Munich at it's Best...and Worst!...

  Munich, Bavaria, Germany
Monday, October 6, 2008

Munich at it's Best...and Worst!...
My time in Munch Germany has come to an end as I leave for Salzburg Austria today. But before I go, I wanted to give you all a rundown of my time here in this great city...but since I am all about being fair, I'll give you the good stuff in addition to all the "dirt"!

hmmmm, where to begin? Well, since many of you reading this blog have quite diverse interests, I'll dedicate a section per type...so sit back (yes, that means get a beer) and relax (this means get a pretzel) and enjoy...

For the Cultural Fanatics:
Munich is a "young" city, when you look around, the majority of the people are between the ages of 17-35. Which seems to make this a vibrant and exciting place to be. The language spoken is German, but since English s taught in primary school, if you ask people if they can speak English most can to varying degrees (identical really to those of us Canadians with French as a second language...you will never hear us speak it unless requested by someone else or for work).

Munich is apparently the second most expensive city in Germany to live in, but doesn't seem to flaunt it. The people are very social and very kind. They are used to tourists but accept them with a smile and always seem so friendly.

Transportation is AMAZING! Subway, underground, trams, buses and trains are all so efficient and there are so may options.

Munich Subway...Crazy!!

The funny things is that Munich is not really that large, and you can walk to almost all the sites...so it's quite incredible that they have such an advanced transportation system. Now, the more plausible reason is that it is so freaking hard to understand how to navigate the streets...I got lost SEVERAL times walking, so using the underground was so much easier...hmmmm maybe if we made Ottawa streets hard to find and navigate, would the politicians finally agree on advancing our transportation system? ....yeah....I didn't really think so either...

For the Shopaholics & Fashionistas:
Shopping...shopping and more shopping...Yuck! Okay so those who know me well, know that I HATE shopping...I know, I'm apparently not a girl. lol Anyways, for those of you who love to shop (yes, Natalie...that's you) Munich is a shopping haven...tons...I mean tons of shops/boutiques with both American and European flavours. So what does this mean? Everyone here is dressed super fashionable, not as extreme as Paris, but a lower key type of fashion...

Want to know the new trend....? (of course you do!) Knee high boots a little loose (preferably brown - not Ughhs) with skinny jeans tucked inside. Interesting that the trend is no heal on the boot, but this could be due to the fact that Munich is full of cobblestones so it may just be the practical side of people here. ...Tops...layer with a black short trench with belt or a black bomber jacket with a hood. Black, black and more black...need I say more?

For the Foodies:
Cross Munich off your list right now...no foodie would ever survive....I mean for goodness sake...LARD is served on your plate looking like potatoes...."Crisco" on your plate? Hmmm sounds like an ugly  rap song. Boiled white sausage seems to be another popular option...did anyone say "floater"???!

Munich - Boiled Sausage Anyone?

On the upshot, there are fresh bakeries everywhere (think every third store) with pretzels, pastries and nutty concoctions... pun intended :-)

Now... I must do justice to the BRATWURST....The bratwurst is the bomb....and I met up with this great crazy Australian who shared my love for the stuff....just thinking about it makes me salivate...Alan do you know what time is???? Bratwurst time babe!

For the Alcoholics:
Munich lays claim to the origin of beer (although Belgium disputes this constantly). Munich also s well known for the largest beer brewery in the entire world. Most of the beer served in the top breweries are in LITRES....yep, that's right... forget the PINT...you order a LITRE (think of a pitcher all to yourself) ...LITRES my friends...that's where it's at!

Munich - 1 - Litres of Beer

What you may like best is that beer can be drank anywhere, anytime... yes that means out in the open on a street or you can even get it from the local vending machine!

Now, Oktoberfest deserves a mention all of it own...and in many ways this is both the best and worst that Munich has to offer. Think crazy partying, lots of singing and dancing, costumes, but mixed in with the expected bar fight, the lineups (ohhhhh the lineups) and of course the after effects of many LITRES of beer...the vomiting.

Munich - 2- Oktoberfest!

Oktoberfest is hard to describe other than saying that it is like the Canadian superEX times a factor of 50. The beer "tents" are not tents at all but similar to our indoor pavilions. The majority of native Germans (and some tourists too) get dressed up in traditional dress (ledderhosing for the guys and "maiden-like" dresses for the girls),

Munich - 3- How do you spell Leederhosen?

quite fun and very colourful. Anything goes at Oktoberfest...(expect drinking wine of course)! :-)  I experienced drinking on a Carousel Bar for the first time...picture the carousel sans horses and it turns while you drink! lol Only at Oktoberfest!

Octoberdest - Hippodrome Beer Tent

For the Romantics:
I had an encounter with the local police and it was stuff the great romance novels are made of....okay maybe in my dreams, but I did honestly meet a real policeman/detective  (he was undercover at the time) and he looked like a romance novel character (not that I read those of course!). Think, tall, muscular but trim, dark brown leather jacket, dark jeans, 1 day old scruff...yes, ladies quite the man to drool over....

Now, for the men (I know there are some of you jut as romantic as the ladies), German women dressed in costume give you a hint of what you're chances of scoring: Apron tied to the right = she's taken, apron tied to the left = she's available, apron tied in the front = a virgin, and apron tied in the back = means she's a widow.... 

Costumes Anyone??

 

Now, come'on if that's not romance, I don't know what is :-) lol


But of course, the most romantic element of all...the Castles... specifically the real castle that inspire Dysneyland's Cinderella Castle! 

Castle10

 
For the real Canadians:
Okay let's talk about weather (I mean seriously, you can't live in Canada and not discuss the weather at least once a day)... so as I mentioned in my earlier blog, it is damn cold here, yesterday I broke down and bought some mitts (no, Dad I will not be sporting a toque here...).

Whoever tells you that Germany is a dry cold is LYING! It was damp, raining and cold the first three days, today on the other hand is beautiful sunny but still cold :-) Okay, but here is the weird thing, no one here complains, the guys are walking around in tights, the girls in short sleeve dresses, but everyone is still smiling and no one seems to notice how damn cold it is...several of the Americans and Canadians I met, we all seem to agree that this phenomenon must because everyone here is actually drunk or high on pretzel / carb endorphins!

I mean, come'on, how can you not discuss the weather...what would we Canadians then do in elevators????!!!

So that's it folks, time for me to catch a train to Austria....

Prost,
L.