One of the first things you learn living in Munich is that the city has six big important breweries (Hofbräu, Augustiner, Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr, Löwenbräu, and Spaten). These breweries own most of the beer gardens and beer halls, their beer is served in most local restaurants, and they are the only breweries allowed to sell beer at Oktoberfest. All this local beer pride seems a little silly once you realize Continue reading
Heading into our fifth (and final) Oktoberfest as locals, I’m starting to feel like quite the reluctant expert. Although I’ve had tons of fun at the festival each year, I’ve also had a couple of panic attacks (and more than a couple near-panic-attacks) at the wiesn. I absolutely hate crowds. With more than 7 million people attending Oktoberfest each year, it can be kind of tricky to avoid them. Over time I’ve learned how avoid the parts I hate, and enjoy the parts I like. Continue reading
So, you’ll be in Munich for Oktoberfest, and you’re wondering what else there is to do in this very beery city. No problem! I invite you to come check out a little art show that will be going on not far from the wiesn from September 20th through October 12th. Little Munich will feature, as you might have guessed, small artwork depicting scenes from Munich and Octoberfest. There will be paintings, drawings, photography, and mixed-media pieces on display.
On Saturday, September 29th, we’ll be having an open house all afternoon, where you can come hang out, meet the artists, and listen to a couple local writers read (in English) some fun little stories about Munich. Full opening times and other details below: Continue reading
Before I go back to chronicling our Italian road trip, I thought I’d remind our readers that we do, indeed, still live in Munich, despite the fact that we haven’t blogged about it in months. We’re half-way into our fifth year in the Bavarian capital. Spargelzeit had just come to an end, and biergarten season is in full swing. Every single public place has at least one TV in it, lest a moment of Euro Cup soccer go unwatched. Continue reading
It has been so eerily quiet around this blog for the last couple weeks; I blame the fact that I’ve been spending all my time getting ready for this, my next group art show in Munich. You (and everyone you know) are invited to join me Tuesday evening (13 March) at 7pm for the opening. Eight international artists will be displaying work, a couple writers will be reading fiction, and Yelp will be buying the first round of drinks for those who check in on their app.
I will be showing several brand new not-even-seen-on-the-internet-yet mixed media works on paper, ranging in size from postcard to two meters wide. You can find a sneak peek of one of the portraits on my art blog, and subscribers to my mailing list got a look at the big Oktoberfest scene in progress. A couple of the pieces will also have interactive elements via QR Codes, so smartphones will come in doubly handy (he he, get it, “handy”?) at this exhibit – so if you’ve got one, bring it.
I’ve been happy to get to work with Yelp on this event. I’m thrilled that they’re making a push to establish themselves in the Munich market, because Munich could use them. Whenever we travel to the US, we like to use Yelp to recommend tasty new restaurants in whatever city we happen to be, but until recently their data for German cities was too sparse to be useful.
Back to our regularly-scheduled expat and travel blogging soon!
The best part about the crazy cold spell we’ve been having is all the natural ice skating opportunities that came with it.
So much frozen water, just begging me to glide around on top of it. How could I say no? Continue reading
If you’ll be in Munich this Saturday, February 11th, please stop by and see some of my paintings at Munich Creative Group’s pop-up gallery. In addition to artwork from a variety of artists, there will be drinks, snacks, and live music. And door prizes! And entry is free! And it’s all indoors where there’s heat! (This last point is actually pretty key given the crazy cold snap we’re having here in Munich.)
I hope to see you there.
It’s time for my annual I-love-Christmas-in-Germany post. The Christmas markets opened last week, looking much as they do every year. I’ve noticed a couple new stands here and there, but for the most part everything is in its place. Now if we could just have some snow to make them even cuter, I’d be in heaven.
I’ve written several posts about the markets over the years, such as this one about the best Munich Christmas markets for pretty much everything (or you could just view all my posts about Christmas markets). One stop I haven’t talked about yet (but is worth a mention) is the Alpen Wahn, a cozy little stand outside Der Pschorr serving red and white glühwein until 11pm each night (which is later than most of the other markets are open). Look for it at the north end of the Schrannenhalle, just off the Viktualienmarkt. Continue reading
Oktoberfest ended on Monday, and we made it all the way to the end (quite literally, as we were in the Armbrustschützenzelt finishing our last maß of beer as the staff started washing down the tables for the last time). Continue reading
You may have heard that you need to be sitting inside (or on the terrace of) a tent to be served beer at Oktoberfest. This is mostly true. Indeed, it is the only way you’ll be able to get your hands on a big old maß (liter) of special Oktoberfest brew. But if you don’t mind drinking weißbier (wheat beer) in small vessels (only half liter), head for one of the many outdoor stands that serve it up. You’ll need to drink your weißbier in the general vicinity of where you bought it, but these little areas are often quite pleasant places to hang out. I tend to prefer them to the hot, loud, sweaty insides of a tent, especially on a beautiful sunny day. Continue reading
