Today we headed to Munich! Our tickets were for three separate trains stopping in Vienna, Salzburg, and then finally Munich. I was not expecting for them to be lined up but I really did not expect to wait 3 hours for the first train to arrive! German trains are a nightmare! We had paid extra for a seat reservation but by the time the train arrived, it turned into a free for all. The following trains were even worse as we were no longer on the trains we bought tickets for. Therefore, our seat reservations were invalid and we kept getting displaced which was quite frustrating. Luckily, we never had to stand in the aisles as many were. Eventually, we made it to Vienna where I stopped by to grab a few Viennese treats. I recognized the Vienna train station very fondly!
The whole journey to Munich was supposed to take less than 6 hours but ended up taking 12 hours. I gave up on being frustrated as there was nothing we could do but take lots of naps, make friends with strangers, and catch up on Never Have I Ever.
When we finally arrived in Munich it was late and we were hungry so we decided to start off with one of the most iconic German places - the Hofbräuhaus München. The Hofbräuhaus München was built in 1589 by the Duke at the time but was destroyed in WWII and later rebuilt. The beer hall is enormous and has 3 different floors. It can seat up to 3,400 people! In Germany there are many beer halls where you can bring your own little picnic too but this one included a restaurant serving traditional Bavarian food.
The beer hall was very boisterous and lively when we arrived around 9pm. There was a live brass band playing hit songs that the Germans were singing their lungs out to. It was a chaotic but also fun scene. There was so much going on we did not know where to start. We did a walkthrough of the area to get our bearings and decided where to sit. There were hundreds of long wooden tables people shared with others. Running up and down the aisles were girls dressed in German dresses holding up the classic German pretzels. The historical Schwemme or main area was beautifully decorated with hand paintings of floral decor on the arches. Under this section the band was playing their tunes.
We found an empty table towards the back of the hall where we could still see and hear the band and people dancing in front of them. The full liter beer glasses people were drinking were enormous! I most definitely couldn't do it and the waiter looked disappointed in me when I ordered the half liter. Holly managed to drink the full liter though! We both ordered the beer based on lemonade since neither of us have developed the acquired taste of beer yet.
For dinner I ordered a traditional Bavarian dish called Käsespätzle. The dish was essentially Mac n Cheese with fried onions on top. The dish was good but maybe a few too many onions towards the end.
I had a ton of fun at the beer hall! Holly and I were both so giggly and we had a good time bonding together. It was such a fun vibe in the beer hall and we both really enjoyed people watching and chatting. At some point we were singing along to the band as we tried to remember something other than the refrain. I am very glad I got to experience the beer hall craziness!
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