How To Spot A Bavarian

When I was stationed in Augsburg, Germany, my friends and I would often spend our off days in Munich. It was only a 40- or 60-minute train ride away and there was a lot to see and do in and around the city. One of our favorite places to stop for a meal and some beer was the world-famous Hofbräuhaus.

One Spring afternoon, my friend, Tom, and I found ourselves at the Hofbräuhaus for lunch. It was early in the day, so the place was relatively empty. We ate by ourselves at one of the large tables in the back of the large room.

As we were enjoying our meal, a man came and sat with us. He introduced himself and told us he was an air traffic controller at one of the nearby Luftwaffe bases. He spoke English a lot better than we spoke German, and we found ourselves conversing in a mish-mash of the two languages.

As a topic of conversation, he mentioned he could readily tell if people were Bavarian or not. The trick, he said, was to "Prost" when someone at the table got their beer. This meant to hold up our beer mugs and shout "Prost" or "Cheers" to the other person. If they responded in kind and "clacked" their mugs against ours, that was a sure sign they were Bavarian.

After he told us this, a couple sat at our table. They looked a little out of place, glancing about like they were somewhat nervous in an unfamiliar environment. When their beer was delivered by the server, our new friend raised his mug and shouted "Prost." Tom and I followed his lead in kind. The couple stared at us like we were from Mars.

He asked the couple where they were from. It turned out they were visiting from Frankfurt. They were certainly not Bavarian.

A little while after that couple drank their beer and left, another couple with their teenage son took sat at our table. When they got their beer, we "Prosted" them. They looked a little taken aback, lifted their mugs and said "Cheers." They weren't Bavarians, but they got the idea. They were tourists visiting from Australia.

The next group was a bunch of young-ish looking people - perhaps college age. When we "Prosted" them, they got up and moved to another table. "They are not Bavarian," our new friend told us in a confident tone. He was probably right.

We sat around and talked for quite a while before the next group sat down. It was an older gentleman with a middle aged man and woman and a couple older kids; again, maybe college age. When they got their beer, the turned to us and shouted "Prost!" We three looked at each other and smiled. Yes, here were finally some Bavarian folk spending some time at the Hofbräuhaus. Our German friend queried the man where he was from, and the man replied that they were from a nearby town and had come to Munich to shop.

Our cultural lesson for the day was learned. We now knew how to tell if someone was Bavarian.

Bavarian Dream Vacation - Day 1, Munich

My friend, Georgette, mentioned to me she was going to spend a few days in Southern Germany with her son during their trip to Europe next year. She asked me what I what I would recommend they see in Munich if I were going (and how I wish I was). I started to put together a Google Map for them with recommendations, and thought I'd just go ahead and share my suggestions with all of you, too.

They only have three days to spend in Germany since they are on a schedule. So, here's how I would break it down. For reference, here's the map:


View Bavaria Things To See in a larger map

Day 1: Munich
Georgette told me once her and her son took a guided Segway tour of Austin, Texas and thoroughly enjoyed it. They plan to do the same in Munich. This is a great idea. There are two I found:

• Mike's Bike Tours of Munich offers Segway and other tours in Bavaria. They are conveniently located near the Hofbrauhaus (a popular tourist attraction) and are highly rated by previous customers.
• City Segway Tours is located close to the Main Train Station (Hauptbahnhof), also a convenient location.

Here are my München must-see suggestions for:

