München on pretzels, beer and some psycho tunes

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Ok...so München (aka Munich) may not be pronounced "munchin" but how could i resist?? And if you're curious as to the actual pronounciation i'm not sure that i'm even qualified to try say it properly.  but i shall try to explain anyway...it goes something like this: "mew-hehn"...as in, start saying "music", stop halfway and pretend like you have a little something caught in your throat...then end with "en". nicely done. now wipe off the computer screen and continue reading. So yes! Munchen...Bavaria! land of all german stereotypes...giant pretzels, giant beers, giant beer halls and of course amazing outfits...i.e. liederhosen...love it.  In fact so much so that i found a vintage store and had too much fun trying things on...was so tempted to buy a pair. these are good stereotypes! let me tell you...i have had at least 1 pretzel everyday...i am addicted. they are incredible. not to mention that you just can't get a good pretzel at home anymore...they changed the dough into some weird sweet stuff...ick. i've been craving a good pretzel...came to the right place. i believe (hope?) that all my city walking will keep away the inevitable weight gain from the large quantities of beer and pretzels i have happily consumed. and a thing about the beer here...obviously it is top quality...they even have the beer purity law in germany that all beer must only be made of water, hops, yeast, and either wheat or barley...it's all natural!this law was passed in the 1500s mind you. the monks were first responsible for brewing the beer here. munchen actually means the land of monks. very interesting. more interesting though is the vast amount of beer consumed by these monks!  it was a problem...so much so that they stated a rule that you could only consume 5 litres of beer a day. haha...only 5! and if you didn't drink them all in one day your beer count would roll over to the next day. the beer was also very strong...at least 12%. yes, they had severe health problems. but they were holy men..they had nothing to worry about in the end! (as in the end.) and they do serve beer by the litre. yes...you read that correctly...the LITRE. you actually have to place your hand through the handle and pick it up with your palm...full one-handed grip required...second supporting hand optional. this is in the famous beer halls of course. other places they serve by the half-litre...but don't kid yourself...this is still a fair amount of alcoholic liquid. one night i had 3 of the half-litres. i thought...3 beers...that's nothing! but when you think about it....haha. i did the next morning. the beer halls are great though...people just hang out, eat hearty food and listen to the oom-pah-pah music band. these places open at 10am mind you. and you may be thinking...wait...you were in munich during october?? Oktober Fest!!! but in fact i was not...it ends the 6th of october....weather conditions have forced them to move it mostly into september. i'll just have to come back! any takers??!

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While in munich i stayed at the Easy Palace hostel...still trying to decipher that name...easy palace?? hahaha. i've never thought of a palace and a hostel being on the same level in title or descriptive terms...although it was a nice hostel...and "easy" i suppose?? i didn't have to strip the sheets off the bed..sooo...who knows. weirdly enough every person that came into my room was into metal music! the last two girls who i hung out with were here for a vegan convention!! no way! they were also into metal/punk...we hung out on my last night chatting about music and veggie stuff of course. hopefully we'll do some sort of german/u.s. exchange in the future. i aslo met some cool people that worked at easy palace and on my way in...what timing...i ran into a band that was packing their intruments into a van...i immediately stopped and inquired. "you guys a band??" i'm very smooth. haha. turns out they are some old school, been around for 20 years, psychobilly band...which i did guess from their style of dress...ha...been around punk too long. ahh yes...and for those not in the know...psychobilly is a combination of punk and rockabilly...it's awesome! so my second night i of course headed for this show...small little club...liked the vibe right away. got my beer and enjoyed people watching. show started with a local band...they were pretty good, nice little warm up to The Quakes. in between i met up with a worker from the hostel who i had told about the show...and she said she always trys to see the bands staying at the hostel. was nice to have someone to talk with. The Quakes, who are actually from the U.S., were amazing! it was so much fun...nice to get some punk dancing in...little slam-dance is good for ya. Psycho!! after the show Ingrid (hostel girl) and I started chatting with the drummer, Chris, who turned out to be the coolest, nicest guy. he was showing me his drum kit...and on his travel case i managed to spot a u.s.a. ice hockey sticker! turns out he lives in upstate new york, plays and coaches ice hockey as well as playing in multiple psycholbilly bands...awesome! i told him i would surely pick up some Quakes cds upon my return home. so then he runs to the merch table and just grabs us each 3 cds and a t-shirt! but...don't tell his guitar player...haha. then their tour manager/bus driver and chris were trying with all their might to convince me to join them for the rest of the tour around europe...it was so tempting! why do i have a schedule! damn. next time i travel i think i'll just leave everything open...just in case an adventure unexpectedly appears.

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so perhaps i should actually talk a bit about the city itself? once again...another place in germany that is just covered in dark history. much of munich was destroyed during WWII by the allies but has been rebuilt in the original style so the city is a sight to see. although there are still buildings that were untouched...it is crazy to look up and around and think what happened here. in the Hofbräuhaus, the most famous beer hall built in the 16th century, housed a political "rally" for hitler, where he gathered communists from all over europe (he lied about his political views...).  after these communists quickly realized his nationalistic intentions they got a bit rowdy...hitler then ordered his S.A. to brutally beat them up, sending a nice message to his political oppenents about the power of the nazi party. this all right in one of the biggest, most popular beer halls that now calls unto tourists and locals galore. appartenly the paintings on the ceilings are covering swastikas. yikes. Not to mention that the modern art museum i went to, The Haus der Kunst, was once home to artwork  by various aritst of all different backgrounds until hitler decided these were disgusting works (obviously because of their maker) either threw the art out, burned it, or put it in a special exhibit labeled 'revolting'. he replaced all this art with propagandist artwork. Today it houses revolutionary modern artwork...everything hitler and his regime would have despised. The exibit i saw was by Robin Rhode...check hime out...his stuff is awesome! plays with action and movement in photography and painting/chalk drawings....very cool and clever. I also took a day to visit Dachau...one of the first concentration camps in germany. it's obviously not fun to talk about...it hurt to even contemplate it all while i was standing on the grounds where so many were killed and tortured. the museum there was incredibly moving. the experience pains and numbs at the same time...if that makes sense. but it is good to go and see such a place...it reminds you that yes, this did happen...and just as the momunment says "never again" will we see such an atrocity.

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to leave you on a better note... like Berlin, Munich does not hide it's history, nor  sulk around with overbearing guilt.  the city now holds a fun vibrancy full of music, art and a laid-back atmosphere. no one forgets the history, but munich would seem just like any other modern place in the world...and it's great place to visit! how could anyone be too uptight with that much beer??