Mimes and a dinner at Hofbräuhaus in Munich, Germany

We stayed at the beautiful park until the sun began to set, then we made our way to dinner at the Hofbräuhaus. 

Many of the buildings we passed had the year they were first built (or when the business first started) inscribed on the side.  As you can see in the picture here, in the bottom right it says “anno 1589”. That’s right, the Hofbräuhaus has been brewing and serving beer for over four centuries now! 

It was an interesting experience to be able to walk down the uneven stone streets and see when the buildings around us had been built. It made me feel almost as though I were walking through time to know that the lay of the area was roughly the same as it had been centuries prior, and that the food served in these buildings was the same food eaten by the people of that time as well!

 Photographer me was snapping pictures and walking at the same time, so I wasn’t really seeing where I was going, and my hubby and I nearly ran into a statue! “Whoa!” exclaimed my hubby as we nearly backed into a fountain statue.

 The statue was oddly placed right in front of the entrance to the Hofbräuhaus.  He glanced up at it and then turned to me, “I almost thought it was real”. He chuckled and then continued on. I put down my camera and turned to take a picture of the fountain statue. It was of a worker man standing on a platform. It's coloring was an aged gold from head to toe, and he held a cup in his hands from which water poured out into the bowl below him. However it couldn’t be a statue as the arm, which held the cup, moved slowly from side to side and the head would occasionally tilt and turn. A machine then? How peculiar. I stared up at its face and my jaw dropped open. “Honey, it is real!” I exclaimed! I watched him move. His movements were not entirely smooth; he jittered as he mimicked how a machine might move. “He’s a mime!” my husband declared. And my DH was quite right. It was indeed a mime, and I thought a most excellent one at that! He sent us a wink as he heard that we had figured him out. I was in awe. One other couple had stopped and was observing him, however aside from them and us, everyone passed him by without a second glance. I gave my camera to my hubby and asked if he would take my picture with the first mime I have ever met. Naturally hubby obliged and I ran to stand next to the mime. The mime made a series of unusual faces at me, and instinctively I held out my hand. He then turned and poured water into my hand. That got people’s attention! Very quickly a crowd gathered and all were observing the mime move. Other people began to take pictures with him and a bald man requested that he pour water on his head! After my hubby took the photos, I dug through my pockets and pulled out the euro coins I had on hand and placed them in a box in front of the mime (a box that nearly blended in with his statue self!). I wish I had had more than a few dollars to give him; we found him to be very impressive! (If anyone is interested, here is his fb page: AlexStatue)

 

After a significantly sized crowd had gathered and began to clog up the street, we departed and entered the Hofbräuhaus. When I asked my hubby what some of the things he most wanted to get out of our vacation were, excellent German food was at the top of his list, just under relaxation. So for my hubby (and myself), this dinner was a highly anticipated event. We were overwhelmed when we first walked in. It was a very large restaurant, though it didn’t look it at first, as it was divided into many sections, but after observing the many paths, which led to further rooms or tucked away cubbies, I began to realize it was a very large restaurant, and it was packed with people. All of the tables and benches were wooden, the high walls and ceilings painted with ornate German designs, the staff dressed in period attire, and a live folk band performed Bavarian music (with large mugs of beer at their feet!).

Unsure if we should seat ourselves or wait for someone to seat us, I asked the nearest man dressed in Lederhosen. “Excuse me,” I began, “Should we seat ourselves or should we wait for someone to seat us?” The man gave me a smile and replied, “I will seat you, but you’ll have to leave your boyfriend behind” giving a nod to my DH, who was still in the entryway with our LO taking in the scene around us. “Ah, thank you.” I replied. He gave a nod as I left to tell my hubby we were to choose whichever table suited us.

We walked past the steinvault – an area with locked cubbies where loyal drinkers could keep their steins safe – and past a very large bar before we found a tucked away corner that met our desires. A kind waiter in Lederhosen took our orders, brought a chair for the baby, and even toys to keep the baby occupied while we awaited our food. 

 

While we waited for our food, we read the backs of our menus (we were given an English translation), which gave us the history of the place. Among other things, it told us that back in the 1500’s, beer was not regarded as a beverage but as a fundamental food. We also discovered that the building we were in had been redesigned and rebuilt several times due to everything from bombs to fire to necessary expansion.

 You can see our drinks in the picture at upper left there. The food we ordered did not disappoint. My husband ordered a roasted knuckle of pork and received that large hunk of meat you see at right.

Most dishes seemed to come with a sticky dumpling and a form of sauerkraut. I had the pork and dumpling as seen below (and yes, I did not conform to my usual diet while on this trip. I did the last time we went to Germany three months ago and this time I was eager to sample their cuisine).

My dish of roasted pork slices with crackling in homemade gravy.

For dessert we shared this apple strudel from the Hofbräuhaus bakery!

We were so full that it took some effort to squeeze this tasty morsel into our stomachs. 

The vanilla sauce it was in was particularly delicious. Seeing that we enjoyed it so much, the waiter brought a whole bowl of the vanilla sauce over. We liberally poured it onto our strudel to increase it's deliciousness factor. 

 

Unlike Italy, Germans do tip, and it is customary to round up to the nearest ten. After polishing off our plates and drinks, we departed for the gift shop were we purchased memento mugs, including a small one we intend to put on the Christmas tree, along with our other souvenirs from our travels.

The dinner proved to be very fulfilling and a grand experience to conclude our first day in Germany. If you ever happen to get the chance to go to Munich, we  certainly recommend this place to you!