Munich: Days 5 and 6

We came into the city early one day to have breakfast. Bavaria is famous for their weisswurst, or white sausage. It is a delicate veal sausage made with parsley and lemon, served boiled. We had some time to kill, however, as most places only open for "second breakfast" (and another reason why I love German culture...2 breakfasts! Also, 2nd breakfast is normally served with a beer) around 10 a.m. We wandered the market and some side streets, ate a pretzel in the morning sun until we could sit down. 

Side streets near the market. 

After 2nd breakfast, we took a long walk along the green Isar River and then cut over into the Englisch Garten. 

We found another beer garden there overlooking Lake Kleinhesseloher. 

Our last day in Munich we visited one final church; the Church of the Holy Spirit. It's a pint-sized church in comparison to the rest, but has a unique style and is jaw-droppingly ornate inside. 

At the inside entrance of the church are these haunting figures: Death cutting the cord of Life. 

A feast for the eyes. One could stand in this church for hours and still not see every detail. 

We had read about the Bavarian sense of humor and warmth, but hadn't experienced it personally yet that week. With only a few hours left before heading to the airport, we stopped back at Schneider Weiss for one (or two) last hopped beers. We took the two open seats at this table where these gentleman were already seated. I leaned over and asked the older gentleman if he spoke any English. That's all it took to get an hour of entertainment from these "Bavarian Boys" (as they referred to themselves), old drinking buddies.

Me with Bernd. Quite a character.

Our train ride to the airport. Rain began to fall just as we boarded the train, closing out a week-long gap of sun and warmth in the Springtime in Bavaria. 

Munich: Day 4

At the end of another line is another lake, Lake Starnberger. This is a large and clear lake with a quaint town attached. 

Hard to see in the bright morning light, but the Alps are visible on the horizon. 

The central plaza of Starnberg. A traveling market set up shop there for the morning. And yes, your eyes are not deceiving you, that is a tuk-tuk espresso stand. 

We headed back to Munich for the afternoon. Inside the Church of Our Lady, each window is decorated with vibrant stained glass. 

Marking another brewery off the list: Augustiner. Augustiner is located on the pedestrian street in central Munich. Although the inside of the brewery has that cozy beer hall feel, we opted to people watch on the patio out front. 

Augustiner's starkbier: Maximator. It was some good stuff, one of our top favorite brews. 

After Augustiner we crossed another brewery off the list: Lowenbrau. Starkbierzeit was pretty low key around most of the city, except for Paulaner and here at Lowenbrau. We heard that there were feats of strength competitions held here, but we must have missed them as were hit the tail end of the festival. 

There is no doubt that Germans love meat. In front of the brewery was this train car-sized rotisseri that held a whole cow. 

After Lowenbrau we swung back through the Viktualenmarket to pick up dinner, only to find it swamped on a pleasant Spring Friday evening. 

One of the olive stands at the market. 

Munich: Day 3

"The best beer in the world" is a pretty large claim, but someone has to claim it, right? Well, it turns out that the "best beer in the world" is brewed (surprise surprise) just outside of Munich. A train ride that begins in the urban center but soon sails through suburban towns separated by agricultural fields meets the end of the line in Herrsching. Herrsching is seated on the shores of Lake Ammer with views of the Alps. Follow the small green and white signs through the side streets and back streets of town until you hit the "Nordic Walking Path". Once on the path, enjoy the scenery and friendly walkers you pass until (about 4 kms later) you see the bell tower of Andechs Monestary and Brewery; maker of the best beer in the world. 

A lovely day for a walk. 

Spring has sprung. Tiny purple flowers carpeted the banks along the trail. 

Nic is thirsty. 

A beautiful sight: the bell tower. 

The church and tower from the entrance of the brewery. 

This man takes a breather from the beer hall in the courtyard. 

Entrance to the brewery. 

Inside the brewery: typical dark wood with lots of windows. 

A lederhosen-clad local wanders the passages around the monastery. 

The entrance to the church and bell tower. 

Signs of life in the cobbles.

Although the church was small, it was stunning. 

A view of the next town over from the plaza. 

The backside of the brewery as seen from the beer garden. 

Another great thing about visiting this time of year is that nothing was crowded. By the end of the afternoon at Andechs, we had the place to ourselves. 

Big beer, little beer. 

Happy Nic. 

Munich: Day 2

Breakfast: bread, cheese, hard boiled egg, apples, coffee for me, hefe for Nic. 

We took advantage of a perfectly clear morning to climb the bell tower of Alte Peter (Old Peter) Church for a view of the city. 

The way down. 

The way out. 

Alte Peter's tower at left. 

One of the few beer gardens at the Viktualenmarket. Again, a gentleman enjoys the morning with a light brew before starting his day. 

More butcheries in the market. 

Schnopps. 

The market was loaded with all sorts of Spring-y paraphernalia: brilliant yellow daffodils, moss-covered wreaths, pastel-painted Easter eggs, baby animals carved from wood wearing bright ribbons around their necks, and endless varieties of pussy willow branches. It was lovely. 

The Englischer Garten. Comparable to Central Park, a huge expanse of natural and landscaped land along the Isar River, and right in the middle of Munich. 

And what park in Munich is complete without a beer garden (or 3 or 4)? The Chinese Tower is one of the more iconic beer gardens in the park. 

We bought our picnic at the Viktualenmarket and hoofed it to the Chinese Tower, rewarding ourselves with a few brews. Lunch was bread, cheese and red pepper spread and sheep cheese-stuffed green olives. Not a bad afternoon at all. 

After lunch we crossed the park to the "hip" part of town, Schwabing. 

A beautiful and somehow simple, despite the elaborate carvings, church. 

The outside of this church is a deep mustard yellow, adding to the contrast and impact after stepping inside. 

In case I haven't mentioned, we traveled to Munich largely because we wanted to sample the brews of Starkbierzeit; Strong Ale Fest. These strong ales were traditionally brewed by fasting monks during Lent. They loaded their brew with lots of extra ingredients for the calories, and all those extra ingredients also boosted the alcohol content. Local breweries still continue the tradition, brewing a strong ale for the Spring that is named something with the suffix -ator (e.g. Salvator, Triumphator, Maximator). Paulaner Brewery was supposedly the first to begin marketing their strong ale back in the day, and other breweries followed suit. Today, when you visit the Paulaner Brewery during Starkbierzeit it is like a tiny Oktoberfest. There is a fee for admission, a fee to check your bag, and a large fee for the beer. Even on the sunny afternoon when we visited Paulaner, everyone was inside the hall and the sound of merriment prevailed over the oompah band on stage. 

The beer hall was decorated in evergreen boughs and ribbons.

Inside the Paulaner Brewery, another tradition stays alive: lederhosen. The majority of men, maybe even up to 3/4 of them were dressed in it. Young and old. Many woman wore dirndl as well (not just the waitresses). It was neat to see the Bavarian pride. 

Old posters of Salvator advertisements adorned the walls around the beer hall.