Munich is one of my favorite cities on the globe. I've always thought that it's got a very interesting culture, some nice architecture, it's close to some beautiful alpine countryside and arguably some of the best food in Germany. So I was expecting a great time when I visited last week. What surprised me was how friendly people were. I was expecting some serious anti-American sentiment (heaven knows we deserve it) but I experienced just the opposite. From my first few minutes in the city while I was looking at a map to try to find our hotel and a gentleman piped up "can I help you find something?" to the nice old lady at Cafe Dallmayr who complimented us on our lunch as asked us how we were enjoying Munich, people were just as friendly as ever if not more. It was a very pleasant surprise.
Some plugs: JacobG and I stayed at the Anna Hotel which is right on Karlsplatz, halfway between the Hauptbahnhof and Mariensplatz. I had room number 350 which was fairly large overlooked Karlsplatz. The Anna is a pretty trendy hotel, with dramatic lighting, high ceilings, and slick designer interiors. I enjoyed my stay there. Although I had a great view, my room was noisier than Jacob's – a pain when you're trying to fight jetlag and get a peaceful night's sleep. The bathroom was beautiful marble and very modern fixtures. Breakfast was traditional German Frühstuck (something I really enjoy) and was one of the best I've had in a German hotel. I'd give the hotel a B+. If it had been quieter, it would have gotten an A.
Jacob and I had a couple of really good meals while we were in the Bavarian capital. We ate dinner at Weißes Bräuhaus which is the home of Schneider Weißbeer, my all-time favorite wheat beer and is very close to the Rathaus. It turns out the food there is pretty good too if you like traditional Bavarian specialties. We also had lunch at the seafood bar at Dallmayr which was absolutely excellent. Dalmayr is without a doubt the best delicatessen/speciality food market in Munich. If you want the very best sausage in Munich go there. If you want beautifully prepared lobster claws in aspic, it's your place. We had a seafood platter at their lunch counter that contained fois gras, lobster, shrimp, escargot, smoked salmon, and gravalox. Everyone eating around us kept pointing to the plate and talking about how good it looked. It tasted even better.
Munich is a great city.
Posted by Bruce on March 10, 2004 12:30 PM