This post is a guest post from my good friend Albert Mooney, who sums up succinctly what about half of the people in Munich actually think about Oktoberfest. It must be like living in Rio and hating Carnival. Or being a Dubliner who dreads St. Patrick’s Day. Or a citizen of Nero’s Rome who has long grown… Read More Oktoberfest: Confessions of a Hater
Exactly 32 years ago today, a pear-shaped man named Sepp (Josef) looked at his watch, took a last sip of his coffee, and grabbed his cap. The sun was trying to switch on under a thick blanket of ubiquitous grey German sky. As he was leaving the bakery all he could think about was how… Read More Oktoberfest: A Bad Reception
If you travel by train or car in Germany for any distance, a few aspects of Germanness are inescapable. They all share similar ideas of orderliness, tidiness, and structure. Other pillars of Germanness, especially in the workplace, include punctuality, productivity, and thoroughness. These are the things that unite them, a sort of common consciousness, a… Read More Germany Still Has a Wall that Divides
There are many things about Bavarian culture that I have embraced. A close connection to the land, hearty food in winter, and an affinity to art and history are but a few. Another thing that fits nicely into my world view is the absolute worshiping of the sun in Bavaria. I was born in San Diego, after… Read More Man CAN Live on Bread Alone. In Bavaria.
On the first day of Christmas my Bavarian friend gave to me: a freshly cut tree. Everything begins with the tree in Bavaria. Although there have been some inroads made upon this tradition with artificial trees, the majority of Bavarians still buy a real tree for Christmas. Since many of the trees are locally grown… Read More The Twelve Days of Christmas, Bavarian-style (1)
Munich has a number of great places that are very much the same as they have been for years, but perhaps none compares to the history and character of Schelling Salon, a historic Schwabing landmark. The smell of schnitzel and other Bavarian or Tyrolean dishes wafts through the room. The sound of conversations, some subdued,… Read More Munich’s Schelling Salon Steeped in History
Laptops And Lederhosen 