Bavarian Christmas Interlude 2018, Wednesday: A sensory overload of Munich history and beer.

Diana and I visited Bavaria (Munich and Bamberg) just before Christmas. Prior to departure, there was a series entitled Munich Tales 2018. This is the second of seven installments summarizing what we did, saw, ate and drank. They're being back-dated to the day we were there.

Previously: Arrival and ample Christmas marketeering.
Next: An excursion to my beloved Bamberg.

Wednesday began with a walk, and somehow the walk lasted almost the entire day with two beer stops in between. In effect, we were viewing Munich's centuries prior to World War I, which prompts a useful reminder: Bavaria was an independent kingdom until German unification circa 1871, and even after this, the Bavarian royal family remained intact until 1918.

The Kingdom of Bavaria (German: Königreich Bayern; Austro-Bavarian: Kinereich Bayern) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. The Bavarian Elector Maximilian IV Joseph of the House of Wittelsbach became the first King of Bavaria in 1805 as Maximilian I Joseph. The crown would go on being held by the Wittelsbachs until the kingdom came to an end in 1918.

Our walk went something like this.

1. Hotel to Hauptbahnhof to Königsplatz, or King's Square, built in the 19th-century according to neoclassical design. Munich's arts and museum quarter begins here.

2. To Odeonsplatz via Briennerstrasse, stopping first at the Christmas market at Wittelsbacherplatz (the equestrian statue is Maximilian I).

Odeonsplatz was built in the early 19th century on the site of the Schwabing Gate, to serve as the starting point of a royal route along what is now Briennerstrase, from the Residenz (winter palace) to Schloss Nymphenburg (the summer palace).

When World War I began in 1914, huge crowds gathered at Odeonsplatz to hear the announcement. Much later, historians examining photos of the occasion found Adolf Hitler in the crowd.

3. Next, Hofgarten Park and the adjacent Residenz (and another Christmas market in the courtyard there). Of personal importance to me is the building to the rear of the Hofgarten, now called the Bayerische Staatskanzlei. The domed section in the middle originally was part of the Bavarian army museum, constructed in 1905 and largely destroyed during World War II. In 1985, when I visited Munich for the first time, it was a ruin, and I was absolutely fascinated by it. The new building dates from 1989-1993; the central dome was preserved, and modern glass and steel wings added on both sides.

The Christmas market tucked into the Residenz was a delight. Observe the cow's udder method of applying mustard and ketchup to delectable grilled sausages.

4. To Marienplatz and Viktualienmarkt and a second round of perusing the Christmas markets there.

5. For lunch, to the amazing Schneider Bräuhaus restaurant. Prior to the war, the wheat ale specialist brewer Schneider was one of the major players in the Munich brewing scene. It was destroyed by bombs, and production moved to Kelheim on the Danube, where the family owned an intact brewery. The restaurant was rebuilt, and I'd just as soon patronize it as any of the other Munich brewery restaurants.

6. To Isartorplatz, then the Deutsche Museum, then a brief walk along the Isar River. The reconstructed Isartor (Isar Gate) was one of the main gates to the city in medieval times. The nearby Isar River rises in the Tyrolean Alps and flows through Munich in route to its junction with the Danube. In recent years, substantial progress has been made toward restoring the Isar's natural condition, and making it suitable for bathing in summer.

7. To the Platzl, a small square disproportionately famous (infamous?) for the presence of the Hofbräuhaus am Platzl.

The Hofbräu brewery is an anachronism. It began as the royal court brewery, and to this very day is an arm of Bavarian government. We took a walk-through of the Hofbräuhaus, which was a veritable zoo of humanity; we might have gone upstairs to the more civilized dining area, but Ayinger has maintained a presence on the Platzl for many years, and the Wirtshaus Ayinger am Platzl was a far safer haven for contemplative beers and snacks.

