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Munich and the Olympic Swimming Pool

Thursday, April 30th, 2009

Thursday 30th April
Munich, Germany

Some years ago now, I was born and bought up in Perth, Western Australia.
For some many years, I have made Scotland, my home.
Along with my passion for all things Celtic CFC, My family, my career, my life, is all in Glasgow.
Today I am in Munchen, capital of Barvaria. Residing at the warmest, sweetest and most friendly little hotel in Munich, The Hotel Monaco.
I have stayed here previous, hence my return. A lovely feel, a genuine warm atmosphere about The Monaco Hotel.
Thanks to Christina, the proprieiter and her wonderful staff.
Great not only for the tourist person, like me, but also the familly, the business person, couples, lovers.
If you ever come and stay, you will see!!

Today the weather  not so bright. Pity, for it has been recorded the sunniest and warmest April in many a year for Munich.
I love Munich, the bars, the shops, the people, thier friendliness and ever so keen to assist you, always prevailing.
I love her culture, her museums and galleries. So, so much history here.
Munich is not a large city, with an excellent public transport infrastructure. Trams, U bhan, S Bhan. And cycles. I have borrowed a friends cycle these past 2 days, and it is really quiet amazing the ground, the places you can get to, at easy reach with very few hills. a flat inner city.

Today I am going back out to the Olympic Centre, the holding of the Olympic Games 1972.
A swim awaits me in the original Olympic swimming pool. Normally I swim like how Schumacher use to drive in the wet, fast! But today, I will swim slowly, casually and savour every moment of just being there in the fmous Olympic Swimming pool and listen out for the roar of champions past.

Anyway, I am on my Holidays. Serious sports begins again on my return to Glasgow!
By then I will be missing Munich and The Monarch, yet looking so very much forward to returning again.
Ken Rolfe
(Serious Celtic, BVB & 1860 fan)

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Paint a pottery by yourself

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

When you are invited to a birthday party and you are over the age of 12 you are normally not very thrilled if your host is telling you that you are going to paint pottery the whole evening.
 That happened to me some weeks ago. Except for on the invitation I found the description “creative factory”.
I did pottery when I was 5 or something. I loved it, seriously, I took part in three courses and produced tons of useless stuff I was very proud of. ;-) Today it is nice to look at all the vases, pots,…I think my mum loved the stuff just because it was me who made it.
Anyway, two days ago the birthday party took place. We were invited to a place called “froh und bunter” (“happy and more colourful”) situated very central close to the Viktualienmarkt  the Synagogue and the Hotel Monaco. As my sister and I entered the shop, the first impression was “cosy”. The floor was laid-out with bright wood and the walls had a creamy colour. Wooden tables and chairs were spread out in the two-roomed shop and the shelves were stuffed with all sorts of raw, unpainted dinnerware. Two ladies were sitting at a table having a cup of coffee and painting bowls, while chatting intimately.
“Is this the new way of having a coffee and meeting friends?”
At first we had some cake and champagne, than we had to wash our hands, because no fat should touch the raw pottery.
After a short intro we started on our things. I’ve chosen a small cereal bowl, cost 14, 95 €. That’s quite an amount of money for a bowl. What would you pay at IKEA?
Those who forgot their muse at home could use moulding tools and copy some illustrations. My piece of art looked like the product of a five year old – I haven’t trained my pottery-skills since that age. Anyway, all of us had a lot of fun this evening, despite or maybe because of this uncommon location.
A piece of pottery painted by yourself is also a nice souvenir. They’ve also got a lot of motives concerning Munich and think when I need one again when visiting friends overseas I definitely know where to get them. The only criticism I have to add is the price, but that is added up by the very friendly staff. So if you want to train your creativity and on the same time produce a nice souvenir, for yourself or beloved ones, this is the address to go to, especially on a rainy, cloudy day as we’ve got lots at the moment.

