In case you were wondering what summer in Munich is like, it’s simple: all biergarten all the time.
These photos are from the biergarten at Seehaus, in the middle of the English Garden. This beer garden distinguishes itself from the millions of others in that 1) it’s on a lake and 2) it has a wider selection of food than most other beer gardens. Not that this matters to those who bring their own food along, something you are allowed to do in all of Munich’s beer gardens as long as you purchase beverages there. Just make sure to sit in the self-serve beer garden area, rather in the fancier restaurant area that most beer gardens have (usually denoted by tablecloths, silverware, or other fancy stuff on the tables).
Biergartens are great for people-watching, from the drunken bachelor parties collecting tags from panties to the older Germans with their pimped-out picnic tables (complete with fancy table cloths, cutting boards, and centerpieces). The bums walking around scavenging for leftover food and beer make you think Munich might not be such a bad place to be homeless (but just in the summer). As the crowds thin out at night, the ducks come to compete with the bums for the leftover pretzels.
Beer gardens tend open around 11 am and close much earlier than their attached restaurants, usually between 9 and 11 pm.
Those last two photos are wonderful. More motivation to book my trip….
I visited that biergarten, just lovely! I didn’t know you can bring your own food, that’s quite nice, don’t know if we can do that in the Stuttgart area…. Laura in Ludwigsburg, baroquebabies.com come over and say hello when you have a chance!
Ah, but who can blame them when you have good weather. There is nothing better than a garden and a beer on beautiful spring evenings.
What a great glimpse into life in Munich!
I miss good beer.
Cool blog post! One of my favorite things about Germany when the sun is out is the Biergarten. Even if I’m not having beer. Sitting outside, after working hard indoors all week, it sure feels good.
That’s what I like most about beer gardens – they’re simply nice places to sit and be outside. The big chestnut trees make for nice shade.
Well of course they close early – if people start drinking at 11:00 am they are sure to be pretty well spent by 8 or 9 PM!
There’s a beer garden / biergarten on midtown Manhattan that I’ve been to a few times, but it’s indoors. Nice to get a feel for what the real thing looks like.
Tink *~*~*
Wouldn’t an indoor biergarten be a beer hall? 😉 Or do they have fake trees and stuff, too?