Posts Tagged ‘Munich’

The thought of beer and sausages yesterday made me want to do another Munich story today. So thought I would talk about the National Theatre building which is on Max-Joseph Platz 2.  Used as an Opera House it has seating for 2100 people complete with a royal box and circular auditorium. The theatre is home to the Bavarian State Ballet and Bavarian State Opera who hold regular performances at the magnificent venue. It was destroyed in World War II bombing but rebuilt and the current building opened in 1963.  The opera house has had a huge list of world premiers including works by Wagner, Strauss to name just two.  For visitors not able to take in a show the theatre has hour long tours of the venue which happen most days at 2pm. It is a great chance to see one of the finest opera houses in the world so rich in history and tradition.

Just a short distance from the Munich’s main square the Marienplaz is a fantastic open air market callde the Viktualienmarkt. This market is basically a food market selling all sorts of fresh foods including fish, meat, cheese, fruit and vegetables. But the market is also a great meeting place to enjoy the sausages and beer. And belive me Munich has the best sausages and beer you will find anywhere in the world. It is imposible to stop at one as the they are just so delicious.  The market has penty of seating so you can enyoy the festivities, food, drink and atmosphere for hours- not a bad way to fill in a sunny afternoon in Munich.  The market opens 6 days a week being closed on Sundays.

The 2009 Munich Oktoberfest kicks off on September 19th and celebrates the 176th year of the world’s biggest party.  This year reservations are high, even the ‘Global Financial Crisis’ cant dampen the Oktoberfest spirit – so if you are planning to attend get in early and book your table, you don’t want to miss out.  This year beer will cost between 8.30 and 8.60 euro a litre or Mass and there is bound to be about 7 million litres of it served, along with half a million chickens, 150,000 sausages, 60,000 pork knuckles and over 100 oxen. Construction of the huge tents are underway and this year there are some new rides and attractions making it bigger and more fun than ever. Some of the services stats are incredible with nearly 1000 toilets needed, 800 metres of urinals, 27 of Munich’s daily water use and 14% of their electricity. About half a million people are expected to attend every day of the 16 day event.

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If there is one thing almost as popular as beer, pretzels and pork at Oktoberfest it has to be the humble potato or “Kartoffel” in German. Around Oktoberfest they are normally presented as a tasty shredded potato Pattie that has been fried in hot oil and served golden brown with apple sauce but at the Potato Museum the potato is present in art form along with a bit of history of the Potato. The Potato Museum or “Die Kartoffelmuseum” is claimed to be the world’s only museum that is dedicated to the potato and is fittingly situated in Munich. So if you are heading to Munich for Oktoberfest this year make sure you try out a tasty Kartoffel like the one pictured above or even head over to the Kartoffelmuseum, their website link is below, it’s in German so you may want to run it through a translator to get the low down on location and opening times etc. Read the rest of this entry »

The Frauenkirche or the Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady is one of Munich’s most recognisable and magnificent landmarks. The two monstrous red brick towers were built in 1525 and is the largest church in the Bavarian capital located right in the heart of the city at Frauenplatz 1. Visitors can climb the 100 metres of the south tower for magnificent views of the city and through to the alps on a fine day. The church received some very nasty damage during the Second World war with the roof collapsing and one of the towers very badly hurt but major restorations over the last 60 years has brought this building back to its former glory. Inside the cathedral there is room for over 20,000 people and it features an amazing collection of 14th to 18th century artwork including works by Jan Polac and Ignaz Gunther. One of the church’s highlights is the Teufelstritt or Devil’s footstep at the entrance, ledged has it that it is the place the Devil stood to ridicule the church and the builder. Read the rest of this entry »

A lot of the world’s biggest street celebrations happen in the first weeks of February including the Mardi Gras, Chinese New Year and the Munchen Narrisch or Mad Munich celebrations. All the fun takes place at the Viktualienmarkt in downtown Munich where thousands of costumed revelers party on with carnivals, entertainers, heaps of confetti and of course Munich Beer. It’s pretty cold in Munich today but with early morning temperatures down to as low as -1 and a high of only 9 but with all the fun who cares. Tuesday the celebrations come to a head with Dance of the Market Women which is great fun. The festival is the biggest think in Munich other than you guessed it Oktoberfest which is only 229 days away.

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The worlds biggest event starts today in Munich, the 174th Oktoberfest. The celebrations will commence with the traditional tapping of the barrel by Munich’s Lord Mayor at 12 PM making way for over 6 million visitors to the festival over the following two weeks. Over six million litres of fresh German beer will be drank along with quarter of a million pairs of sausages, half a million roast chickens, plus paddocks of oxen and more pretzels than you could point a stick at. There are over 12,000 staff employed over the festival with 1600 waitresses, some can carry a dozen full litre beers at once. The huge tens seat over 100,000 people in total at any one time and with all the beer and food the site needs over 1800 toilets.

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The Viktualienmarket on the edge of Marienplatz in Munich Germany has bee peddling its wares since 1807. The farmers market has about 140 stalls of mainly food including fruit, vegetables, meats, fish and some delicious cheeses and ad houses a great outdoor beer garden. The beer garden is a very popular place to grab a tasty sausage in a roll and a stein or two of beer at lunch time or even join a table with the locals and settle in for the afternoon. The food is cheap and very tasty- don’t forget to try a giant pretzel they go well with a Munich beer. The market is open six days a week being closed on Sunday. Read the rest of this entry »

The Olympic tower or Olympiaturm rises 290m into the Munich’s sky and offers magnificent views of the Olympia parklands and surrounding city on a clear day you can even see the Alps. Built primarily as a communications to support the 1972 Olympic Games the tower houses a gourmet revolving restaurant with a 360 degree trip taking 49 minutes. The tower does have observation deck with fantastic inside and outside views but it is a little hard to find the entrance. The complex seems to promote the attraction as the world’s highest rock and roll museum. Which it is not quiet, there’s a heap of tickets and posters and the odd item on show from some of the big names who have played the stadium over the 30 odd years

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Olympia Looping is the worlds largest portable steel rollercoaster and is one of the more notable rides found at Oktoberfest in Munich each year. The huge ride features 5 loops- the Olympic rings which give huge g force to the rider. The structure is monstrous it weighs over 875 tonnes and takes up a space 85 metres by 36. The highest point is about 32 metres off the ground and it has a 26m drop. Speeds are in excess of 83 km per hour. Usually people queue for hours to ride the 1.45 minute ride, but the exhilaration is well worth the wait. Read the rest of this entry »