The last time I visited Munch was backpacking around Europe as a girl in 1999. Whew! When currency was still Deutsche Marks and just before the new millennium.
What a different visit this was a good 25 years later. I’ve been back to Germany a few times in between, namely to Berlin and the countryside. The legendary Hofbrauhaus beer hall and architecture in the streets remain much as I remember them. But my “beer and pretzel” budget diet in those days aside, it’s a whole new dining scene in Munchen now.
Here I explore celebrated Michelin star restaurants, a standout female chef, street food, cocktail bars, a winning hotel and a fishing village eatery on a gorgeous lake.
The Arts (Musicians, Poems, Writers, Film)
Old World-elegant Munich is far from exuding Berlin’s delightful quirk. But the city is home to decidedly quirky musicians like the lip-synching controversies of Milli Vanilli, as well as to historically famed composer Richard Strauss. It was also home to one of Germany’s greatest writers, Thomas Mann (”The Magic Mountain”).
Though he was Austrian and Hungary-born, Rainer Maria Rilke is one of my all-time favorite writers and poets whose Book of Hours: Love Poems to God (best translated by Anita Barrows and dear, recently passed Joanna Macy) was a game-changer for me since I was about 18. Rilke spent formative and crucial years in Munich, including where he fell in love and changed his first name from “René” to “Rainer.” Just read his “I believe in all that has never yet been spoken…” poem to get a hint of his powerful spiritual voice and insight — and, of course, his most famous Letters to A Young Poet is must-reading for all.
HOTEL
Bayerischer Hof
www.bayerischerhof.de/en
Opened in 1897 and still owned by the Volkhardt family, Bayerischer Hof was a dreamy Munich stay, a legend that has hosted famed stars and dignitaries from around the world, with a featured book covering the crazy stories and celebrities that have stayed here regularly, from Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake and Madonna to Queen Elizabeth II.
The hotel manages that perfect mix of historic elegance with modern austerity. I was privileged to stay in the more recent addition of soundproof Axel Vervoordt-designed rooms, one of the most peaceful stays I’ve ever had globally. It exudes all the luxury with elemental core notes of stone and woods that make the room quiet, sultry, solid and cocoon-like.
The hotel boasts a 50-foot-long indoor pool, a legendary outpost of the Bay Area’s own Trader Vic’s subterranean Tiki bar/restaurant since 1971, the historic Falks Bar dating back to 1839 surviving Hitler’s bombings, dramatic views from the rooftop bar and two Michelin-starred Atelier, reviewed below.
Read the rest on Substack: Munich’s Gifts to the World