Friday night Marty and I went out for dinner and then we walked over to the Hofbräuhaus. Outside of the Oktoberfest, the Hofbräuhaus is probably the most recognizable Munich tourist attraction. In fact, the first time I was in Munich (in 1988), I had only 8 hours to spend here en route from Prague to Amsterdam, and the Hofbräuhaus was one of the few places I went. (I also went to the English Garden, and the Alter Peter.) And Friday was my first trip back in 14 years.
It's still a huge tourist spot, complete with the oompah band and all the stereotypical Bavarian stuff. Masskrugs (liter glasses) of beer, Brezn (pretzels), and a real drinking-hall atmosphere. When you walk in the door, you're likely to hear ten different languages spoken within the first five minutes. But the interesting thing about the place is, some local people still go there. We were at a table with three Germans -- a man who was born "less than a kilometer" from the Hofbräuhaus (and who spoke only Bavarian, so we could hardly understand each other), and his two friends who aren't real Müncheners because they've only lived here about 25 years. We were joined by a man from Denver who was in Munich for a convention (they have lots of those here). At the table beside us were some Spaniards and more Americans, and one table back was a big group of English people. We also spoke with a man from Birmingham, Alabama and his family, and some people from San Francisco. And there were many Japanese tourists as well.
The band has an interesting setlist. They play a lot of German drinking songs (including, of course, Ein Prosit), but also some other things you might not expect. When we arrived, these were the first songs they played: "Que Sera Sera," "Take Me Home Country Roads," and "On the Road Again." And everyone sang, no matter whether they knew English or not. It's lots of fun at the Hofbräuhaus. We stayed out late, and took the U-Bahn home.
All six of the major breweries in Munich have their own beer halls. the Hofbräuhaus, obviously, is the Hofbräu beerhall. But the other five have them too: Augustiner, Paulaner, Spaten, Löwenbräu, and Hacker-Pschorr. I think I've been to all of them already.
The rest of the weekend, Marty and I got a lot done in the apartment, although we did take a break to go walk around the Nymphenburg gardens on Sunday. It's really getting to be fall here.
Tonight it's raining.
Next month our friends Susie and Jim from England are coming to visit for a couple of days. I can't wait to see them! I keep thinking, hmm, what should we do? It's going to be so much fun to plan what we'll see and do while they are here!
It's still a huge tourist spot, complete with the oompah band and all the stereotypical Bavarian stuff. Masskrugs (liter glasses) of beer, Brezn (pretzels), and a real drinking-hall atmosphere. When you walk in the door, you're likely to hear ten different languages spoken within the first five minutes. But the interesting thing about the place is, some local people still go there. We were at a table with three Germans -- a man who was born "less than a kilometer" from the Hofbräuhaus (and who spoke only Bavarian, so we could hardly understand each other), and his two friends who aren't real Müncheners because they've only lived here about 25 years. We were joined by a man from Denver who was in Munich for a convention (they have lots of those here). At the table beside us were some Spaniards and more Americans, and one table back was a big group of English people. We also spoke with a man from Birmingham, Alabama and his family, and some people from San Francisco. And there were many Japanese tourists as well.
The band has an interesting setlist. They play a lot of German drinking songs (including, of course, Ein Prosit), but also some other things you might not expect. When we arrived, these were the first songs they played: "Que Sera Sera," "Take Me Home Country Roads," and "On the Road Again." And everyone sang, no matter whether they knew English or not. It's lots of fun at the Hofbräuhaus. We stayed out late, and took the U-Bahn home.
All six of the major breweries in Munich have their own beer halls. the Hofbräuhaus, obviously, is the Hofbräu beerhall. But the other five have them too: Augustiner, Paulaner, Spaten, Löwenbräu, and Hacker-Pschorr. I think I've been to all of them already.
The rest of the weekend, Marty and I got a lot done in the apartment, although we did take a break to go walk around the Nymphenburg gardens on Sunday. It's really getting to be fall here.
Tonight it's raining.
Next month our friends Susie and Jim from England are coming to visit for a couple of days. I can't wait to see them! I keep thinking, hmm, what should we do? It's going to be so much fun to plan what we'll see and do while they are here!
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