Our time in Munich was full-on. We find a 'free walking tour' an excellent introduction to any new city so true to form, we joined a rather large group at 10am on Marienplatz, the heart of Munich, to be informed. We admired the Rathaus-Glockenspiel before heading through the medieval centre, passing by the impressive Frauenkirche, whose twin towers dominate the city's skyline. Other highlights included the buzzy Viktualienmarkt, the flashy Maximilianstrasse, and the rowdy Hofbrauhaus. We heard tales of the Bavarian royal family, the turbulent twentieth century and the early days of the Nazi party, including Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch and Kristallnacht. Of particular interest at this time of year was the history of Oktoberfest.
The Oktoberfest is an important part of Bavarian culture having been held since 1810, when the citizens of Munich were invited to attend the festivities of the marriage between Kronprinz Ludwig and Princess Therese
. This festival was held on the fields in front of the city gates and subsequently named Theresienwiese ('Theresa's Meadow') in honour of the Crown Princess. The party goers enjoyed celebrating so much that they lobbied for a repeat of the revelry in 1811, launching what is now essentially the annual Oktoberfest tradition.
Of course, we timed our visit in line with the merriment and spent a day on the 'Wiesn' with David, who joined us from Salzburg and Philipp, a Muenchner, who Sam worked with on a mango farm in Australia. Chris, his flatmate also joined us. After a late breakfast of Weisswuerst and Weissbier at Philipp's, we soon found ourselves seated in the Hacker-Festhalle with a cold 'Mass' in hand, surrounded by clouds, Lederhosen and Dirndls, giant Brezeln and an increasingly well-oiled international community. Philipp was delighted that we scored a spot on a table close to the band who played rousing sing-a-long renditions, including 'Ein Prosit der Gemuetlichkeit', a quick compulsory drinking and 'prosting' song which we must have heard 100 times during our stay
. Other popular songs included '99 Luftballons', John Denver's 'Country Road' and the catchy 'Fliegerlied' with its ridiculously choreographed dance. After five hours of dancing on the benches, we felt we were truly in a 'Bavarian Heaven'. Good times.
At the end of the 'free walking tour' we climbed the 299 steps to the top of the tower of St Peter's church for a splendid panoramic view of Munich's centre. After a quick Wuerst at the Viktualienmarkt, we met Florian who took us to the Augustinerbrau for some pre-match beers, before heading out to the Allianz-Arena for the evening's match between Bayern and Hertha Berlin, which the home side won 3-0. Watching football in Germany is a highly enjoyable and efficient (of course) experience with beer being allowed to seats and decent standard stadium food and drink outlets being open well after the game has finished.
In a slightly delicate state on our final day, we headed to the Olympiapark for a wander around the famous old stadium, scene of Deutschland 1 - 5 England in 2001, and the very pleasant grounds of the park.
Munich is a terrific city, but with our limited time here we realised we had left much still to discover. Auf wiedersehen!
Oktoberfest!
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
Munich, Bavaria, Germany
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2025-02-06