Day 4: Prost!

While traveling to Munich, we stopped at one of the side-shop-eatery places that spring up every few hundred miles all through Europe. They're usually fairly big places, made to accommodate large batches of bus travelers during high travel season. There aren't tons of fast food places everywhere like in the states, so instead, all the tourist money goes straight to one place that offers decent food, high prices, long bathroom lines (for the ladies) and tons of souvenirs. This isn't really of any note, but I spent so much time in them over the course of the trip that I felt it deserved mentioning.

Anyway, on our way to Munich, we stopped at one such place, which in addition to the cafeteria had a Burger King. Normally, I wouldn't have even noticed, except that they had a large sign urging everyone to upgrade their meal to a large...which was translated to "MAKE IT MAXI!" for some reason. This, of course, made me laugh, and so as we were leaving to get back on the bus, I snapped a picture. I had made it a few steps out of the place when the Burger King manager ran out and started pointing at me, looking pretty pissed off, saying "You take picture?" I told him yes, and he told me "No, not legal, delete!!" I generally try to avoid being a typical arrogant american, so I immediately complied. However, as I was walking away, I heard the guy mutter "I should have him arrested." It was a beautiful lesson in human nature: no matter your race, color, nationality or creed, if you're a low-level manager at a fast food chain, you're a douchebag.

We arrived in Munich around 6 in the evening, pretty much leaving us enough time to have dinner and then go drink at the HofBrau House, which is apparently the most famous beer hall in Germany. We tried to get a table in HofBrau immediately so as to maximize our drinking time, but it was incredibly full. We were all hungry, and given that HofBrau serves their beer in ONE LITER mugs, I felt it prudent to put something in my stomach to absorb all the beer I was . Instead, I had Wiener Schnitzel, which I ordered simply because I couldn't believe that it was an actual dish, and also because I was kinda hoping that it was a hot dog. It's not. Instead, it's breaded/fried pork, a heart-stopping delight. Full and ready to drink, we went over to HB and, with a little luck, scored a table.

Hofbrauhaus is exactly what you'd think an old German beer hall is-- long, wooden tables, hot women selling large pretzels, and that great German drinking music that makes you feel more inebriated than you actually are. There are only three types of beer there: Lager, Dark, and another concoction that's half beer-half lemonade, which I guess is the German equivalent of a chick drink. I don't often feel a part of any ethnicity, but here I felt more like I was coming home than visiting for the first time.

There are a few rules for drinking at the Hofbrauhaus, and none of them are posted, so just in case, here's what you never do: Yell or sing loudly. MJ the tourguide informed us of this, which made it really fun to watch as a bunch of Aussies broke into some Australian song, only to have a very large, very scary looking German man who was dressed like a Secret Service agent walk over to their table, put a catchers mitt sized paw on the loudest, drunkest one, forcing him to sit down. Mr. Beer Security then put one finger to his lips and walked away. Germans are fucking serious about their beer. So much so that they have stringent laws regarding brewing, which include the outlawing of preservatives. This is great, because that's what causes hangovers. To toast, simply raise your glass (which can be difficult--a liter of beer is heavy) say "Prost!" and then maintain eye contact as you drink. Breaking eye contract or not toasting back is very rude. I could only put down 2 mugs worth of beer (schnitzel is very, very filling) which, by the way, was absolutely delicious, probably the best lager i've ever had.