I wish you a lot of creativity,
Franziska

“froh und bunter”
Sebastiansplatz 11
80331 München
gzender@froh-bunter.de

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One evening in Munich

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

The flight into Munich was smooth and easy.  Getting to the center of Munich from the airport?  Even easier.  Just a 40 minute ride on the Deutsche Bahn, right from the terminal.  You have to love public transportation in Europe.
Makes you wonder how the U.S. managed to screw up public transportation so badly just about everywhere – especially to airports.

Outside the Hautbahnhof train station at 9:00 p.m., the streets were pretty quiet. We easily found the Hotel Monaco a few minute walk down Schillerhasse, a narrow street lined with hotels, and surprisingly quiet.
We were greeted warmly at reception, dropped off our luggage, and immediately headed off to find something to eat.  Brega (did I spell this right?) at the front desk, recommended the Bohne and Malz (no guarantee on the spelling, here, either), a short walk away.  We had just come in from Dublin, and after a splurge on food of the fish-n-chips variety, we weren’t sure we were ready for a traditional Bavarian menu yet.

But a nice surprise awaited us.  The Bohne and Malz had a great menu and an even better atmosphere.  I recommend the tilapia with “zesty” stir-fried vegetables, and a glass of the Austrian wine that the menu described as “velvety” and truly was velvety.  David (my traveling companion), who was feeling more Bavarian than I, went straight for the weinerschnitzel, which he described as “delicious,” particularly with the wheat beer.  A beer he describes a “lighter and more flavorful” than the beer we had Dublin.

An after-dinner walk down the nearby pedestrian zone was pretty quiet, save for the group of young men loudly singing German songs as the walked down the street holding their giant beer mugs that must have been the gallon size.  We weren’t ready for the beer hall yet, but do they give away those gigantic mugs for free?  Or do you bring your own?

Got a good night sleep at the Hotel.  My room has large windows but faces the back so its nice and quiet.  The best night sleep I’ve had so far on our trip.

I like Munich already.

Dave Fribush

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Brezel in the Hotel Munich

Sunday, March 29th, 2009

Why does the Brezel look like that?

Ther are many stories, sometimes they seem like fairy tales. For example: The first baker who created a Brezel, observed monks, praying with crossed arms. To be honest, the first 100 years Brezels weren´t twisted but formed like a circle. Because it wasn´t easy to connect the two ends neatly, a new form was developed in the the 9th century. It looked like the figure 6 or two connected “sixs”. There were heaps of different ways to form the Brezel.

And why is everyone so crazy about it?

The Brezel, formed like a circle was already “high fashioned” during roman time. It was used as a last supper gift, together with wine, in the second centruy by the Christians. Probably a lot more people would go to church if that tradition would have been held alive.;-) Monks had it as fasting and festival meal. In the Middle Ages the people living in town were crazy about it. The Brezel was eaten at weddings, birthday parties, funerals … . The more popular it became the more it was important at festivals and for customary use – in parts of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Today it is impossible to imagine everyday life without it. Especially in Munich you have to eat the Weißwurst with a Brezel and swee mustard.

Ther are variations from salty to sweet … and what the hell is a “Laugenbrezel” ?

In former days the bakers dipped it into hot water before putting it into the oven. Through that the exterior stayed soft and the Brezel swelled perfectly. During the 12. century they started to cover them with brine so the paste turned crunchy brown and it tasted a lot better.

As a chemical aid soda lye was used, thinned with water, Normally it is acidic and dangerous. But during baking, soda lye turns into sodium carbonate which is normal soda as used for baking. By the way you can find the “Laugenbrezel” in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and the Pfalz on the menu. There, people prefer eating their bread with the traditional aromatic taste. And even in New York, on Time Squares you can buy it!

Take one and enjoy your meal in your Munich Hotel Monaco during your breakfast!

