Beer: Proof God Wants Us To Be Happy


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Europe » Germany » Bavaria » Munich
January 1st 2011
Published: February 15th 2011
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Happy New Year to All !

We've been having a great time in Germany so far. Since we got into Munich, we've been busy walking the town, seeing the sights, and (more importantly) sampling the local brew. Needless to say, Munich rocks.

Aside from the cold, and the persistent grey skies, I can really see why Munich is often placed atop the list of places to live in Germany. It's clean, it's efficient, it's historic and accessible. And while the conversion of prices after the exchange rate isn't the best, I found it actually fairly reasonably priced, even in the most touristy of places: the Hofbräuhaus.

The world-famous Hofbräuhaus was the place that we met up with Rob and Rachael after a bit of planning mishap. I hate not having a cell phone in Europe. It makes meeting people a complete nightmare. Especially since the last time I had talked to my friends, they were unsure if they would be able to make their flight, given all the ridiculous snow storms the States have been experiencing so far this winter (and Europe, too, for that matter). Regardless, once we finally met up with them, we had an entertaining dinner at the Hofbräuhaus. We couldn't find a seat this time downstairs, so we took to the upper levels of the beast of a beer hall. We found a hall filled with long tables à la Hogwarts/Harry Potter and had our feast of bratwurst, pretzels and German potato salad there. It was great — and we were even provided with entertainment. The oompah band played, the whip brothers came out and a couple twirled around on stage. And of course there was yodeling and singing.

Most of our time was balanced between beer halls and walking around. And probably half the time we were seeing sights while going to a new beer hall, or seeing sights and finding a new beer hall. I really want to come back in warmer weather to be able to sit outside and enjoy a few liters (or more) in the sunlight.

Keith did complain a little bit about the lack of diverse beer options, and we did one night opt to go to an Irish pub. Each beer hall had their beer only, and it came in the original, wheat or dark. However, I liked that part about it. It was just like when we were in Dublin last year, and I enjoyed nothing but Irish beer. And it tasted better, at least in my mind, because we were in Ireland. (Guinness in Ireland, though, is VASTLY superior compared to Guinness in the States.) I'm usually not a big beer drinker, but I definitely drank the whole of my generous beer budget, and then some. When in Munich!

One of the highlights of our time in Munich was New Years Eve. We got a ticket at Loewenbraukeller for an all inclusive night party. The price was a little steep (99€) and the food was super fancy, yet between the atmosphere and the unlimited drinks it was worth the price of admissions.

New Years in Germany (and Austria) I've learned is something quite magical. At midnight, everybody was given champagne and sparklers. We made our way down to the dance floor a few minutes before midnight. As it got closer and closer, the band stopped play and the fireworks outside began to boom more and more. There was definitely a lot of action going on in the street. Soon everybody began lighting their sparklers as we counted down from ten. As the clock struck midnight, everybody cheered out, and toasted the new year. The the real magic started to happen. In the midst of hundreds of people holding sparklers, the band started to play the Blue Danube waltz and couples started to twirl around the dance floor. All the while, others were opening the huge windows and peering out to get a good look at the fireworks. I took my champagne, sparklers up to the second story to watch from a balcony, overlooking both the fireworks and the waltzing below. It was like something out of a fairy tale!

The party went on for several hours more, accompanied by a lot of dancing, polka-ing with strangers, and an incident involving my lost (and then recovered) passport. What a night!

When it was all said and done, our time in Munich was well spent. We visited most of the major Munich Beer Halls (Hacker-Pschorr will have to be sampled some other visit), met a lot of interesting people, tried to speak awesome German, and saw a great deal of awesome sights. We'll definitely come back, perhaps on a trip down the Romantic Road. Auf wiedersehen, for now, Munchen!!

[We were in Munich for several days, but I'm only posting one entry for the whole time. Check out all the pictures below... there are lots of pages!]


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15th February 2011

Awesome!
I'm glad you guys had such a great time in Munich! I just got home from there, I was living in Munich for about 4 months to improve my German and it really is an awesome city! It looks like you got to see all the best sites :) Safe travels - Johnny

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