Komm mit: Walk with us in München

Unfortunately, though, you’re going to need an umbrella because the sunshine we had yesterday afternoon has gone and it’s a rather cold and wet Monday morning here.  Never mind, we have warm coats and comfortable shoes.  We’ll turn right out of the hotel and walk down here past the Hofbräuhaus, towards the market, where we might find some breakfast.

The streets that were buzzing with people yesterday afternoon are pretty empty today, but that might be a good thing!

The good people of the city are going about their business, which means this is Transit van central…be careful as we dodge one or two to cross the road.  The elderly gentleman isn’t too happy with us for doing that, though, and makes a loud comment to that effect!  Ooops!  (but we are in a pedestrian zone….)

Here we are at the entrance to the Viktualienmarkt where we plan to have a mooch around and find something for breakfast.  It’s all very well staying in a posh hotel, but 40 euros (each) for breakfast is extortionate, don’t you think?  Come on, let’s see what’s going on.

Hmmm…those sausages smell heavenly, but perhaps not for breakfast?  I know my hero enjoyed his traditional weisswurst the other day, but I think I’d prefer something a little sweeter.

That bakers looks more like… A stehtisch will do us just fine, won’t it?  We’re not ready to sit down just yet!

One ham and cheese breadstick and a hazelnut pastry later, we’re ready to go!  Sorry, I know all those lovely pastries look yummy, but we’ve had an elegant sufficiency, haven’t we?

The cheese stall looks great, but right now, we’re not quite in a cheesy mood.  How about you?

I think this looks more interesting, doesn’t it?  It might only be October, but those cute hearts and stars could be just the thing for the coming months.  Aren’t they sweet?

Actually, there are more.  There are red/green hangings, with little horses and bells….

and there are some with lavender stars and blue ribbons….

and more, with green, brown and ecru.  Oh my, the German aesthetic really appeals to me.  Do you get it as well?

Having made our selection we venture a little further, past more stalls selling similar things.  The scents of star anise, of cinnamon and cloves attract us a little closer, but none of these stalls are as friendly and inviting as the first.  Shall we move right along?

The next place to catch our eye is a bookshop, specifically, a travel bookshop, because my hero has left his maps at home and if there’s one thing a hero needs, it’s a good map.  Expecially since we’re moving on tomorrow, into the countryside.  We choose a good map of Southern Germany, Switzerland and Western Austria and complete the transaction with a friendly shopkeeper.

That’s when I spot the knitting and beadwork shop opposite!  Wolle Rödel has a good selection of yarns and suchlike, but did you remember the details of that Purl Bee pattern I was going to knit for my hero?  No, I thought not.  They don’t seem to have wifi here either.  Never mind, we’ll look later and come back here.

Following the street round, we suddenly recognise Rindermarkt…where we stood and watched the tail end charlies of the marathon yesterday.  Those stone cows are a clue as to the origin of the name – it’s always fun when suddenly, all the pieces of a new city begin to join up, isn’t it?

Kustermann is here and the shop windows are so appealing, I think we need to go inside, don’t you?  Now, before we do, let’s talk a little about European household stores.  Table setting is very important here and the quality of kitchen implement second to none.  Here, in Kustermann, one can buy every gadget and utensil ever imagined, and then some.

 

For example, the Weisswurst Lifter, because, of course, one needs a special tool to separate the sausage from the pan.  Really.

But, you know, I think it’s a little München joke, don’t you?  We share a smile and move right along, past the beautiful pans, the lovely glassware and crockery, fine table linen and candles until we are back at the doorway.  Kustmann, if ever you decide to open a shop in Cirencester, we will be your best customers!

 

Back on the wet street, we spot a shop window full of slippers.  Do I need slippers?  Not really…but these are slippers of first class quality, of non slip soles and felted wool uppers.  Let’s go in and take a closer look.

Except, this is a German shop.  It’s not a shop to look around but one where we have to sit and wait for an assistant to bring the slippers to us.  The shop walls are covered in boxes of slippers organised according to size and manufacturer.  Do you feel intimidated by all of these boxes and the rather fierce looking shop assistant?  I do….shall we move on?

We reach Marienplatz once again and find everyone standing, looking up.  What’s happening?  Of course, it’s 11 o’clock and the glockenspiel is playing.  The figures are moving around on the town hall clock and suddenly we are in Camberwick Green (or was it Trumpton?!) 

