We arrived in Munich by train on Tuesday (Jan. 2) and were immediately struck by the city’s warmth and hospitality. For me, Munich was an unexpected favorite. We added the city to our itinerary so that we could fly out of a major city, because it was convenient to our other chosen destinations and also because we had a couple extra days to spare (too, Rick Steves’ recommended it). Friends from Cass and others had prepared me to be underwhelmed by Munich (in comparison to Vienna and Prague). Hence, I expected the worst and was pleasantly surprised to find the city so enjoyable. While there’s not lots to do (most of their “old world charm” was bombed during World War II and has only since been rebuilt in city center), G and I have enjoyed “living” here for the past few days, doing as the locals do. Going for a leisurely brunch at a local café, wandering the city’s many pedestrian malls (for those in Raleigh, if only Fayetteville St. Mall could have taken a few lessons from Munich!), enjoying dinner amidst the locals, as well as seeing the city’s major sights.
Sausage, other pork dishes, goulash (paprika spiced beef dish), boiled beef and saurkraut make up the staples here as in Austria and Czech, but the Germans (in our opinion) expertly prepare them so that they’re tasty and fresh.
And the baked goods are amazing… my personal favorite is the Bienenstich (roughly translates to Bee Sting Cake) — a thin vanilla cake topped by Bavarian Cream, another layer of thin vanilla cake and then coated with a layer of candied toasted almonds. Yum! Click on Bienenstich above for a recipe. I’m also on the lookout for a good Apple Strudel recipe — the German apple strudel here reminds me of my grandma and mom’s very southern fried dried apple pies. Only the strudel is served with a vanilla cream sauce (like the sauce for Louisiana’s bread pudding) instead of ice cream.
And have any of you tried Litchi? They’re little fruits from Mauritius (hadn’t heard of this place before last Fall — two of my classmates are from there). They’re red and have spikes on a porous outer shell and a sweet, juicy inside once peeled. They were for sale at fruit stands all over Munich and I HAD to try some. Yum! Tastes like a very sweet grape.
Today, we went just outside city center to see Dachau, Germany’s first concentration camp. I hate to admit that I was very hesitant to visit the camp. After our gut-wrenching visit to Hiroshima in May, I didn’t think I could stand another so soon. But, while the suffering inflicted at Dachau was great, our visit to Dachau wasn’t nearly as emotional — perhaps because I didn’t (as an American) feel as responsible for the suffering. And there was much suffering at the camp.
And we finished the day by visiting Jodlerwirt, a local hall (yes, it’s really as small as it looks in the link) where a lederhosen clad gent plays an accordian and yodels for the crowd’s entertainment. Apparently its the German version of karaoke? The locals (everyone except for us) swayed and sang along to the Bavarian tunes. They even held up lighters like some folks do at US concerts. Very bizarre, but a lot of fun.
Now, off to bed for a good 4 hours sleep… Tomorrow, we’re off to London.