Munich has always been appealing to us, but had proven to be evasive. We had connected through Munich on a number of occasions on previous trips, but never had the chance to get out of the airport to explore the city and to enjoy some of the best libations in the world. Our trip to Croatia, connecting through Munich, was the perfect opportunity to change that.
Munich was about extending our layover. It was about seeing and doing as much as possible within a weekend. The clock starting ticking as soon as we stepped off of the plane early on Saturday, September 6, 2014.
We stayed at the Vi Vadi Hotel, which conveniently was a 5 minute walk to the train station where both of our tours would start. Our first tour was the Munich Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour. This tour was perfect because we were able to see and learn about most of the main attractions in a short period of time. Some of the attractions included: Hauptbahnhof, Pinakotheken, Odeonsplatz, Max-Joseph-Platz, Marienplatz, Karlsplatz, etc. We tried our best to capture the experience with our GoPro, but the battery died midway through the tour. Check out the video below.
After a really nice orientation of the city, it was time to turn to something we do best and enjoy some good Bavarian beers and eat some good German food. We were excited about our tour, the Bavarian Beer and Food Evening Tour, and what it had to offer. Our tour’s meeting point was in the train station. There we were greeted by our tour guide who came bearing the gift of Lagerbier Hell from Augustiner-Bräu Wagner. This was a smooth and very refreshing beer. It has a 3.7 average rating on Untappd.
Lagerbier Hell from Augustiner-Bräu Wagner
Our first stop on the tour was at the Bier- Und Oktoberfestmuseum. Here we learned about the history of beers and breweries in Munich, as well as the history of Oktoberfest. We also had the chance to sample three varieties of beers offered in Munich alongside tasty German pretzels. We learned that that the pretzel loop is meant to resemble arms crossing the chest as was done during prayers.
Bier- Und Oktoberfestmuseum
Our second stop took us to the Hofbräukeller restaurant. This was a nice restaurant, which was not overrun by tourists, as tourists prefer to go to Hofbräuhaus. We all sat at a large round table. On top of the tables there were several 1 liter glass steins, which we all thought were ours to be filled upon our beer order. However, we soon came to find out that these mugs were strategically placed to support the platters of food that were brought out.
Hofbräukeller
The food platter was delicious. Along with pretzels, we enjoyed a variety of cheeses, hams, sausages, cabbages, and spreads. They also brought out Weisswurst, which is a Bavarian white sausage made out of veal. The food and the beer hit the spot.
German Food Sample Platter
After dinner we headed to Hofbräuhaus, which was our last stop on the tour. Upon walking in we were stunned at how big this beer hall is. It is said that 1300 patrons can be accommodated and it sure felt like there were 1300 patrons enjoying some libations. In retrospect, we were glad to have had dinner at Hofbräukeller than here. It was definitely not as hectic and because there were significantly less patrons, the service was much better.
Hofbräuhaus
Speaking of service, it was very impressive to see the waitresses holding a total of 12 liters of beer after every bar run. They would strategically hold 6 liters in each hand. To put this into perspective, one liter of water weighs roughly 2.2 pounds and the average weight for one one stein is roughly 3.3 pounds. Thus, 5.5 lbs. x 12 beers = 66 lbs! That is the equivalent of holding a 30+ dumbbell in each hand while dodging patrons and preventing any beer from spilling.
All in all, extending the layover was well worth it. We definitely got a good feel for what Munich had to offer in the small amount of time that we were in the city. We will be back at some point or another as Oktoberfest is still on our bucket list.
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