pushing back an impending mountain of jetlag. I really liked how laid back everyone on the patio was and how socially acceptable a Thursday morning beer was before noon.
The sausages came, and they were wonderful. I had heard that most people either loved them or hated them. I was in the love camp. They reminded me a lot of sausages my grandma used to make.
Walking through the English Garden
By the time we got to the English Garden later that afternoon our jetlag was close to knocking us out. The magic of the park re-awoke our spirits and carried us through. Similar to something like Central Park the “Enlischer Garten” is a huge park in the middle of Munich, much of it surrounding the Isar River. We only walked through about half a mile of the park (just barely touching it’s vastness), but what we saw and felt was lovely.
The locals came out in droves to picnic, read, hang out with friends and simply just sit by the river. The river itself is gorgeous. The day we were there it was a crystal clear aqua color, and it had a fast flow, but its might was not overwhelming.
We walked on a path by the river that ran adjacent to many sites: a native flower field, lush greenery, happy riverbank occupants, brave souls wading in the ice cold water with a beer in hand, an ice cream cart(which we indulged in) and even a naked couple casually hanging out in a field. Yep, you read that right. The English Garden is one of a few places that you can apparently go naked in Munich.
Near the edge of the park we found Eisbachwelle which is a wave created by the river that’s become a popular surf spot. We watched several surfers take turns riding the waves. Due to the way the waves form, a surfer can ride them back and forth until he or she succumbs to them. Each takes a turn doing so and when they fall another hops right in from the riverbank, making for an entertaining site. There were many onlookers and even a group of artists observing and drawing.
Touring with Ozzie
The next day we met up with Ozzie of OzTour for a walking tour of the old town. We walked down many of the main streets with Ozzie and he shared a plethora of history, context and culture notes. It was one of the best walking tours I’ve ever been on. I learned a lot, saw a lot and enjoyed the perspectives provided. One of my favorite parts of the tour was our beer break in an Augustiner beer hall. It was mid-morning and I’m not sure the hall was actually open for business yet, but we got to sit inside and all have a beer together while the staff got ready for the day. They bantered with Ozzie and therefore also us. It was a special pause in time with the locals that live and breathe the city to life every day.
Aside from the Augustiner restaurant, sites that stood out the most on the tour included the Glockenspiel in Marienplatz, Viktualienmarkt, Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady), Hofbräuhaus and our walk from Max-Joseph-Platz to Odeonsplatz.
While watching the figurines of the famous Glockenspiel come out and dance, I shared with Ozzie that my Great Uncle Ted was in Munich after World War II and that he had told me all about the musical clock. It was special to see it some 60 years later myself, while imagining my young great uncle doing the same decades ago. Ozzie told us to watch for 3 flaps of the owls wings at the end, a little detail most miss.
In Viktualienmarkt we grabbed sausages and beer for lunch, both from a local butcher stand. We got a special lanyard necklace that held our beer at the end while we walked around the market. It was quite fun and convenient, especially as we walked and ate our sausages.
The Frauenkirche was simply gorgeous, especially inside.
The interior of the Frauenkirche, München (Church of Our Lady, Munich).
At Hofbräuhaus Ozzie showed us where Nazi swastikas had been painted over with penants. We were just inside the night before and would have never known this without his depth of knowledge. It was terrifying to think that this was a place Hitler frequented, but beautiful to see how the city has healed and progressed past those dark times.
In contrast to the dark past, I found the Hofbräuhaus today to be cheery and heartwarming. Ozzie took us to a little nook of a seating area behind shelves where all the regulars store their beer steins, and we enjoyed some great conversation.
Towards the end of our tour we walked from Max-Joseph-Platz to Odeonsplatz. On our walk between them we learned some third reich history and saw some touching monuments to resistors. One of these was a curved gold line on a cobblestone road that led behind Odeonsplatz, known as dodger’s alley.
During WWII, there was a place in Odeonsplatz where people would have to salute the SS as they walked by. As a quiet resistance many people would take a detour behind the square through “dodger’s alley.” The SS caught on to this and it became a dangerous detour to take. If you were caught taking this road to avoid the place of salute you could be sent to a concentration camp. It was moving to think of the brave souls that refused to comply.
We also walked by the Residenz, the former palace of Bavarian royalty. Outside there were some lion statues that are known to bring good-luck. There was a story, but essentially you must rub their noses every time you walk by for good luck—so we did.
Bikes Everywhere
Another thing I really liked in Munich was all the bicycles. There were as many cyclists as motorists in the city. Young and old, students and professionals—everyone biked. My favorite scene I saw unfold was two friends biking side by side chatting and enjoying each others company along their commute. When they came to a fork in the road, I heard goodbyes exchanged as they each went different ways.
From Freddy Mercury’s Bar to Karaoke
While on our walking tour, Ozzie showed us a bar that Freddy Mercury frequented. As we walked by we heard a Queen tune floating out and one of the bartenders greeted us from inside (the windows and doors wide open and welcoming).
Ceiling views at “Freddy Mercury’s Bar.”
Later that night we headed back to “Freddy Mercury’s Bar” and spent some time among locals belting out what I can only assume were top German classics. Maybe this is what got us in the mood for karaoke because that was our next mission.
Before finding our way to an actual karaoke bar, we hit up a place called The Dive Bar Munich. Google led us wrong, stating this was a karaoke bar. While there was no one singing their heart out inside, there was great company found here. We chatted up the German bartender who was hoping to make a trip from St. Louis to Memphis someday and the man that sat next to me who gave us advice on where to find one of the prettiest views in Germany.
From there we headed to a bar that had karaoke in the name, so we felt our odds of accomplishing our mission to karaoke were pretty good.
The Yokocho Karaoke Box & Bar was an absolute blast. The bar was very international, full of people from seemingly everywhere. At the same time we had a serendipitous reminder that the world is small as we met a Munich resident originally from Paducah, KY (just an hour from where we live in Missouri)! And after Brandon sang Ring of Fire, a group from Nashville (one of our favorite cities in the States) approached him assuming he had to be American based off of his song choice.
Later our new friend from Paducah joined me on the mic to sing my karaoke go-to from Linda Ronstadt, You’re No Good. We left it all on the floor.
Beer Halls
Lastly, I’d be remissed if I didn’t mention the beer halls on my list of favorite things in Munich. Brandon would definitely let me hear it. ;) We only got to hop into a couple, but the laid back atmosphere, tasty beer and delicious food was a delight in each. I really enjoyed the banter and jovial nature that radiated within the halls. I can’t wait to go back and experience more of them.
