Munich

There's something about Munich and Bavaria that is really relaxed. It might be that you can drink in the street, it might be that you don't have to wear a helmet whilst on a bike, maybe it's the nude park goers, I don't know, but there's something very interesting about how people live together here.


Munich is a religious city, although I don't think the younger generation really is. The people sell fish on Fridays, as the Catholics don't eat meat (every Friday, for the same reasons as good Friday). Nothing is open on Sundays also, as this is a holy day.... Except the beer gardens of course.

Everywhere you look, there are traditional clothes and I don't think it's just for the tourists. We found a German festival in Böbing, a tiny town in Bavaria, near the mountains. In a paddock behind the town, there stood a massive white tent, full to the brim with beer drinking Germans, everyone in traditional clothing. The men's leather pants looked well worn, and I especially like the calf warmers (although a funny concept). They were there celebrating the 150 years of the local Böbing concert band, so they played all through the night, for the dancers and the festival goers. I liked the holz hacken, which was basically a bunch of guys, dancing with axes and chopping wood on stage.  Seeing the alphorn was very cool.  It's similar to a didgeridoo, but has a pipe bit on the end.  I don't think it is played much these days.  They also performed the finger hakeln, and traditional schuh plattln.

The city is full of beer gardens and people eating Pretzel and drinking Mass (1ltr beer... I have learnt that Stein means stone, and the germans don't use this, they say Mass). There was a guy on a bike delivering beer to people sitting in the park. It's totally legal, yet I heard about or saw no trouble. There are no bouncers. You can take your drink with you anyplace, you just don't get your €1 refund if you don't return the glass. (There is no litter though. It's a very clean city.)

The food was generally massive and almost always meat. One night I ordered and ate half a chook. I didn't think I could do it with a Mass, but you learn quickly to get it down and not fall asleep from being full. I think the Germans eat more bread than any other country. The Pastries were to die for, and people eat Pretzel all the time. Some of The locals don't like all the meat and strictly German food, as there isn't the variety we would have. I think that maybe there aren't as many people of different cultures living here, to bring the different types of foods.

What an awesome part of the world.  Pastries for breakfast, drinking the day away in a massive beer garden, making friends with your new drinking buddies and eating Pretzel.  Why wouldn't you be relaxed after all, there's not much to worry about.