It’s still raining, so shall we stand under our umbrellas along with everyone else and watch the show?  The world and his wife are here, along with all of their children.  How many languages can you hear?

Oh, really?  You’re bored already?  Oh, go on then, let’s go into the wonderfully named Hugendubel bookshop (like a Barnes and Noble or Waterstones) and take a look around.  There’s bound to be a few interesting things in there…I love German craft books.

Well, who’d have thought it….Christmas has arrived here.  That lovely soft green and silver, together with the gentle brown-grey tones look so pretty.  Are you going to persuade me to bring one or two bits home, then?

Half an hour must be enough, isn’t it?  Though finding a way out is a challenge, I agree.  Let’s walk a little further along the Kaufingerstrasse, because I think I can hear music.  Hang on…are those Salvation Army chaps there?

Well, no, not exactly!  They appear to be Russian, members of the Red Army choir and the sound they are making is amazing.  That wonderful Russian bass voice is so deep and low…I could listen forever.

Go on then, put some money in their box and see if they know “Lake Baikal”.  They do?  Oh, let’s stand and listen! 

Filled with nostalgia and a little “heimweh” I think it’s time to move on, don’t you?

What do you reckon to some of these shop windows?  Though the goods on sale are of high quality and contemporary in style, don’t you think they look just a wee bit quaint?

But wait, let’s step aside as these two walk past.  They are trying to catch the eye of people passing by and are wearing very strange, clown like clothes.  Are they your friends?  (They remind me of Mr and Mrs Fang from a book I read recently)  Oh, they’ve caught a small family walking closely behind us – I hope that small child isn’t scared of a man with a large red nose and peculiar hat!

Let’s scuttle down this side street and wait till they’ve passed.  Take a break and relax a little.  There’s plenty more to see and do but for now, I’m ready to put my feet up for a while.

Join us again in the next post, eh?

and then…

I know, you think we do nothing but eat and drink when we are here.  Well, to tell the truth, you’re probably right!  But in our defence, we’d walked a fair bit and built up quite an appetite, and the Wienerschnitzel really did taste as good as it looks.

Our hosts were the delightful Tosta family.  Volker’s company Edition Nordstern had published the music we had come to hear and we had another lovely meal, sitting around a table sharing interesting conversation in a lively mix of German and English at the same time.  We walked through the city to find an outdoor table for coffee and icecream – the weather was beautiful and we basked in the sunshine for another hour or so before we each returned to our hotels to change and get ready for the concert.

From our hotel it was a good three quarters of an hour’s walk, over the river and past the Friedensengel, high on top of the column.

The Autumn colours along the bank of the River Isar looked lovely in the early evening, though there was no time to stand and stare!  The pre-concert talk was due to begin at 6pm and we didn’t quite know how much further we had to go.  Cobbled pavements and heels don’t make for a good combination.

Of course, we reached the Prinzregententheater in plenty of time and found our way to the Gartenzimmer, where the talk was to be held.  Unlike the CBSO pre-concert talks, this one was absolutely packed with people, all eager to learn something about the opera we were to hear – a rarity in modern times.

I knew nothing of the music and am ashamed to say that I didn’t get a great deal from the talk, either, finding it hard to follow an academic presentation auf Deutsch. 

However, as soon as we stepped inside the stunning theatre and settled into our seats, I was happy – just being here was enough.

Our seats were fantastic.  The steep rake of the auditorium and lack of an orchestra pit meant that sitting in Row 6 was to be on a level with the performers, who were just about close enough to make eye contact.    Though it was a concert performance, the five soloists really got into role and it was easy to follow the story as it unfolded.  The choir were superb – orchestra too – and the whole ensemble came together magnificently.

The performance was broadcast live on Bayerische Rundfunk and is to be issued on CD shortly, too.  But, as was agreed around a table afterwards, with Volker, Sabine, Johannes and their friends, there is nothing like live music to stir the soul and lift the spirits!

Sunday morning in München

Oh dear…the empties from last night remain on the coffee table. I was quite attracted to the idea of Becks Green Lemon until I tasted it and found it was lager and lime!

Time for a brisk walk then, past the statue of Juliet.  No surprises which part of her anatomy is polished by her devotees, I guess.

