After our wet introduction to Munich, and subsequent flight into a hotel room at great haste, we were hoping that seeing the sights would be somewhat low impact. It turned into a wonderful evening. We walked around Marianplatz and visited an amazing store called Alois Dalmayr which was a purveyor of a fascinating array of foods and drinks. They sold things which had been prepared, possibly by magical elves, as it looked so good, and things which you could take home and make yourself; the variety was amazing for a relatively small location! I bought a couple bottles of the most lovely looking lemonchello I’d ever seen. No idea if it will weather the flights home, but I am going to try. After quite a long time of ogling the foodstuffs, neatly dressed staff, and pond full of tiny lobsters, we headed out.
It had started to rain again, so we walked along the chithall building, heading towards a Biergarten and restaurant called Andechser which I had read about, that had been billed as somewhat hip and excellent sausages or something like that. Luckily we happened upon it, and were seated indoors at a long table with benches and a few other groups of people. We wound up sitting next to each other and basically joined two nice guys sitting at the end. Robert and Jocky were both from Germany, and had been friends for over thirty years. They had met at work and remained friends through career changes and distance.
They instantly became our friends when they gave us a recommendation on what to order and helped us get a side of meerraddith (horseradish, freshly grated, fantastic, and nothing like the stuff from America) to mix with the spicy mustard. From Robert’s stories, it is apparently quite an aphrodisiac. We got a primer on mustards, sausages, chantraels, and German history, and spent a few hours chatting around Andechs beer mixed with lemonade (Radler is what that is called in German, at least in Bavaria, which is where Munich is located, technically).
It was one of those remarkable evenings, which I realized would only occur this once. Right combination of good people and food and free time; honest conversation between four individuals who might otherwise have not met, and who managed to communicate even though it took a small amount of thought. I feel very pleased at having met with Jocky and Robert, and it made my time in Munich, and Germany in general, much more real and interesting, and without that evening, it would have seemed like a rainy day mostly, in a city which could be lonely. Both Robert and Jocky had great attitudes about life which were somewhat infectious, and seeing two people who have known each other as long as Heather and I have, was quite fun. I hope that they both know how lucky they are to have such a bond, and it was great to hear each of them say what a wonderful father the other was, and to talk about the good times they have had over the years. While it was good to hear, it made me a bit homesick as well.
Until leaving Munich, I would have agreed with the sign at the Hofbrauhaus: “Durst ist schlimmer als Hemweh.” “Being thirsty is worse than feeling homesick.” However, I can no longer agree. While I am grateful for the food and drinks with new friends, I am strongly missing those dear to me at home.