Bavaria, Germany - The Beer Garden Experience

My husband and I just returned home from ten incredible days in Bavaria, Germany. We attended a family wedding in a picturesque lakeside village, hiked in the foothills of the Alps, visited a few famous castles, and rode bikes through the vibrant city of Munich. All along the way we popped into numerous beer gardens and enjoyed many mugs of tasty German brew. The experience is one I recommend to anyone who appreciates drinking beer in an environment where people love to have fun.


The outside beer garden at the famous Hofbrauhaus.

This is a mas, a standard size beer in Germany. 

The Bavarian Beer Garden experience: German beer gardens come in all shapes and sizes, but have one common denomenator. They serve lots of beer, to lots of folks, in a pleasant outdoor environment. Although we visited many beer drinking establishments on this trip, I'm highlighting four distinctly different beer gardens, three famous, and one not so famous, but all especially fun.
What did we have: We drank every style beer offered at most beer gardens. We ate our share of sausages and consumed a few pretzels.  I did sample some regional white wine, which was very nice, and some extremely good chocolate.
What's fun:  It's all about the friendly crowds, both tourists and locals, the relaxed atmosphere, the excellent service and efficiency (think really clean bathrooms). I imagine it could get pretty rough during Octoberfest, but the week we were there we did not see anything other than moderately happy patrons enjoying their beer and having a good time.  Music, dancing, families, conversation, good times!  

 Additional photos are posted on Facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Beer-Wine-Chocolate/216204561737432

Schondorf, Germany - The Schondorfer Restaurant


Our adventure began in Schondorf on Ammersee (Ammer Lake) a lovely village about 30 miles from Munich.  Our first venture in German beer drinking was at the local Schondorfer, a restaurant and pub that could barely be considered a beer garden, although they did have a few outdoor tables set up in the shade of some large trees.  Inside, the Schondorfer offered a warm inviting atmosphere, some great beer, and a snapshot of a the local flavor of village life in Bavaria. Our large group enjoyed a hearty meal and numerous mugs of the local beer. The historic restaurant was cozy with soft lighting  and well worn wooden tables.  The crowd was relaxed and mostly local.

Ah...the beer.

What did we have: We had our first taste of Augustiner beer, a favorite of many of the beer drinkers we talked to in Munich.  Among our group, we drank helles (German lager), weis (hefewies with spicy tones), dunkel-weis (a darker, bolder hefeweis) and the dunkel (a dark, smooth, full-bodied ale).  After tasting them all, I knew I was going to enjoy my stay in Germany. The cuisine had a Mediterranean flare, and we ate locally caught fish well prepared with fresh ingredients. It was quite delicious.

What was fun: One of the great reasons to travel is to experience the local flavor of a small town in a foreign land.  It's especially pleasant when the crowd is friendly and convivial, the beer is flowing and the service is excellent. It was a memorable foray into the Bavaria beer drinking experience.
(Coming soon! Andechs Monastery and Beer Garden)