München: A Maß of Beer is a lot of Beer!

At the Hofbrauhaus

This past weekend, July brought me to München (Munich), where I got to learn that a Maß (Liter) of beer is a lot of beer, and I got the full experience of what it really means to drink from a very heavy beer mug!  After visiting Frankfurt, Germany several times in the past year for work, I decided the beer lover that I am should finally make a pilgrimage to the beer capital of the world: Munich!  No beer boondoggle would be complete without an accomplice, and of course, I had to ask my good friend, Lisa, to come along with me as my beer partner-in-crime for a weekend in Munich.  If there’s anyone out there who could possibly love beer as much as me (or maybe even more than me, which is hard to imagine possible), it would be Lisa.....So, if I were to summarize Munich, it would be as follows….

First, the historic sights and ornate architecture of the city.  Prior to the trip, I made sure to research all the top sights around Munich and while we weren’t able to squeeze in everything in a weekend, we managed to see a lot (albeit via lots of walking and getting well-acquainted with the public transit system).

 

Site of Oktoberfest Grounds

Second, would definitely have to be the Biergartens, of course!  From the get go, this was my primary purpose of paying a visit to Munich, and it’s definitely an experience that no other city can offer.  There are so many Biergartens all over Munich, and we managed to make it to four of the most popular Biergartens.  Each one offered a unique experience, but they all shared the same buzz amongst the crowds and a sense emulating from everyone that it’s okay to indulge in beer and food.  With the communal tables and self-service food stations, everything was just about the simple way of life.

Chinesischer Turm

Hofbrauhaus

Hirschgarten

Augustiner-Keller

Speaking of food, that is worth of its own category.  I had heard a lot about Bavarian food via colleagues and through books, but nothing can prepare you for how heavy it really is.  An iconic dish of Munich is the "Schweinshaxe" (a.k.a. pork knuckle) -- it's this huge piece of pork from a portion of the pig's leg.  They offer it at all the Biergartens, and picking at just one knuckle was enough to have Lisa and I feel like we were on meat-overload the whole weekend.  We were both a bit disappointed that the city didn't offer more variety of food other than heavy meats and potatoes.  

 

 

With beer gardens, there's of course beer - lots and lots of it.  I came to Munich looking for beer:  mission accomplished.  I'll always remember the gigantic Maß beer mugs and how I could barely even grasp one without my arms hurting.  And, I’ll never forget the sense of “accomplishment” after emptying one of those Liter glasses.  I still can’t believe all the empty mugs us two tiny Asian girls were able to go through….

 

 

Last, but not least, probably the best part of the weekend was just being able to enjoy good beer in the good company of one of my best friends….So, while the food lacked variety, the tourist sights a little exhausting to get to, and encounters with some not-so-hospitable locals, the beer and the presence of a near-and-dear friend more than compensated for the shortcomings.  And, for that, I’ll always have fond memories of my weekend spent in München….Cheers!