Munchen

After a night at the opera and a mini adventure to Gaga’s Romanian bar, Kiley and I woke up at 5 AM for our weekend trip to Munich. We left the Westbahnhof and changed trains in Salzburg, then headed off to Munich. The European railway system is so convenient and efficient, one cal literally travel all over Europe just by taking the train. Its super easy and we ran into no difficulties despite not speaking German.
We arrived in Munich at around noon at the Hauptbahnhof or main station. It was massive and a lot like a miniature airport. There were souvenir shops and many fast dining options. There were about 30 platforms where trains arrived from all over Germany and Europe. After arriving, we headed out for lunch and I soon saw that Germany had as many if not more Kebap and Doner stands than Vienna.
After lunch we checked in our 40-person room at Jaeger’s (Hunter’s) Hostel. This was my first hostel experience and it was pretty horrific. Imagine 20 bunk beds 40 travelers in a small room sharing 2 bathrooms, not to mention there was a 40-person room next door and their bathrooms were not working, so they had to come and use our bathroom. I probably took the fastest shower of my life in the most crowded, uncomfortable, and un-private bathroom. I’m glad we did stay there because we met many travelers from all over: New Zealand, Austrilia, Portugal, England, and even someone who goes to UC Davis.
After checking in, we headed to the Olympic Stadium, which they converted to an amazing park and carnival much like the Prater and Donau Insel rolled into one. The different stadiums were all built in a strange, but cool wave0like look. Each of the different buildings: the main stadium, track and field arena, and swimming pool surrounded a lake with many walking and biking paths and beautiful green grass. We tired to find the apartments of the athletes where the 12 Israelis were murdered during the Munich Olympics, but were unable to do so.
Afterwards we headed to the Hofbrauhaus in Marienplatz, the center of town, the most famous, traditional, and touristy beer hall and garden in Munich and maybe all of Bavaria. It is only proper that we visit because the Bavarians love their beer. It is an integral part of their history and culture. The Hofbrauhaus has about 400 years worth of history. It was founded in 1589, just 73 years after Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria, created a brewing order of Bavaria, in which only four things were allowed to be put into beer: water, hops, barley, and yeast. The Bavarians are not allowed to put any preservatives or unnatural items into their beer, perhaps that is why its so good. They hold this standard to their beers even until today. Originally the Hofbrauhaus was only for the nobility and aristocrats, until 1828 when King Ludwig I declared the Hofbrauhaus a public beerhall.
Today the Hfbrauhaus features men dressed in Lederhosen and women in beer maid outfits. It is an enormous beer hall of 11,000 square meters and many rows of benches and tables. They serve 6 beers all in 1 L glasses: Hofbrau Dunkel, Hofbrau Original, Munchner Weisse, Radler, Dunkles Radler, and Russ’n. They also serve a selection of traditional Bavarian eats: sauerkraut, bratwurst, weisswurst, spatzel, and pretzels. It was a good experience to drink beer and eat a pretzel among locals and many tourists, listening to the traditional Bavarian music and old men siging drinking songs.
After visiting the Hofbrauhaus, we went to the English Gardens for a beer garden experience, by the Chineses Tower. Surrounded by trees and green grass there is a tower made of wood and straw that does not look Chinese at all, called the Chinese Tower. There are people playing traditional Bavarian music dressed in Lederhosen and hundreds of people drinking beers and eating wursts outside. This place seemed less toursity and more a local place to hangout, meet a friend, and grab a beer.
After the English Gardens, we returned to the hostel and talked to fellow travelers to end our first day in Munich.