After two uneventful flights we find ourselves in the beautiful capital of Bavaria, Munich. After meeting our tour manager, Julia, at the airport and dropping our bags at the hotel, we forced ourselves to take the short walk past the Hofbräuhaus to the Marienplatz, the heart of old Munich. On our first bit of free time in the city, I wandered over to the shady garden in the Viktualienmarkt, the old market square of Munich. I found my favorite bratwurst stand, grabed a beer and headed over to the traditional green benches and tables under the shade of the chestnut trees. This was the perfect beginning to our stay in Munich. I enjoy taking my time to eat in these outdoor venues, spending much of my time watching the locals savor their beer, pretzels with sweet mustard, and lively conversations with good friends and family. Bavarians are a very social people. While it is true that they drink more than their fair share of the world's beer, the beer serves as more of excuse to get together and enjoy the company of other people.
After my light liquid lunch I took a walk through Munich's famous English Gardens, a park bigger than Central Park in New York and Hyde Park in London. One of the more amusing spectacles in the English Garden is the group of surfers who ride a static wave in the Eisbach where it enters the park. I always run into groups of wide-eyed tourists from California or Hawai'i who can't believe that they have found an enclave of surfers in the middle of continental Europe. Of course, no trip to the English Garden would be complete without a stop at one of the beer gardens located in the park. This time I stopped at the garden underneath the Chinese Tower to enjoy a refreshing Radler. This half beer half lemon soda concotion is the perfect way to cool down after a brisk walk through the park. The atmosphere is even more laid back than at the Viktualienmarkt. Families and groups of friends bring their own table cloths and picnic lunches from home, grab a beer from the vendors, and enjoy a typically beautiful Bavarian summer afternoon. Prost!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
No comments:
Post a Comment