Twenty years after my last German class, I finally made it to Germany!! I had dreamed about this since high school and now sadly could not remember much of the German that I had learned. Luckily, everybody speaks really good English in Munich, so the pressure was off. I still was able to understand more than other foreign countries so that made me feel more comfortable settling in for the month and gave me a fun challenge to see how much I could remember/learn over the next few weeks. I also felt more at-home than in other foreign countries for a couple other reasons. First, it isn’t every day that you see your name in lights on the main square.
This sign was in Marienplatz right across from the famous Glockenspiel and the beautiful New Town Hall building.
On our first day touring the city, we started in this square and then wandered through the Viktualienmarkt to check out the food stands and the Maypole.
We had our first lunch next to the Viktualienmarkt at the Pschorr tavern and beergarden. Checking out the menu, I felt right at home again with lots of hearty meat and potatoes options, exactly what I was raised on growing up in the Midwest in a family of German and Norwegian descent. I enjoyed the roasted pork and potato dumpling, and Jimmy loved his veal ghoulash with spatzle.
Of course, the fried pork rind was a surprising and delicious addition that I wouldn’t find on my mom’s pork roast. As a side note, Jimmy and I both tried the traditional Bavarian Leberkase, literally means liver cheese, during our time in Munich. We both thought we were being quite adventurous. Although some liver is used in Leberkase, it also can include corned beef, pork, onions, and bacon. We both loved it and thought it tasted like fried bologna, and I ate fried bologna sandwiches all the time as a kid! This one came with a fried egg on top, so I will have to try that some day when we get back to the US. To make me feel even more like I was having a home-cooked meal with family, my Leberkase came with a side of potato salad that tasted just like the German potato salad that my Aunt Diane makes, which is the only style of potato salad that I will eat. So good! My Aunt Diane’s is still the best though!
Every time we visit a new country, we are pleasantly surprised with a new, delicious alcoholic beverage typical for the country/region. Our first trip to Italy, we discovered the Spritz. Our trip to France, we fell in love with Kir Royale. Here in Germany, and especially gearing up for Oktoberfest, I was nervous because I am not a fan of German beer. I wasn’t sure how I was going to party in the tents with everybody all day if I couldn’t drink the beer. I was so happy that our lunch at Pschorr gave me a surprising new “beer” beverage that I liked: the Radler. A Radler is simply the basic lager mixed with sparkling lemonade, similar to a shandy but better. The sweet and tart of the lemonade totally cancelled out the bitterness that I don’t like about most beers. I was now set with an awesome beverage to celebrate Oktoberfest and not feel left out.
My first Radler
Jimmy’s first beer of the trip
After filling up our bellies, we spent the afternoon touring the beautiful and very diverse churches in Munich.
Church of St. Peter – oldest church in the city
Frauenkirche – gothic cathedral and symbol of Munich
Asam church – 18th century church in the Rococo style (late Baroque)
St. Michael’s church – largest Renaissance church north of the Alps
Of course, for any place to feel more like home, you need some friends. We couldn’t believe that on our first weekend in Munich, my friend Ali just happened to be on vacation here!!
Visiting the famous Hofbrauhaus was much more enjoyable with friends to join in the party atmosphere and music from the Oompah band.
We had a great time catching up and sharing travel/moving stories. This was also my first-ever giant stein of beer, and the weight was a bit unexpected. I even struggled getting it up to my mouth for my first sip! How do these waiters and waitresses carry 6-12 of these at a time?!?! This was a great warm-up and training session for me. By the time I made it to Oktoberfest the following weekend, I was chugging liters of beer with the best of them!
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