Our second night in Munich we headed to Lowenbrau
after a day trip to Neuschwanstein Castle, an amazing work of
architecture and a great day trip from Munich. But if you are
thinking about going just consider the two hour train, plus short bus
ride, because it will eat up most of your day. The small town, where the
castle is located is called Hohenschwangau, and has the most beautiful Alpine lake I have ever seen (this being the first one I had ever seen). We would have liked to stay a while in the town of Füssen where
the train station is situated, maybe find a beer garden, but seeing
as we had to catch the last train to Munich we had to make a run for it!
This photo of Lowenbraukeller is courtesy of TripAdvisor
It was the Friday night before the opening ceremony of Oktoberfest - the whole reason for our trip to Munich. The
atmosphere at Lowenbrau was alive with anticipation! There were
waitresses running around in their long dirndls carrying as many litre
mugs as they could, often 8 or more, swerving around drunken patrons and the narrow spaces
between tables.
I ordered a plate of three types of sausages; the
first sausage from the left was a white boudin (blood) sausage, this sausage was
so good it ruined any other boudin sausage I will ever have for the
rest of my life! I don't really remember the other two on the plate, but
they must not have been as memorable as the first one. The two sides of potatoes and cabbage were perfect accompaniments to the sausages; in our experience the
food served in most beer halls are simple, classic and refined through the centuries, though I must admit that this was not something I was expecting to see. The food was to our tastes and very delicious. Jean had a duck leg, a beautiful fatty bird that goes oh so well with litres of beer. Lowenbrau's Triumphator, depicted below, is a 7.6% abv Dopplebock that according to Jean is the best Bavarian beer he has ever had.... EVER!!
We found two free chairs at a table with a trio of
young German guys getting ready for the start of Oktoberfest. We had
some great conversations with them. We learned that one of their friends, who later joined us, had
spent a year in a town just outside Montreal and knew our city very
well; it's funny no matter how far you are from home there will always
be something to remind you of it. Before parting ways with our new friends they offered us shots of peach schnapps - much in the spirit of our inebriated encounter. I am not usually a fan of peach schnapps but these were fantastic! Great food, great beer, and great company, what more could we have asked for. This proved to be a day we will never forget!
Lowenbrau beer hall was a little further from the central, more tourist part of the city and had a lot more young Germans. They were hosting an Oktoberfest after-party at the beer hall after the beer tents closed but you have to understand that after 12 hours of festivities nothing is more tempting than a nice crisp hotel bed. Guten Nacht!
Thank you all for (re)living our adventures with us!
Prost!
- Adri
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