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Pension in Munich

Sunday, March 29th, 2009

Hotel Monaco is friendly ” bed and breakfast” like pension, which is both affordable and conveniently located ( two blocks away from the Haupt Bahnhof).  The ( Schutz Angel )  theme gives the hotel a motherly and homely feeling, but with just enough touch of cupid to make it romantic.  Although my stay was officially a business trip I felt on vacation here at Monaco.  Breakfast rocked and the light music hit the spot   When I do return for pleasure I’ll be sure to stay where the angels are, Hotel Monaco.  Munich itself was a little wet in Febuary, but warm to the senses.  I took a few walks, had some fine dinning and danced alittle all in the Stadt Mitte.  Munich is easy it seems.  I’ve been here a few times now in winter, spring, sommer, and fall and she always gives herself with open arms.  I’ll be always coming back for more and waiting to see what the next angel brings……….
Got to Fly,
Luis.

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Hotel Monaco – our stay in Munich

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

Hotel Monaco is charming and conveniently located for budget conscious traveler.  A block from the Hbf and within walking distance to the city centre.  This hotel has very cheerful and personable staff.  The breakfast in the morning may seem light, yet after spending the day walking you will find that you are not hungry until well after lunchtime.  The free internet access was delightful, as well as being able to borrow many things such as hairdryers, and laptop.  We stayed in a room with a shared washroom and found no time, or noise issues during are stay.  The hotel, room, and washroom was always clean which is a pleasant change from hostels which charge an equivalent amount for less features.  We would recommend this hotel to anyone coming to visit Munich.

Heather and David
Canada

Munich, 24.03.09

 

Hotel Monaco Munich, double room with shared bathroom

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A visit to the munich Olympic Center

Sunday, March 22nd, 2009

I visited Munich and I am ipressed about this city. I love German food – bread dumplings are my favourite. And beer – something you can’t skip when you are here. Bierhalles are everywhere in the city.
I went to the Olympic Center with my boyfriend. I would recommend it to people who like sport activities. We went for a swim at the Olympic pool, and we were suprised how unexpensive it was. We also went for a run all around the Olympic Village – that is a great way to see the whole place. It wasn´t busy at all, we met couple more people running.
You can go there by subway. We also had good German sausages there. Just around the corner there is BMW museum, that we saw too. Cars were really great, especially the newest ones. But what we liked the most was the architecture – bulidings had an interesting design.Great place for taking pictures. We enjoyed spending our day there. We plan to go back there some time in the summer.

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A night in Munich!

Sunday, March 22nd, 2009

The Bavarian spirit definitely lives on at the Augustiner Keller.

I decided to go on a quest to find the roots of my favorite beverage – beer. What better place than Bavaria, perhaps the birthplace of beer? And what better brewery than what is reportedly the oldest brewery in existance, the Augustiner Keller?

I was not sure what to expect when I arrived there – a throng of tourists with guidebooks and camaras in hand? Or perhaps groups of locals that would not be accessable to a tourist like me.  While I was hoping for an authentically “Bavarian” experience, I have learned to temper my expectations.

What I found was a few tourists that were far outnumbered by groups of Müncheners that were there to have a good time. To my delight, the locals were more than willing to share whatever they could offer – be it a good joke, a song, or the beer from their glass. Before I knew it, I was singing with Uwe, a local football (soccer) fan, adorned with a traditional scarf (which he proudly displayed to me), and who after a few minutes was asking for my facebook address. I found myself constantly admiring the sketchings or traditional antlers hanging from the walls of this traditional keller (should be hundreds of years old-not sure exactly) while listening to one of the live bands belting out everything from traditional bavarian music to ’60s rock on stage. All the while thinking to myself, what a absolutely delightful experience – a great find!

I happened to go during the annual Stark Bier (Strong Beer) Festival which runs during the three weeks leading up to Easter. I was given a full history by Manny from down the street but after a few stark biers between the two of us, I can’t recite it exactly word for word. According to Manny, it has something to do with Christians not being able to eat as much as perhaps they would like during this period each year (lent). As a result, they added more sugar to the beer and hence arrived at a recipe (7.6 % alc) that brings more than a few of us wanting to celebrate to our knees each year.   

Eventually I walked out at around midnight after reluctantly but gratefully accepting a final beer, compliments of Manny. Arriving back at Hotel Monaco, only a few minutes walk, I reflected back on the night thinking – I couldn’t have asked for more from Munich or its people than what was delivered on this night – Prost!

 

 

 

 

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