Mat was invited to a digital libraries conference in Munich, so we decided to make a whole trip out of it! I’m excited to share all my fun photos with friends and family (who haven’t already seen most of this on Facebook). For a little over a week, we dove head first into Bavarian life, and managed to pack a lot of fun into our trip!
Day 1
On our first full day, we started in the Marienplatz (Munich’s main drag) and joined a walking tour. We learned a lot about Bavarian culture, food, history, and beer!
We witnessed the Glockenspiel doing its glorious thing:
We then had a leisurely lunch overlooking the Viktualienmarkt.
We toured the Residenz – a lovely palace where the Bavarian royals lived.
Mat is basic, so we found a Starbucks…
We took a quick stroll on the edge of the Englischer Garten, and then found a sports bar for dinner and World Cup watching.
Day 2
This was the first day of Mat’s conference, so I wandered the city by myself. It was revitalizing to just mosey along with no agenda, enjoying the sights and sounds of a new place.
I even got to witness the crazies surfing in the river!
We had a lovely dinner with Mat’s colleagues, and we got to witness a stunned, awkward, and thoroughly depressed city mourning Germany’s untimely exit from World Cup competition.
Day 3
This day was actually quite rainy, so I wasn’t really taking pictures. I used the day to catch up on sleep, and then wander from cafe to cafe sipping tea, nibbling pastries, and reading.
Day 4
This was the last day of Mat’s conference. Though the weather was still a bit iffy, I ventured out to visit Hellabrun Zoo. I managed to navigate the U-bahn (subway) by myself! The weather was a bit iffy, but it stayed mostly dry.
It was a really enjoyable zoo – the animals seemed happy and natural.
I found myself witnessing some epic sea lion drama! For some reason, they really spoke to me. I seriously spent about 30 minutes just enjoying the sea lions being their goofy selves.
In the evening, we visited a lovely beer garden on the edge of town, right next to a wildlife preserve. The deer came right up to the fence and we bought little pellets to feed them. They were absolutely fearless, and seriously adorable.
Day 5
We started the day with a tour of Dachau – one of the only concentration camps still standing. It was a devastating and soul-crushing experience, but it was necessary. It’s crucial that we recognize, acknowledge, and learn from even the most painful history.
We grabbed a long lunch and attempted to process our morning. We talked about what happened, and why. We contemplated how we can recognize and prevent something like this happening in the present/future.
To clear our minds, we ascended 300+ steps to the top of St. Peter’s church. We took in the panoramic views of the city, and even enjoyed the stylings of a random(?) brass quartet who showed up!
To end the day, we did some shopping in the Viktualienmarkt wandered to the Hofbrauhaus for drinks and a pretzel.
Day 6
We rented a car and drove (up to speeds of 160 km/hr on the Autobahn!) down to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, a lovely town in the Bavarian Alps. On our way down we stopped at the Linderhof castle. This is not *the* castle that everyone visits in Germany, but it is built by the same fabulous, eccentric, and ostentatious King Ludwig II. It was recommended to us by locals, and it was less crowded and more on the way for us. It was a beautiful castle with incredible grounds and walking trails and views that seemed to go on forever.
We checked into our charming B&B in GaPa, cracked open a bottle of Prosecco, and laid outside in our peaceful garden until the sun set.
Day 7
Today we went (almost) to the top of Germany. We took a cog train and a gondola up to the top of Germany’s tallest mountain, Zugspitze. We hiked around a bit on the year-round glaciers, enjoyed a meal in a mountaintop beer garden (of course), and watched people reach the summit. Unfortunately you needed alpine climbing equipment to get to the very tippy top, but we were able to get pretty close. It was incredibly cloudy at the top of the mountain, which gave it an ethereal feel.
After we descended, we took a hike around Lake Eibsee at the base of the mountain.
In the evening, we grabbed dinner at a local Italian restaurant because, as Mat put it, “This is the closest I’ve ever been to Italy.” The chef was super friendly and gave us free appetizers, and he wouldn’t let us leave until we did shots of his homemade schnapps!
Day 8
Our last day in Germany we didn’t have the greatest weather, so we didn’t get to do some of the hiking and sight-seeing we were planning on. But of course, we managed to make the most of it.
We stopped by a goat farm and enjoyed some goat’s milk ice cream. We even witnessed a goat stampede!
THE FOOD
OK, now what you’re all waiting for! We thoroughly enjoyed trying all of the Bavarian favorites, and were introduced to some delicious new foods.
There were, of course, the pretzels. They were big, buttery, doughy, and delicious, and they were everywhere!
On our first night, we jumped right in with Weisswurst, ofenfrischer schweinebraten, and I enjoyed the first pretzel (of probably a dozen) in Germany, with sweet mustard.
Maybe our favorite new dish was currywurst. It’s brats and fries smothered in a curry ketchup and topped with curry powder. Delish! We also discovered obatzda, a creamy cheese dip to dip your pretzels in.
There was schnitzel, of course.
And spatzle, the German version of mac ‘n cheese.
I didn’t really expect the breadth of desserts that we encountered. First there was germknodel – a doughball filled with fruit and topped with vanilla sauce.
Then we encountered kaiserschmarrn, the German version of pancakes, served with applesauce.
And of course there was apfelstrudel.
Everywhere we travel, we obviously need to scope out the ice cream situation. I’m pleased to say that we found that Munich/Bavaria fulfilled our needs, with ice cream and gelato shops abounding.
Probably our favorite was Der verrückte Eismacher (the crazy ice cream maker). We enjoyed flavors like Apple Pancake, Riesling, and Pear Parmesan.
The Takeaways
It’s probably an understatement to say that we thoroughly enjoyed visiting Germany. Munich is a friendly, quirky, exciting, and delicious city. The Alps were positively breathtaking.
One of the biggest culture shocks was how restaurants operate. It is quite different from the US. There’s no host(ess) to seat you, you just seat yourself. Waiters and waitresses don’t really work for tips, so they really only see you 3 times during your meal – once to take your order, once to bring the food, and once to bring the check. Speaking of the check, it seems to be a convention that you need to explicitly ask for the check. No one will just bring it to you – maybe they don’t want to hurry you. But it did make for a few awkward post-meal interactions until we figured it out! Also, if you order water, it’s going to be bubbly unless you specify that you’d like still water!
Another tip: when you’re walking down the sidewalk in Munich, look down. There’s a good chance you’re standing in the bike lane. Bikes are everywhere, and your husband may or may not have to violently pull you out of harm’s way on multiple occasions.
For fellow English-speakers: in the city, most people do speak English, or at least will be able to point you to someone who does. A lot of restaurants even had menus in English. Once you go outside of the city, it is more hit or miss. Either way, it can’t hurt to learn a few words of German before you head there, especially some of the food and the basic greetings, niceties, and such.
One of my least favorite observations: Everyone smokes!
One of my favorite observations: It seems that *everyone* there has a dog, and they bring them *everywhere*. This obviously pleases me greatly.
All in all, we had a terrific time, and it was totally worth spending every last hour of my PTO to make it happen!
Thanks for reading!
~J
Buffalo Chicken, Beagles, & Beyond 