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Beer, BMWs and beauty  MALCOLM
ROGERS visits the capital of Bavaria and discovers a right royal Irish
link.
She was born in Co. Sligo in 1818 and baptised at St. Peter’s Church
in Liverpool on February 16, 1823. Christened Elizabeth Rosanna Gilbert,
she became known as Lola Montez, famous as an exotic dancer, courtesan
and the mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria.
Her name lives on in Bavaria where rumours and legends about her still
abound.
Maybe the Muncheners need Lola. Because, for such a stylish, fairytale
city, Munich has distinctly unromantic origins.
It came about through an unseemly squabble between two feudal rulers.
In a story with more twists to it than the average Irish business deal,
the right to impose tolls on traffic using the old salt road between Salzburg
and Augsburg resulted in a community establishing on the banks of the
Isar River.
This was near a Benedictine community — Zu den Munchen — the
site of the little monks.
From these prosaic beginnings the capital of Bavaria developed.
Today top architecture, high culture and strong beer — against a
backdrop of the Alps — make Munich officially the most livable city
in the world.
In a recent survey the Bavarian capital saw off Vancouver, Sydney, Copenhagen
and Dublin because of its quality of life, high standard of housing, low
crime, liberal politics and a general feeling of gemutlichkeit (German
for craic).
The visitor can share in some of these Teutonic treats, not least the
70 or so art galleries, 40 museums, 56 theatres and opera houses and three
large orchestras.
In this corner of Germany the avant garde co-exists seamlessly with hearty
eating and drinking.
It’s not all cuisine and culture, however. History clings to your
clothes like burrs. You’ll see where Hitler, Mussolini and Chamberlain
signed the treaty which guaranteed ‘peace in our time’.
You’ll also see der Fuhrer’s old stomping ground — and
nobody could stomp better than him. Munich held a special place in the
Nazi affections, remaining the spiritual capital of the Third Reich until
its demise. Scars of that period are still etched in the very architecture
of the city.
Before the Second World War Munich was home to 11,000 Jews. All of them
perished in the Holocaust.
Today the city is home once again to about the same number of Jews —
but mostly from Russia and other parts of eastern Europe.
A new synagogue on St. Jakobs-Platz, about five minutes from Marienplatz,
stands beside the Munich Jewish Museum. This moving place reflects the
whole spectrum of the city’s Jewish history and culture.
 Munching
in Munich
The Isar meanders through Munich, the green mountain river flowing past
baroque squares and boulevards, edgy art galleries and raucous beer cellars.
The city is home to the world’s biggest drinking binge, the annual
Oktoberfest www.oktober.fest.de/en which somewhat confusingly takes place
mostly in September.
Presumably October is kept for the Not-Feeling-So-Well-Festival.
The city is a centre of excellence for every type of food-to-go.
Big-fisted snacks too — schmalzgebaeck (deep fried cakes), weisswurst
(breakfast sausage) or schweinsbraten (roasted pork). Hearty, and dedicated
to waistline expansion.
Eating out is relatively cheap. Even on Mairienplatz — the centre
of tourist Munich — it’s possible to eat high on hog (or the
trout) for well under ?20 for a three courser.
For a good, cheap lunch menu try the Ratskeller, Am Marienplatz 8.
The menu carries pictures of the dishes, usually a very bad sign. But
meat dishes are a speciality, seafood a delight — from bovine brilliance
to hardcore prawn.
At the other end of the scale Munich’s classiest restaurant, Tantris,
Johann-Fichte-Strasse 7, stands in the old bohemian area of the city.
The restaurant is the proud bearer of two Michelin stars. The fish here
are so fresh they still look surprised.
A three course lunch will set you back ?65 and will be served by waiters
who all look like Jacques Chirac.
An eight course evening dinner currently costs ?140.
This being Middle Europe, café society is still going strong. The
most frequented establishment is Café Glockenspiel, overlooking
Marienplatz.
A crowd gathers here every day to watch the miniature tournament staged
on the clock face of the City Hall.
Any foodie worth his or her (freshly milled rock) salt will want to visit
the farmers’ market in the centre, the Viktualienmarkt.
For a snack here pop into the Schmalznude. Specialising in the epic (and
eponymous) schmalznudel — Bavaria’s highly-recommended version
of the doughnut — it goes well with coffee or a glass of sekt, the
elegant Teutonic cousin of champagne.
You’ll then be nicely set-up to sample Munich’s prime product
— beer.
With seven breweries, the world famous bierkellar, the Hofbrauhaus and
the Oktoberfest, Munich is one of the world’s remaining beer superpowers.
If you just want to put in some practical research, don your white lab
coat and head for Hofbraukeller am Wiener Platz — a typical Munich
bierkellar with great biergarten, also serving hearty fodder such as schnitzels
for under ?5.
A brush with greatness
Munich’s art galleries offer everything from Old Masters to Caspar
David Friedrich — the man whose desolate painting Woman Observing
The Moon inspired Samuel Beckett’s Waiting For Godot.
If you’ve only time for one morning of art — see the Monet
and run, type of thing — head for Bareer Strasse where three galleries
jostle for space.
Alte Pinakothek is one of Europe’s most significant collections,
boasting more than 800 masterpieces from the art world’s celebrity
A-listers — Durer, Rembrandt, Rubens and Leonardo da Vinci.
Close by is the Neue Pinakothek with European paintings from the 19th
century (French impressionists, art nouveau etc).
Completing the trio of galleries is the Pinakothek Modern with paintings
from the 20th and 21st centuries.
It’s sometimes said that these modern art oil paintings —
well they’re no oil paintings. Go along and judge for yourself.
At the other end of the artistic scale, the gigantic Allianz Arena was
built for the Word Cup 2006.
Two local clubs use it now — FC Bayern Munchen and TSV 1860 Munchen.
This temple to footie is open to the public for daily excursions besucher@allianz-aren.de
The other sporting must-see is the Olympiapark, constructed for the blighted
1972 Summer Olympics. Tours are conducted daily.
Mooching round Munich
Transport is in the lifeblood of Munich. The home of BMW, their museum
stands next to the four cylinder BMW tower dominating Munich’s northern
skyline.
For a factory tour reserve places on www.bmw-werk-muenchen.de
Munich was also where Rudolf Diesel developed his eponymous engine. Poor
Mr Diesel may have been a genius at motoring in Munich but water wasn’t
his thing really — he was drowned on a ferry crossing.
Getting round Munich is easy and fairly cheap.
U-Bahn (underground), S-Bahn (railway), tram and bus are all stereotypically
super-efficient.
You might prefer to join the biking hordes. With over 200km of cycle trails
through this elegant city, one terrific option is pedal power. The Call-A-Bike
system, run by Deutsche Bahn (national rail service) requires you to register
with www.callabike.de for payment.
Then it’s merely online to on-saddle. Spot an available bike anywhere
in the city, make your journey and fin de cycle you’ll be billed
accordingly. As easy as falling off a bicycle. |
