Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Munich, Germany
The tiredness of days and days on the road caught us today. We had an active morning, but in the afternoon we napped.
In the morning we had breakfast at the hotel, included with the room, then out to wander to a market that Jan had heard of. Found it, wandered, had coffee and a pretzel, Jan watched and listened as the owner went after the serving girl who charged us for the pretzel that was taken from the pile but not paid for. She said she gave it to us for free, but that didn't hold water as the owner had asked Jan first how much we paid. Such drama, you just can't get good help these days. While the drama unfolded, a guy walked by with a dog, a big one, great dane or something. The dog stopped, sniffed, as dogs do, then peed on a hitching post in the courtyard. Big dog, gallons of pee, everyone watched including the guy walking the dog, then they moved on, the dog's duty done. The pee ran for about 5 yards over and around the cobblestones. Scenes from our life on the road. That you may not want to know about, but there you go.
We walked on, headed for 'The English Garden', apparently a lovely park in downtown Munich. Walking along, Jan read that in summertime, and the weather we have today certainly qualifies, nobody wears clothes in that park. Everyone sits down, strips off, makes a neat pile of their clothes, and catches the rays. As Jan read that her steps falter. Mine too. We ask each other, 'you first?', both shake our heads. At this point we are just rounding a corner by the Hofbrauhaus, and we hear the 'oom pa pa' sounds from within. Ah, the siren call of wurst (sausage) and wine and beer. And the lure of the traditional German OOM PA PA music? Sort of, but mostly we are both seized by an overhelming fatigue, and the thought of a 45 minute walk to a nudist park has galled us. Right, then, into the barn we go.
The Hofbrauhaus itself is uncannily like the Barfuser in Nurnberg, except the barfuser was in the basement of the customs house whereas this is the main floor of a purpose-built building. So the ceilings are higher. Still the same pillars and richly decorated ceilings, same picnic style long tables, each equipped to seat a dozen or more, same bustling servers carrying platters and pitchers and mugs and glasses. Same burgeoning roar from the chatter and laughter of the patrons, banging of mugs on the table. Here, though, there is a change and that is the Oom Pa Pa music, a tuba, and accordion, and two trumpets, and the sound thanks to the tooting of the tuba is distinctive and not to be forgotten. It didn't happen today, but we could imagine the patrons linking arms, swaying from side to side, singing along to the old favorites. That would happen, for sure, during Octoberfest. Today it was mostly touritsts, and the band played along without nearly the enthusiasm, I'm sure, of an Octoberfest evening. But lovely and memorable, regardless.
After that, bed beckoned. We hiked back, thinking we would go to the Ratskeller Restaurant having 'done' the Hofbrauhaus and bought the mug. We nodded and agreed. Along the way I had to stop at a sidewalk bar and made it only as far as the handicapped stall before rushing in. You don't buy beer, you rent it. Eventually, you have to give it back again.
To the hotel, flopped down, both out for two hours plus. Now we look at each other... Ratskellar??? No, they'll have one of those in Salzberg and in Vienna. We're out for the count a few minutes from now. ZZZzzzzzzz.
