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.