Craziest beer hall in Munich: Hofbrauhaus (must visit!)
For first-timers in Munich, there is only one beer hall and garden to visit first: The Hofbrauhaus. This is the iconic beer hall in the city, and one of the oldest. It is the pinnacle of touristy but it is one of those must-sees and must-visits.
Stepping inside the Hofbrauhaus hall, I was quickly engulfed in this thick, gummy and stinky cloud of beer smelling air that made me literally stop on my tracks. It made me really think twice if I should further go inside or not. The stink of beer, sweat and boiled pork was that bad. Eventually I found myself weaving through the human traffic and looking for a place to sit down.
Stunning vaulted ceiling of Hofbrauhaus
The Hofbrauhaus is basically a beer hall and restaurant with celebrity status, even for the locals coming from other parts of the country say that first timers to the city must be inducted here. I happen to sit together with a group of locals from Northern Germany while I had my not-so-pleasant oink-oink dinner. Although the beer was great and the atmosphere – how shall I say it nicely? Umm, crazy. The vaulted ceiling however was stunning. This particularly, a lovely work of fine art was enough attraction for me and I could just sit there staring at the beautiful ceiling for half an hour.
One of the girls was very friendly and made small talk. She was quite ashamed of all the traditional dressing up (a number of local guests came in traditional outfits) and felt the need to defend herself and the rest of Germany.
In a slightly higher pitched voice, so I could hear her from the pulsating noise that seems to blend perfectly with the chatter, shouts, banging and music altogether, she explained, ‘This only happens in Munich!’. And she followed up with, ‘We do not dress up in lederhosen and dirndl, only here!’
My souvenir, a short video of Hofbrauhaus.
The group asked me where I am from and I told them I live in the Netherlands. They never followed up with a question – But where exactly you are from? Where were you born? Or, you don’t seem to look like Dutch? Yes, I have had many different types of questions thrown at me about my ethnicity. I don’t really mind it. It is a valid question anyway. Most of the times I say – I live in the Netherlands but I was born in the Philippines. Some days when I am tired and bitchy I just say – Netherlands.
Not-so-pleasant Oinky dinner
I blame myself for ordering this after seeing on the menu: Suckling pig, roasted to a crisp. Not really a fan of meat, especially pork, I thought -- OK, at least it is roasted to a crisp, and well, I have this penchant as well of ordering local food. Big mistake.
The food came and instead of seeing a roasted meat, the suckling pig looked like it was boiled.
I was hungry and I really tried to finish it! Note to myself: Do not do this again.
However though, the beer was very good. I forgot the name but it was one of those few options on the menu other than a pint (which I could not finish anyway, thus this glass of beer instead).
A woman alone is always an easy male target
Because I was alone in the beer hall, and being a woman, and obviously I do not look awfully ugly to be ignored, I am naturally a male’s target. I’ve had my fair share of guys trying to get my attention and they were pretty much easy to dismiss, except for this young German guy who interestingly looked like Ashton Kutcher. He followed me around relentlessly, even when I was outside leaving the building and the area.
Worried that he might follow me further, I confronted Ashton Kutcher look-alike, ‘Ich spreche keine Deutsch!‘ followed by a series of NEIN, NEIN, NEIN at his every attempt of response.
Well, the boy just stood there in front of me, smiling helplessly, like a lost little harmless puppy. At this point I was overshadowed with embarrassment, and was a little bit overwhelmed (in a humurous way) because this boy is almost half my age? WTF. I could be your mummy kid!
Well, he looked like he had too much to drink so I give him the benefit of the doubt.
People, visit Hofbrauhaus, at least for once in your life when you are in Munich! I am sure you will come home with crazy and fun stories.
Travel Period: May 2013
Destination: Munich (Bavaria), Germany
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Happy Travels! Enjoy Life =)
