04/10/2002:
The fascinating capital of Bavaria
As
soon as I arrived in the city, I was taken to a place that was said to be
traditional. It was as large and spacious as a warehouse, lit by a dim light,
but clear enough for one to see the details of the rustic decoration. The place
was full of joy. Some people stood up, others danced, and others sit cheerfully
chatting. Since
the tables were very long, we sit down near strangers and, holding huge mugs, we
had a toast with them. "Prosit" (cheers), was what they kept saying to
one another. The talking was sometimes overshadowed by the sound of a music band,
playing German folk music. They were men wearing trousers up to their knees,
braces and black hats, with green straps and red feathers. Their costumes made
the party even livelier. There
was I, in Munich, Germany. I couldn't have been welcomed in a better way.
Tradition is everywhere in the Hofbraühaus, a beer garden, biergarten in German.
Huge one-litre beer mugs are common in Bavaria. The biergartens are also famous
in the region. The beer is brewed on site. Frequent goers earn their own bronze
mug (it is almost a barrel!) It is at the biergartens that Germans sing, dance
and have fun, tasting the delicious home beer and the prietz bread. The best
picture of traditional Germany can be seen in the southern part of Bavaria, the
"Beer Zone". Every
year, Munich hosts the biggest beer fair in the world – the traditional
Oktoberfest, which starts in September. It is originally from Munich, but it has
already taken to all over the world. In Brazil, the fairs take place in October,
in different towns that have been settled by German immigrants. The Oktoberfest
in Blumenau, in the state of Santa Catarina, and in Santa Cruz do Sul, in the
state of Rio Grande do Sul, are the most famous ones. Although
I could not take in part in the fair, I visited the park where it was going to
take place, and it was huge! Each biergarten (and they are numerous) has a tent,
and it is said each one has a different public. Traditional Bavarian dishes are
also part of the fair – sauerkraut, bockwurst and pork knee are the most
common ones. German cuisine uses a lot of pork, especially for different kinds
of sausages and frankfurters. However,
Germany is not only about beer and Oktoberfest. The country is also rich in
terms of history and architecture. In Munich, the city hall (Rathaus, in German)
is a beautiful neo-gothic building, the most famous place in the city. The twin
towers of the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady), built in 1271, are another
landmark in Munich. The grave of King Ludwig I is in this church. In the city
centre, there is the stage where Hitler would deliver his speeches. Not so far
away, Nuremberg would come be the central point of his "Empire”. Munich,
or München in German, is the capital of Bavaria and one of the most popular
cities in Germany. It has almost the same number of inhabitants as Porto Alegre
– 1.3 million. For European standards, it is a large and expensive city. It
has trendy shops, fancy clothes and large companies, as well as the headquarters
of companies such as BMW and Siemens. Whoever likes cars and does not find it
enough to look at the shop windows, may check out BMW's museum. A
large city, full of youngsters, Munich is also in the vanguard. Gay couples,
made up both of women and of men, are accepted and express affection in public.
On sunny summer days, Germans fill the parks to get a tan and have a picnic. The
most famous park in Munich is the English Garden. I was already getting used to
people in topless, but I got surprised at seeing men and women lying naked at
the park on a Saturday afternoon. They took off all their clothes! Some of them
kept swimming trunks; others were nude, lying on the floor, getting a tan.
Nobody stares or comments, for they see it as a natural behaviour. Just imagine
if it happened in Brazil… However,
whereas some people take all their clothes off, others dress up. On the other
side of the park, in a trendy restaurant across from the lake, men wear dinner
jackets; and women, evening gowns. They dress up to sit on the English Garden.
Another curious aspect in the park: river surfing. A river crosses the park, and
its waters flow quite rapidly in some parts, forming rapids and waves. At these
parts of the river, one has to queue up to go surfing. Bizarre, isn't it? That's
how creative people living far from the sea handle it. Munich
gradually unveiled itself… Oktoberfest, huge mugs, nudity at the park, trendy
shops. It is a delicious city, with the traditional flavour of Bavaria.
Pictures:
- Oktoberfest's bier garden: 1,
2 - Twin towers: 1 - Portico where Adolf Hitler used to deliver speeches: 1 Translated by Traduzca |
