Airbrau’s outdoor beer garden

The imposing Neuschwanstein Castle

The Christmas bazaar at Munich airport

The beer keeps coming at Hofbrauhaus

The Marienplatz is the heart of Munich

This will change the way you guzzle beer. Imagine knocking back the pints, lolling in what can only be labelled as a raucous beer hall (as opposed to a beer bar), where you can barely hear yourself think. Munich’s Hofbrauhaus is not fancy — some even call it very basic and ..er.. downmarket. Just row upon row of long wooden tables and benches (some have been around since 1897), and beer mugs that can hold an average of two litres of the yellow stuff served by waitresses in Bavarian attire.

And just by the way there are sure to be at least another 3,500 people who’ve had the same idea and are glugging with alacrity, with friends, family, and rank strangers. The atmosphere is electric. Very Oktoberfest. Very Bavarian. Very essence of Munich. My first night out in Munich rocked and rolled.

And dedicated to that rather inebriated night, here’s to some Hofbrauhaus trivia. Dating back to 1589, this is clearly one of the city’s oldest breweries-turned-pubs. Tipsy in Hofbrauhaus, it’s easy to believe when someone says that half of Germany’s breweries are located in the country’s southernmost state, Bavaria, of which Munich is the capital.

Anyway, in Hofbrauhaus the 100 waiters and waitresses serve up 30,000 thirsty men and women on busy days. House specialties include the Weisswurst (suculent white sausage), suckling pig, knuckles and joints of pork and apfelstrudel (German for apple strudel).

The main course, of course, is the delicious in-house Hofbräu beer (alcohol content 5.1). If you’re not drinking, just enjoy the show: the rowdy crowd, hoots and wolf whistles. But it’s perfectly safe.

There are many reasons why you must plan a purely Munich holiday. And abandon ideas of bunging it in along with a 14-day whistle-stop European package tour. In the typical touristy sense, Munich sure surprised us with its medley of most wanted ingredients for a holiday: great food (read loads of sausages), barrels of beer and happening nightspots.

Plus, Bavaria is almost as pretty as Switzerland and the destination has got better connected to Calcutta. Come December 1 and Lufthansa will take off thrice weekly from Calcutta for Frankfurt (and back). That’s about a six hour flight to a world hub and then onwards, a 50-minute connection to Munich. On the other hand, fly via Delhi and take a morning flight from the capital (seven days a week) directly into Munich where all the action is.

Yes, so many reasons to make that booking but one big downer: language. You can’t lose your way in Munich (it’s idiot proof) but be prepared for some frustrating false starts. We asked many questions — What? Where? How far? How much? Which one? Sorry, again, what?

Ask a question and be prepared to be stonewalled with ‘No English’. But this will usually be followed by something that is sure to warm the cockles of your heart. “Shah Rukh Khan?” Yes, we nod, we are from the land of the man himself. A fist will thump the left breast and then a confession: “I love Shah Rukh Khan!” Germans are die-hard Hindi movie junkies and are known to weep copious tears over Khan’s blockbusters Kal Ho Na Ho, Veer Zara — just name it. Subtitles work fine.

Your Munich agenda? Pub crawl, of course. The best place to do so is by ambling around the cobbled Marienplatz (or Mary’s Square), the heart of Munich. Marienplatz is home to Munich’s old City Hall, and the new City Hall. Pick a hotel in the area (think upwards of euro 150 a night for a single room) and commute by tram and the underground for a feel of the city.

If it’s vibrant street-life you want, Marienplatz is a clear winner. The bonus is the variety of shopping you can indulge in. Another myth shattered: the euro goes a long way in Germany. You can see and, yes, you can buy. In Marienplatz you can explore one big departmental store after another. Beer gardens, cafés — and a church. The Marienplatz church has some stunning art so step inside and light a candle.

Museum buffs, take a tram to the museum area in the centre of Munich. This boasts of three art museums: Alte Pinakothek, Neue Pinakothek and Pinakothek der Moderne. Me? I flounced off to Neue Pinakothek to see Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers.

In-building an excursion out of the city to Neuschwanstein tongue-twister Castle is a must. A two-hour train journey from Munich (and another short bus ride) will bring you to one of three palaces build for Louis II of Bavaria (you perhaps know him as Mad King Ludwig). This is the most famous of the three palaces set in the Bavarian Alps. Yes, that’s right. Sleeping Beauty’s Castle in Disneyland is a near replica.

Back in Munich, a big must see? Here’s the surprise: it’s the airport. It’s clearly the place for a day out for the locals as well. Usually visitors (tourists, transit passengers and locals) make a beeline for its pick of restaurants and for a spot of top class shopping at the airport’s public areas.

We stopped at Airbrau, spotting it between Terminal 1 and 2 (the latter is a dedicated Lufthansa hub). The restaurant seats 300 inside, plus another 250 in the outdoor beer garden that opens in summer. Airbrau has been functioning as the Europe’s first airport brewery since 1999. State-of-the-art brewing technology sits bang in the middle of the restaurant. It makes for a great photo op as you wait your order of roast pork, duck, pork knuckle, potato dumplings and the beer to arrive.

Much action also centres around the sprawling open area between the terminals. Over the weekends it’s routinely transformed into a flea market. And come Christmas this becomes the venue for a colourful bazaar where great bargains can be had.

Though Munich is a year-round destination, one of the festivals worth catching is its famed beer orgy. We missed the Oktoberfest, but it’s perhaps the highpoint. Oktoberfest we were told goes back to the days of Crown Prince Ludwig, who later became Ludwig of Bavaria.

It was first held to celebrate his marriage to Therese von Saxe-Hildburghausen in 1810. Though it’s called Oktoberfest, it always begins on the last but one Saturday of September. It is a 14-day global funfair that attracts tourists and all roads seem to lead to the fest grounds in the centre of town. Besides the food and carnival atmosphere, tourists can’t seem to get away from the 14 beer tents that sprout during the celebrations. Each tent can reportedly seat 100,000 revellers and serves beer from Munich’s breweries.

And when wanderlust bites, you can start wandering the rest of Europe. Munich is the perfect base from which you can explore Bavaria, even Austria, Switzerland and Italy. So just grin and beer it!

Route map

If you miss out on the real winter in Calcutta and want to bring out the woollies in real earnest this season, then how about holidaying in the Queen of Hills, Mussoorie? Park Plaza Sylverton, Mussoorie, which is part of the Sarovar Hotels & Resorts chain, might just be the place for you and the family. Mussoorie in winter is idyllic. No crowds, plenty of hill shopping and even the promise of snow in the higher reaches. And when night falls, the glittering view of the Doon Valley that sprawls below makes for a fairytale experience. The better news is that the hotel has some attractive 2-night, 3-day packages on offer. Till December 22, packages are available between Rs 6,999 and
Rs 8,999, but if you choose to travel for Christmas and ring in the New Year in the hills, expect to pay more. Between December 23 and January 2, 2007 rooms can be booked from Rs 9,999 to Rs 10,999. The 2-night, 3-day package includes accommodation for a couple with children under five staying without charge, welcome drinks and meals (depending on whether you opt for American, Continental or Modified American plan). Packages are valid right through till March 31, 2007.

In case you’re wondering how to get there, daily flights leave for Dehradun’s Jolly Grant airport from Delhi. The nearest railhead is at Dehradun and the hill town is connected to all major cities in India. For more information, call toll free 1 600 111 222.