A Bavarian Winter in Munich

---

It was the lead up to Christmas and we were gearing up for our Switzerland trip (entry to follow), when I was asked to duck to Munich for a few days for work. So on the spur of the moment, Ange decided she would fly down to join me at the end of the work week to enjoy a weekend in Munich.

We always had Munich on our destination wishlist, and this offered us to opportunities - one to go there (of course), and secondly a chance to experience the rather famous Xmas markets that Germany has to offer.

So I had spent a few days working in Germany with our local office - and got to experience some of the that winter wonder - snowfalls. But as it drew on to the end of the working week the weather had started to turn and it became rather cold and frequently rained. Nevertheless we would endure this and enjoy our couple of days in town.

Ange arrived late on Friday night, and after a good night sleep we awoke to unfortunately a fairly average day. We started the day visiting the site where the Oktoberfest celebrations take place (Theresienwiese) - yet in its place was a huge international market with stalls from all over the world selling trinkets, ornaments, clothes, food and alcohol. We wandered around the markets for an hour or so and then stopped to sample our first German beer of the trip in one of the large tents along with some warming food - to escape the wet and cold.

While the markets weren't too bad, they didn't focus on Xmas - and that is what we were searching for - the German Xmas markets. So we headed back towards the centre of town - Marienplatz. And we weren't disappointed - there were Xmas markets everywhere selling the most amazing Christmas ornaments and trinkets, along with all the glory of German food, like bratwurst sausages, mulled wine (gluwein), and sweets. All under the rather striking Town Hall and large Xmas tree. We spent quite sometime wandering around the stalls. And sampling the gluwein and chocolate coated fruits.

Yet as the weather started to close in and darkness descended, we headed straight for the famous beerhalls of Munich. Our destination the famous Hafbrauhaus - our intent to sample some of the local foods and of course the steins of lager. These places are amazing and so social and fun - great food, excellent beers, and the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. We got chatting with a couple from Chicago (he was originally from my home town of Brisbane, and his wife from Brazil) and then this large group of French lads which led to a few drinking games.

I was truly in my element and maybe a bit over excited (like a kid in a candy store), as I drank perhaps a few too many of the steins and poor Ange had to be my gaurdian. Nevertheless a great time and one i would love to do again - maybe Oktoberfest.

We woke Sunday to a worse day (weather wise and hangover wise) - but we wanted to see some of the sites Muncih had to offer, so we took the City Sights bus around the city. This ended up being the perfect option as it was very cold, pouring rain, and everything is shut on a Sunday. So while not the best way to see the city, it was our best option given the situation.

And of course to round out a tough day sitting on a citysights bus, we visited a local restaurant for another fantastic feed of local Bavarian meals, before we had to go collect our bags and make our way out to the airport.

Overall - a great place to visit for a weekend - especially in the lead up to Christmas.

But it has defintiely given us the bug to see more of Bavaria - as this side of Germany was truly captivating.

Enjoy the pics, and till next time...

---

Photos

Yum chocolate coated fruit
The coat everytype of fruit in chocolate - whole apples, bananas etc. I was hoping to see a whole pineapple