Beer has always been close to the Munchner’s heart. When King Ludwig tried to raise the price of beer, the citizens stormed the streets and breweries were burnt down. In 1995, when there was an attempt to close a beer garden at 9 pm by a court ruling, infuriated citizens stormed Marienplatz and the decision was reversed. In Bavaria, beer is officially deemed to be a staple food, like bread, and not alcohol. People drink the locally brewed varieties in the gardens, parks, restaurants, and on the streets. There are the pale golden Helles, the darker variants and the traditional wheat beers. The famous Bavarian purity law passed in 1516, which all the breweries were signatories to, decrees that beer should only contain water, barley and hops. Later, yeast was also allowed. Even today this holds good. We are at the famous Hofbrauhaus in Munich, with a 400-year-old history, cavernous rooms, and vaulted painted ceilings with decorative murals in Bavarian colours and musical themes. There are large family-style tables which you are expected to share. This beer hall was badly damaged in the World War II and reconstructed. This is the place where the first Nazi demonstration took place in 1920 and where Hitler survived an assassination attempt. We sit shoulder to shoulder quaffing the amber liquid — the smallest beer you can order is a litre. There are traditional white boiled sausages served with sweet mustard and pretzels and platters of food. There are buxom blondes with low-cut bodices juggling heavy beer steins as if they were weightless. Touristy it may be, with the Bavarian dance music, yodelers and cow bells, but a definite slice of local colour. What catches my eye in particular are the tables marked ‘Stammish’, marked for regulars. These regulars have little cage-like racks on the walls where they keep their personal beer steins locked up! There’s a German word, gemütlich, which means warm and congenial. It also describes places and things that bring pleasure. Munich was for me a ‘gemütlich experience’. The Germans call this city ‘the world’s largest village’. Munich does feel small in spite of its population of 1.5 million. It’s pedestrian and bike friendly and no buildings can be taller than St Peter’s spires! Munich was heavily bombed during the Second World War and had to choose between radical modernisation or restoration; they opted to re-create meticulously the medieval facades, steeples and spires. Today, Munich is considered one of the most liveable cities with its efficient public transport systems, green spaces, pedestrian-only streets and low crime rates. Where does one begin? Marienplatz with its ornate Old Town hall and the Neo Gothic new Town hall wins hands down. There are outdoor cafes, a parade of street musicians and mimes, a gargantuan Hugen Dubet Bookshop which calls for unlimited browsing and a cheesy glockenspiel — a 100 year clock that re-creates a royal wedding from the 16th century and a dance to celebrate the end of the Black Plague. From the 80-metre-high tower of the New Town hall reached by an elevator, we get our best views of the city. The oldest church in town, St Peters, with its unusual, exotic, green domes, is only a few steps from Marienplatz. It is believed to occupy the site settled by the monks who gave this Bavarian capital its name: Munchen or Monk. Shopping seems to be a major pastime for the locals — the designer stores are omnipresent alongside chain stores. The main shopping mile, Maxmilianstrasse, is the German Champs Elysees packed with elegant fashion boutiques and also art galleries. Chic women with designer dogs and svelte teenagers in their tight tees make for an impromptu catwalk.
Our vote however goes to the atmospheric Victual market — an outdoor food market with a village feel and even a gargantuan blue and white striped maypole (whose theme is, but of course, the breweries and the golden liquid). The city’s six largest breweries share the beer garden, supplying beer in turns. Six fountains adorn the garden, each a representation of a popular Munich actor or singer. Men in dapper suits, housewives, and local students all pick up their huge steins of beer and eat the food of their choice under the chestnut trees. Locals say that the market is expensive though and more suitable for food stylists! From local colour to imperial splendour. The fortress-like Residenz was the residence of the Wittelsbach family which ruled Munich for many centuries. Ornate courtyards, chapels and sprawling rooms, the Residenz is a slice of the fine things of life. The long Antiquarium here totally wows me with its allegorical paintings, busts and the dining table where guests of state were wined and dined. The Grotto court is a courtyard with a statue of Perseus and Medusa. It looks like it was a part of an ocean floor made from thousands of sea shells and crystals. But the piece de résistance here is the Treasury. It’s more like a private collection of treasures in intimate small rooms — Duke Albrecht V had made a provision in his will that the treasures collected by him would not be sold, and this was the beginning of the Treasury. There are jewel-encrusted crowns, jewels, exquisite mobile altar pieces like folded books which provided people with a mass wherever they travelled, a compact travel kit that belonged to a French princess, stone studded ivory crosses and, bejewelled daggers, all which make for a mesmerising morning. The Nymphenburg palace, a Baroque extravaganza, was the summer palace of the Bavarian rulers. This rivals the Palace of Versailles with its lavishly decorated buildings, sprawling manicured gardens and ponds with swans. The gallery of beauties is where King Ludwig had 36 portraits done of the most beautiful women of his time. These are not all the women of his court — there’s even a cobbler’s daughter and a freedom fighter’s. It includes a portrait of his mistress Lola who was ultimately the cause of his falling from grace. There is also the Royal Stables Museum which displays the carriage ordered by King Ludwig II for a marriage that never happened. We hear that after the marriage was called off, the king decked it with lights and bells and took joy rides in it! From a baroque world to the other end of the spectrum — a modern world of technological innovations. The BMW Museum and the new Welt are situated in a wondrous sea of green Olympia Park built for the Olympics. Residents cycle, jog and use this oasis in the city to get a breath of fresh air. We see the distinctive four-cylinder building of the BMW headquarters and the bowl-shaped museum. Did you know that BMW stands for Bavaria Motor Works? You can sit on cars and motorcycles, twist, steer and fiddle with the many hands-on exhibits that the museum has. At the spanking new BMW Welt, there’s a huge restaurant, a shop selling BMW merchandise where you can also book your new car and drive it out. We finish the day at another beer hall: when in Munich do what Munchners do.
The writer is a Japanese language specialist and travel writer based in Chennai.
kalpana_63@hotmail.com