We walk through the Marienplatz once again and whilst my hero taps into the ATM, I notice the wall painting on the department store opposite, which reminds me of The Paradise rather.

I’m glad to see the window dresser in the next store utilises all the same tricks I teach my students about display and promotion: repetition, varying heights, colour themes and triangular arrangements.  How lovely to see the traditional window displays rather than the corporate installations for a change.

The geraniums are past their best but still putting on a pretty good show.

But the empty bottles in the fountain need to be cleared up.  It amuses us to see them dancing around the pump housing, however, and we watch as they swirl around in the current.

The Michaelmas Daisies are looking really pretty in the sunshine and though they’re not a favourite of mine – I find them a bit shaggy and messy – I rather like the spot of colour in this rather dark corner.

A little further on, we come to the route of the München Marathon, which is this morning.  The individual drinks are being set out on tables in the street, ready for the runners to grab them as they pass.  It’s fun to see what imaginative ways people have come up with to make their bottle stand out – some have balloons tied to them, others have plastic flowers…one simply says “Helmut” on it.  Oh my, in 20 000 runners, I hope the correct Helmut finds his drink!

The salsa drummers are creating quite a noise down the street, but their energy is contagious and we tap our feet as we listen.  The runners will be here soon.

The official measurer rides past on his bicycle.

Oh, here he is, the first man…we stand and applaud as he runs past us, first in one direction and then, having gone around a small triangular block of buildings, comes past us again in the opposite direction.

By the time we are back in Marienplatz, there are more runners.  Their steps are more laboured, their movements appear less comfortable and we can sense their weariness in spite of the determination on their faces.  I’m not sure that our applause helps much, but we do our best to cheer them on their way.

But we can’t linger any longer because we have a lunch date!

A Golden day

When I began my blog, I thought about some basic principles.  I didn’t want to compromise anyone’s privacy so I generally don’t post photographs of people.  It’s so important to respect everyone’s private space too, so I rarely post pictures of personal places either and this gives me a small problem today.  We spent the day with family friends whom we’ve known for most of our lives; people with whom we have grown up and have a considerable shared history.  For a variety of reasons, we haven’t seen them in a while, and so today there was a lot of catching up to do.  I took quite a few photographs throughout the day, but…

All but five pictures I took have someone in them.

I posted the photograph of Johanna’s beautiful table decoration on my 365 page, so there remain just the four pictures to illustrate the happy time we spent today. 

All are of food!

To begin with, here is Johanna’s delicious pumpkin soup.  Having collected Birgit from her home in the city, we drove out in fine sunshine through the glorious Autumn colours of the Bavarian countryside to her brother and sister-in-law’s home.  Bernd and Johanna live in a small village, overlooking open fields.  We have known them all forever, it seems, and though of course, we are all older, none of us have changed at all.

Except we have more memories to share.  We also have families of our own to talk about and in Bernd and Johanna’s case, the company of their son and daughters to enjoy, because in the last few years their family has blossomed.

(the photograph above is of the most yummy cheesecake with a meringue topping by the way…another of Johanna’s masterpieces)

No room for a slice of her carrot cake at tea time, sadly, because we’d enjoyed an enormous lunch and if there’s one thing better than a meal eaten in a German restaurant, it’s a meal eaten in a German home, especially when cooked by one of our clever friends.  We  loved the chance to spend time around this particular table, to share a memory or two and to tease one another when one recalled a slightly embarrassing moment.  No matter.  We were amongst friends – family, almost, and in such company, such things are fine.

From time to time we asked ourselves, where did those years go?  How can it be that we have known each other for more than 40 years and yet, in our minds, we are still the same age?   Finding room for a piece of Donauwellen cake and remembering Irmgard, their late mother (another great cook and someone whose Knödel still count amongst my hero’s all time favourites) we settled into one of those happy afternoons when the conversation continues uninterrupted. 

A phone call meant that Karin wasn’t left out, either.  For a few short minutes we were all together again and of course, we promised not to let another ten years go by without meeting up again.

As an elderly lady wrote in my childhood autograph book in the most marvellous handwriting:

“Make new friends but keep the old. One is silver, the other gold.”

Bavarian Breakfast

Weisswurst, a freshly made pretzel and a dollop of sweet mustard. Just what my hero needed to set him up for the day.

(I had Birchermuesli!)