München in June?

OKTOBERFEST: when you ask any study abroad student their impressions of Germany, they almost always include hazy memories of Oktoberfest. This weekend, some great friends took us down to Munich to check out the city during the "off-season". As you can see - Patrick was thrilled that our first stop was Hofbrauhaus, one of Munich's oldest breweries and also a famous Biergarten (another easy translation!). 

Hofbrauhaus is over 400 years old and is deeply rooted in German tradition and history. Apparently, during the Thirty Year's War, the King of Sweden spared the city of Munich only if they agreed to a short list of political requests and handing over several hundred thousand barrels of the famous 'Bier.' 

Like wine, Bier snobs believe that the type of glass used to serve the beer is essential. While the rest of the table came with their game-faces on and ordered the 1 Liter hallmark steins, I settled for a 0.5 Liter of wheat beer, which came in a tall, thin glass. Pretzel ladies wandered the Garten with enormous pretzels for 2 Euros - a-m-a-z-i-n-g. 

Pretzel lady with GIANT pretzels!

So - after this post, how many can I expect between September 22nd and October 7th for a Stein of Hofbrauhaus Bier at the world's largest fair? First round is on me!