Previously, we wrote about the German tradition at Christmastime to have a Christmas Market in the town square, where local artisans, restaurants, and pubs put up booths to display, cook, and/or serve their wares. Since we only “tasted” the Markets in Lille, France the year before, we decided to do it the right way and go the birthplace of the Christmas Market – Munich, Germany. We found a small town outside of Munich called Memmingen and made that our headquarters for the visit.
For years, we have always joked about going to “Bawaria” and here it was Thanksgiving Day and that is precisely where we were! Memmingen sits at the base of the Bavarian Alps – it is a town of about 40,000 people and is set in one of the more beautiful places in Europe. The people were delightful and extremely friendly and we did some really amazing stuff. After getting settled in the hotel, we decided to explore Memmingen for our first night and see if we could find a nice local German restaurant for our Thanksgiving feast – we were successful! We had Bratwursts and Kartoffasalat (wieners and warm German potato salad); it was delicious. We were the only patrons in the bar/restaurant – the owner made sure we had good German beers to drink and his wife was our waitress and chef! One of the most unusual Thanksgiving dinners ever but completely worth it.
The next day was the opening day of one of the biggest Christmas Markets in Germany, in Munich. We arranged for a train to get into Munich and zipped over there for the day (Memmingen is about 30 miles from Munich). This is how a Christmas Market is supposed to be done! We walked around drinking Gluhwein (hot mulled wine with spices, pronounced "gloo vine"); you have to give a 2 Euro deposit for the mug, which made sense. But we kind of liked the mugs and so we went back to the Gluhwein hut and asked “Can we buy these mugs? And if so, how much do they cost?” The Gluhwein Master looked at us as if we were a little crazy and said “Just don’t return the mugs – you already paid for them.” DUH!
We went all over the center of Munich, watched the biggest Glockenspiel as the clock hit noon and the whole building came to life. We meandered the Marienplatz (the “strip” as it were) and walked through open food and flower markets – all full of color and vibrance. The smells and sounds were amazing and we knew this was a unique experience.
We then roamed in the direction of the most famous bar/restaurant in Munich – the Hofbrauhaus. We were told in advance by some German friends that we had to go there, have a beer (which is served in Litres! – the equivalent of about 3 ½ U.S. bottles of beer), and order the Sweinehachsen (pronounced “shvine uh hox un”) – PORK KNUCKLE! Debbie ordered it and Jon ordered another Bratwurst. The food was delicious and we are big fans of the Pork Knuckle! Who knew Pigs had so much meat on their feet?
As we roamed further in Munich, we stumbled across a Marching Band that was just heading out for their March to celebrate the Season. We followed them down the street – what a cool thing to see and hear (video link below)!
From there we found a secondary Christmas Market and tried their pastry-type desserts; not sure what it was called but it was like a pancake or waffle all smashed up and smothered with an apple and berry paste and then coated with sugar. Wow, delicious!
Back to Memmingen to visit the local Christmas Market there – which was about 20 yards from our hotel. There was a restaurant called “The Hamptons” that had outdoor seating complete with blankets and heaters and it overlooked the entire Market. So we pulled up a table, wrapped up in blankets, had some hot cocoa and watched the market till it closed up. The 16-year old who was running the merry-go-round was having problems getting in touch with his mom to come pick him up from work, so that was amusing to witness (seems teenagers are teenagers no matter what language or country).
The next day was our day trip into the Bavarian Alps. The goal was to see Neucshwanstein Castle. What unfolded was so beautiful and amazing; not just the castle but the whole area – spectacular viewing. It was as if a great artist had taken his paintbrush and just created this perfect painting, but it was all natural, all real.
On arrival we bought our tickets to the castles and learned that is was a 1 ½ mile hike, straight uphill, to get there. Fortunately the Bavarians had a solution for that – horse-drawn carriages. We hopped on the equine Bavarian taxi and we were on our way. As you approach the castle, the beauty and sheer size of it start to impress. Neuschwanstein Castle is the castle on which Walt Disney based Sleeping Beauty’s castle; and here we were, right in front of it. Simply amazing. Pictures do a better job here than words. Wow!
Mad King Ludwig, was the king who commissioned the castle to be built. When he became King, he felt that the castle where he was raised and where he still resided, Hoehnschwengau, was simply not big enough for him. So he decided to have the new castle built. It took 12 years to build it to its current and still unfinished state. He moved in once the bedrooms were done and the “throne room” near completion. All the while, the townsfolk were convinced he was just a nut job (for many more reasons than just an extravagant castle), but no one could prove it. So, he agreed to have an evaluation by a professional psychiatrist to put all the rumors to rest. Ludwig thus invited the local “Vitch Doktur” to come to the castle for visit and assessment.
There never was a final result issued for the evaluation because … Ludwig AND the psychiatrist were found dead the next morning, floating in the lake at the bottom of the hill. He only lived in the castle for 14 days! No one to this day knows what happened – it just adds to the mystery and madness that was King Ludwig…
We left the castle, enriched by the experience, and went into the village below. We decided to stop in for dinner at a local restaurant. This is where we had “The Best Cheese Soup Ever!” It wasn’t called that, not even in German, but that’s what we called it. Amazing. We asked how they made it and they gave us the basics. We have since tried to recreate it at home to no avail.
Then we headed back to Memmingen for a final night in Germany, complete with more hot cocoa at The Hamptons. It was a great Thanksgiving to remember and we would recommend Germany to anyone – what a beautiful country.
