In Munich with Viatrix and Ernst (February 2025)

Annette and I were in Munich from Sunday, February 2, 2025 to Thursday, February 13, 2025 with Viatrix and Ernst. This block posting combines my facebook postings during this period.

Sunday, February 2, 2025

Dinner at home in Schwabingen/ Munich with a Château Gruaud Larose 1984. The Bordeaux was excellent, 41 years old, the last bottle of a case we bought many years ago.

Family dinner at a Bavarian Wirtshaus/ tavern, @Papa Benz on Leopoldstrasse in Schwabingen. As a rule at a Bavarian Wirtshaus, all the different beers are from the same brewery, in this case from the Hofbräukeller München which runs the famous Hofbräuhaus München - Das Original.

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

A glass of beer (zero alcohol) while waiting for Ernst and Viatrix (having tennis lessons).

First evening in Muenchen Germany with Via and Ernst and without their parents Cornelia Schiller Tremann and Chris Tremann.

After-school activities in Germany: Cafe Riedmair/ Leopoldstrasse, with Via, Ernst, Annette Schiller. Currently, it is "Faschingskrapfen Saison", which ends on Mardi Gras.  

Family dinner with Carmen Dickoré-Ehrlich and Matthias Ehrlich in Schwabing, with a

Thorsten Melsheimer PatNat #mosel and Chateau Lafon-Rochet 1997, 2009, 2011 #saintestephe.

 

        

 

We finished the evening with a round of RACKO. 

 

 

Friday, February 7, 2025 

 

Saturday, February 8, 2025

 

More than 200,000 protesters rallied in Munich, Germany , today against far-right tendencies ahead of the country’s general election. We were sitting with some of them in the Metro, when we went to Munich downtown today. 

 

 

Viatrix and Ernst took a 2-hour art class at the Museum Brandhorst,

 

followed by an afternoon snack at Familienbäckerei Kistenpfennig near by. 

 

From there we went to the Hofbräuhaus München - Das Original, arguably the most famous pub in the world, for "Happy Hour". As usual, it was packed but we managed to get a nice table close to the "Blasmusik" Band. 

 

Food: "Obazda und Brezn". Drink: "Eine Halbe" (for Annette Schiller and me). 

 

Duke Wilhelm V of Bavaria founded the Hofbräuhaus in 1589 to supply his demanding court of 600 men with its own beer. Hof bräu = beer of the court. 

 

 

On the way to the Hofbräuhaus München - Das Original we stopped at a Madi Gras (called "Fasching" in Munich) event.

 

 

Back home: Viatrix made dumplings and cupcakes 

 

 

and we played RACKO.

 

During the 2-hour art class of Viatrix and Ernst, I did a little walking tour of Munich downtown passing some of my favorite beer taverns of Munich (@Donisl Wirtshaus, Der Pschorr, Zum Franziskaner @Spatenhaus) , one of the best high-end food stores in the world (@Alois Dallmayr) and a wine bar that was new to me, recommended by Carmen Dickoré-Ehrlich (FRANK Weinbar).

 

 

Sunday, February 9, 2025
 

Sunday in Munich. 

 

We went to the Alte Pinakothek 

 

 

and had an early dinner at the Loewenbräu München beer tavern, which, when it opened in 1883, was a sensation, because it was the first beer hall in the city with tablecloth and napkins. I had a "Halbe", "Leverknoedelsuppe" and Swiss sausage salad, Annette had a "Schweinshaxe" (pork knuckle). Louise from Washington DC joined us.

 

Monday, February 10, 2025 

 

At the suggestion of Viatrix, we had dinner at Chi Thu Vietnamese Restaurant, an excellent Vietnamese street food restaurant right at Muenchner Freiheit.

 

 

Back at home, a round of SKYJO, with an outstanding 2014 Chateau Beauregard Pomerol,, from my cellar in Frankfurt, for Opa and Oma.

 

 

Tuesday, February 10, 2025

 

Benvido is a laid-back wine and coffee bar in Schwabing, a couple of blocks away from where my daughter lives, open from 10 to 20 hrs, with a strong focus on natural wines, including orange wines. 

 

I bought a Weingut Heinrich - Gernot & Heike orange wine to drink it at home. 

 

Just opposite on the other side of the street is vinoverde - der Bioweinhandel mit der großen Auswahl, a wine store also focusing on low intervention, natural wines and Pizza Verde, an Italian pizzeria offering bio-pizza, bio-salads and bio-wine.

 

Well, Germany is a "green" country, with the Deputy Chancellor and the Foreign Minister both members of the Green Party.

After 8 hours at school plus tennis lessons in Bogenhausen for Viatrix and Ernst,

 

 

we went for dinner to Al Pacino, a neighborhood Italian restaurant a few blocks away. I had Spaghetti Carbonara (alla tedesca), Annette had Carpaccio di Pulpo, both excellent. 

 

The day ended with a round of "7 familles", a French card game, which Ernst won. 

 

I am enjoying the spectacular Weingut Heinrich - Gernot & Heike orange wine which I bought at Benvido.

Wednesday, February 11, 2025

 

Last day.

 

Today, from 10:30 to 12:00 hrs, Annette SchillerOmbiasy Public Relations and Wine Tours and I had a second breakfast, a "Weisswurst Frühstück", with Christoph Rosenberg and his friend Louis Finsterer of Weingut Janson Bernhard at @Gaststaette Grossmarkthalle, arguably the best place for Weisswurst in Munich. 

 

"Weisswurst Frühstück" is very typical for Bavaria and consists of a pair of Weisswurst - fresh white sausages that are made with veal, egg, lemon, parsley and cream - with sweet mustard, a fresh Brezel and a Weissbier. Weisswurst is only served before noon.

 

Weisswurst are fresh sausages with no preservatives and need to be eaten soon after they are made.The sausages are warmed gently in water to not to split the casings, then brought to the table served in the hot water to keep them warm.

Our friend Louise from Washington DC is in Munich right now for the Munich Security Conference. She brought a wine case with the intention to take 12 bottles of German wine back to the US. 

 

We took her to Weinfurore of Gerhard Bieber, which has an outstanding selection of Austrian and German wines. With so many most interesting wines, Louise had a hard time to choose, but ended up with 12 wonderful bottles in her wine case, with helpful advice of Gerhard.

 

Last dinner in Munich. At home.