Devotees of the Public House will recognize the concept of the Anstich keg, hauled atop the counter, tap applied with mallet, and poured by gravity feed. Of course this was the way it was done every day for centuries, and remains the daily custom at places like Schlenkerla in Bamberg. At Ayinger am Platzl, as at numerous other establishments in Munich nowadays, there's a daily 5:00 p.m. tapping, with the unfiltered golden lager being poured into the stoneware.

It was delicious.

8. Now well after dark, we concluded the day's eight-hour, seven-mile hike by ambling back to the Hauptbahnhof, cutting through it and south to the hotel.

I remember sleeping very, very well.

BEER WITH A SOCIALIST: That time in 2003 when we rode bicycles to Schneider Weisse.

The return to Schneider by bus in 2004.

In the summer of 2003, I packed my bicycle in the hard shell case and flew to Germany, arriving in Frankfurt and eventually riding all the way to Vienna. That's more than 500 miles. Friends joined me at various points along the way, and it was a blast. A couple of us then took the train back through Salzburg to Munich, and north to Bamberg for a few more days of riding, beer and pork -- not necessarily in that order.

The whole story lies far beyond my limited aims today, although in retrospect, it strikes me as curious that the tale is one I've seldom told, at least in writing.

Perhaps it should be noted that the stated pretext for these five weeks abroad -- my longest continuous time in Europe since the 1991-92 teaching gig in Czechoslovakia -- was to mark my divorce. Maybe that's why I've given it short shrift, although the ride was intended to be about thinking and reflecting, and this is the way it played out.

Beats me.

But: probably far more than all the psychobabble, the bicycling journey in 2003 was something I just had to do, all for myself, melding my love of travel with what, at the time, was a blossoming appreciation of the bicycle's awesomeness as a vehicle of discovery. Bikes, beer and Europe ... even 15 years later, it's hard to improve on this combination.

As an aside, in those days I didn't yet own a digital camera. Somewhere are photos waiting to be scanned. Maybe they'll reveal more.

Anyway ... at Pints&union, we'll be carrying bottled Schneider Weisse and Aventinus, two world classic wheat ales. Back in 2003 at the Public House, we'd been carrying the Schneider brewery's line since it first became available via the B. United wholesale house, and naturally it was to B. United that I directed a pre-trip inquiry: might my friends and I get a tour of Schneider while cycling?

I'd planned a route through the beautiful valley of the Altmühl River, and Kelheim marks the confluence of the Altmühl and the Danube. Just a few miles away is the Kloster Weltenberg, itself an amazing and picturesque monastery and brewery.

The brewery was amenable -- and would we like them to make reservations for us at an affiliated hostelry in Kelheim?

Summer arrived, and the three of us (Tim and Craig had merged with me at Gunzenhausen) came pedaling into Kelheim a day early, but the hotel booked by the brewery had available rooms, which meant we'd be staying three nights instead of two. The brewery tour was wonderful, and we made to Kloster Weltenberg, which was accessible by foot, bike, boat or bus.

When it came time to move on to Regensburg, there was a surprise waiting at the front desk. The bill for the three of us was zero. Null. Schneider picked up the rooms for us. I think there may have been a meal or two and some beers included.

Yes, I sold the brewery's beer in Indiana, but after three days of hospitality in Kelheim, Schneider probably lost money on the account. But I've never forgotten it, and never will.

I'm a Schneider loyalist for life. Alworth's a great writer; time to learn about German-style wheat ale.

Schneider Weisse: Wheat Beer’s Last Stand, by Jeff Alworth (All About Beer)

The village of Kelheim, smack dab in the center of Bavaria, does not appear to be hallowed ground. It has the same tidy, charming appearance of so many little towns that dot the Bavarian countryside. True, there’s a larger-than-average brewery just to the east of the town square and, true, it does announce itself as a maker of wheat ales—unexpected in lager country. But wheat beer (known variously as weizen or weissbier) is available at every beer hall in Bavaria; surely this isn’t that special?

To the contrary; G. Schneider & Sohn is where wheat beer made its last stand, and the flagship brewed there, Schneider Weisse, is one of the most interesting and important beers still made in the world.

The history, the style, and the beer are so interesting, in fact, one hardly knows where to begin.