• Frauenkirche - The twin-domed Cathedral of Our Lady is a prominent Munich landmark. Just a short distance from the Marienplatz, it's easy to see and find from just about anywhere in the central part of the city. It's a beautiful, old church and well worth taking an hour or so to walk through. 
• Asamkirche Dominikanerinnen - Georgette mentioned wanted to visit a couple of churches. One I think they should see is the Asamkirche, which is just south of the Marienplatz on Sendlinger Strasse. This old, dark church is a great representation of Gothic-style churches. It's very interesting and takes just a few minutes to walk through.
• Marienplatz and The Rathaus Glockenspiel - The Marienplatz is the heart of touristy Munich. There are shops and restaurants all around the perimeter ranging from old-style Gasthauses to American fast food. The highlight of the area is the Glockenspiel atop the city hall. Every day at 11 AM (also at Noon and 5 PM in the summer) the clock strikes and a play begins depicting the 1568 Wedding of Duke Wilhelm V of Bavaria and Renata of Lorraine as well as the "Cooper Dance" which marked the end of a plague of that era. The show lasts around 15 minutes. Take the U3 or U6 and get off at the Marienplatz station.
• For The History Buff - There is a display atop on of the buildings on the south-east part of the Marienplatz with photos of what the area looked like before World War II and at the end of that war. You can compare it with how it looks now and see that great pains were taken to restore the buildings just as they were. I can't remember exactly where it is, but I'll bet the Segway tour guides or the locals know where it is.
• Beyrischer Donisl - After seeing the Glockenspiel show at 11 AM, a great place to stop for lunch is the Bayrischer Donisl. This was always my favorite place to lunch in Munich. Check out the Bavarian specialties and (of course) the excellent beer. I would recommend a sausage sampler platter including some Bavarian Weisswurst (White Sausage) - it can't be beat. It's located on the Marienplatz to the left as you're looking at the Glockenspiel.
• BMW Museum - I'm a car buff, so I would be remiss if I didn't mention the BMW Museum located near the Olympic Park in the northern part of the city. The museum covers the history of the car maker from the beginning to modern times. Take the U3 to the Olympiazentrum station.
• Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site - While this may not be a "happy tourist" place to go, while you're in the area it's certainly something to see. "Never Again" is the phrase you hear echoed over and over as you go through the museum and walk the grounds. It's certainly a heavy place, but important. Take the S2 from Munich to the Dachau station.
• Beer Halls - There are a number of beer halls in Munich. The most famous (and arguably more for tourists) is the Hofbräuhaus. The food is great and the music is festive. And, of course, the beer is pretty good, too. I spent many a good time hanging around with friends and meeting people from all over the world there. Another nice place to visit, and less "touristy" is the Löwenbräukeller. Either spot would be great for dinner and a good time to wind up a great day.

Also mention: The Beer And Oktoberfest Museum. I've never been there and I don't even know if it existed when I last visited Munich, but it look like it might be interesting.

Thus ends day 1. Next up is day 2 in Schwangau.

Please feel free to leave your Munich tour tips in the comments.

In München Steht Ein Hofbräuhaus

Please vote for my dream vacation ...

Background

I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to live in Germany - twice. My first stay in Germany was in the beautiful Bavarian city of Augsburg. I came to love Bavaria; it's history, architecture, nature, and people. Although it's been many years since I was last there, I dream of going back there again. I was single when I lived there, so it would be wonderful to introduce my wife and three boys to this fantastic place.

Munich Is My Choice

While living in Bavaria, one of my favorite places to visit was Munich. Other than Augsburg, I think it's the most beautiful city in the region. There are a number of great "touristy" sights to visit such as the Marienplatz, the Englisher Garten and the Hofbräuhaus. In addition, there are also a lot of great things to see "off the beaten path."

Munich is also central to many other great places to visit like Augsburg, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Salzburg (Austria), Füssen, and much more; all close enough for a day trip by rail. This makes Munich the perfect base for a Bavarian getaway.

The rental I chose on HomeAway.com has enough room for my family and a few friends or extended family who might like to join us. It's close to many of the great places in Munich as well as the train station for taking off on day trips. The perfect place in the perfect location. If more want to come than this place will hold, HomeAway has many choices in the area which will accommodate more travellers.

In Vegas Steht Ein Hofbrauhaus ...

Hofbrauhaus Las Vegas

I first read there was a replica of the famous Munich Beer Hall, Hofbrauhaus, in Las Vegas sometime in 2005. Ever since then I've wanted to check it out, since it's a lot closer than the original and I can't get to Europe right now. When I lived in Germany I spent many an evening in the Munich HB. I finally found myself in Vegas and decided to give the HB a visit.

The HB in Vegas is a smaller, but an otherwise very close representation of the HB in Munich. The front entrance area is the bar and gift shop instead of a foyer, the main hall is smaller, but
has the same type of long tables as the original. The ceiling is painted much like the original, too. Being in Vegas, the Biergarten was indoors in the back of the building. The 00 (rest room) didn't have the Putzfrau cleaning while you were using the "wall" either. Even the outside of the building looked like the original; though since it's on an American-style street corner it's not hard to miss, unlike the original.

Everyone in the group agreed the food was very good. I had the Schwienebraten with potato dumpling and it was very good and tasted much like I remembered it from Bavaria. My wife had the Saurbraten and said it was good, though I had to take her word for it since I'm not too fond of Saurbraten. The Oktoberfest beer was very good, as well. I'm guessing the Weitzen and other beers were good, too, since copious amounts were downed. I'm not in my 20s any more so I limited my consumption to only 1/2 litre.

The service was excellent, probably enhanced since the place was rather empty (I'm told that Thursday is the slowest day of the week). Our server, Victor, took very good care of us.

I highly recommend if you find yourself in Vegas and want to experience some good Bavarian hospitality, check out the HB. It's across from the Hard Rock on Harmon Avenue.