Thursday, June 30, 2011

Munich at 850 years old

















No that picture wasn't taken in 850, that would be impossible, what a stupid thought.

Munich was founded by Monks in ~1158 (that year is disputed) by Benedictine monks, (The German name München means "of Monks"). It is one of my favorite cities in one of my favorite countries. The people are friendly, they really enjoy themselves and BMW is headquartered there, that's 3 wins as far as I'm concerned.

 Münchners (people from Munich) as far as I can tell tend to swing a bit more towards identifying as a Bavarian than a German. It is a VERY different city from Berlin, much less industrial and you can tell these are the ancestors of an agrarian culture by their cuisine and lack of urban sprawl (which is a good thing, the food is absolutely incredible*). Having said that it is simultaneously a very modern city. You'll see modern architecture next to a building from the 1400's on a regular basis. From an gastronomical, entertainment, historical, cultural, religious or architectural point of view Munich will please everybody.

In addition its one of the greenest cities (no not the marketing PR use of the word, I mean actually green). It gets plenty of rainfall and there are a many parks within city limits. The Englisher Garten (one of the more famous ones) is stunning. Most of these parks also house Biergartens in or nearby. Its not hard to find a place for a beer and a snack in this city of people who know how to have fun. I've been there ~5 times and would never hesitate to go back**.


Marienplatz
From the Smithsonian article:
It has taken more than half a century for Munich, which this year marks its 850th anniversary, to restore national pride to its considerable array of things to be proud of. Germany's third-largest city (after Berlin and Hamburg) and the capital of the state of Bavaria, Munich has long prided itself on easygoing sophistication and love of hearty pleasures—while standing distinctly apart. In Thomas Wolfe's novel The Web and the Rock, the narrator observes, Munich "is a kind of German heaven....a great Germanic dream translated into life....In other parts of Germany, people will lift their eyes and sigh rapturously when you say you are going to Munich: 'Ach! München...ist schön!'" (Schön means handsome, beautiful and nice.)







source -> http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/munich.html?onsite_source=relatedarticles&onsite_medium=internallink&onsite_campaign=SmithMag&onsite_content=Munich%20at%20850

Countdown as of this post, source -> http://www.oktoberfest.de/en/
*People who falsely believe German or more specifically Bavarian food is lacking, really need to give something a chance better than a boiled sausage and overcooked sauerkraut, If in Brooklyn check out Radegast hall (yes its technically Austrian, sue me) (don't sue me) - or email me if you want some other German restaurant suggestions! I'm an enthusiast!

**Going to Oktoberfest for the 4th time this year!

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