52 Ways Page 2

52 WAYS PAGE 2:

27. Cavort in a fountain
Anita Ekberg did it in Rome in La Dolce Vita and one Suedeutsche contributor says you should try it in Munich, too.

No. 37: The riverside around Flaucher is a popular barbecue spot.

The fountains at the University or Marienplatz’s Fish Fountain will do just fine – take off your shoes, step on in and kick about.

28. Tell someone off for standing on the wrong side on the escalator
Germans love order, especially
on the subway escalators.

The hard and fast rule is that you should stick to the left to walk up or down the steps, and stand on the right side if you just want to stand there. Find an infringer and tell them off with a curt “Links gehen, rechts stehen!”

29. Take a dachshund for a walk in the Englischer Garten
These ridiculous little dogs are as much a part of Munich as Weisswurst, so what finer way to declare yourself a local than taking one for a walk through the city’s vast park?

30. Get a headache and blame the “Föhn”
When a Munich local gets a headache, it’s more often than not the Föhn that takes the blame. This is a hot wind blows up over the Alps from Italy and known for producing clear skies and cranky moods.

31. Bop with the locals at the Fraunhofer Schoppenstüberl
The lively watering hole at Fraunhofer Strasse 41 is renowned for its chilled-out tone, hip-swinging piano accordion music and for serving warm food until 4.30am!

No. 23: There's plenty of reasons to get outside during
winter - this is one of them! Photo by digital cat 

32. Swim in the Eisbach stream and take the tram home
An officially illegal but much-practiced summer pastime.

Take the No. 17 to Paradies Strasse and float down the stream in the Englischer Garten for a proper Munich christening.

33. Shoot some pool in the Schelling Salon
Lenin, Brecht and even Hitler have had a tipple at the pub at Schelling Strasse 54. It’s over 130 years old, the beers are cold and the pool tables are almost even.

34. Watch all 10 episodes of Monaco Franz
This cult 80s TV comedy crime series starred Helmut Fischer as Munich detective Franz Münchinger and still puts bums on seats today.

35. Watch a game of football at the Grünwalder Stadion
The whole world knows the Bayern Munich squad and the Allianz Arena, but the Grünwalder suburban stadium is where true Munich football fans cheer on their lower-rang clubs.

No. 41: Catch the waves in Munich's Eisbach stream.

36. Dance at the Kockerlball
When the cooks and servants of Munich’s aristocracy wanted to party, they had to do it when their masters were asleep at 6am in the morning.

This became known as the Kockerlball (Cooks’ Ball), and involved a lot of old-style dancing around the Chinesischer Turm (Chinese Tower) in the Englischer Garten.

The custom was banned in 1904 and resurrected in 1989. See Kockerlball for more details.

37. Have a barbecue at Flaucher
Along the Isar River south of the Old Town is an area known as Flaucher which has plenty of rocky river beaches – great spots for a grill on a lazy summer afternoon.

38. Cycle with the Lord Mayor on his way to work
Munich’s mayor leads the way in this most cycle-friendly of cities. The Suedeutsche recommends getting a bike and joining the “Oberbürgermeister” Christian Ude as he rides south from Schwabing along Leopold Strasse to his office in the Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall).

39. Count the steps of the “Alter Peter”
He soars 306 steps into the Munich sky, but you won’t really know unless you count them. The Church of St Peter is Munich’s oldest church and its tower, affectionately known as the Alter Peter, offers the city’s sweetest views. Climbing it is a Munich must.

No. 46: Every "real" Munich local should know a
Valentin sketch. Pic: © Karl Vanentin Erben.

40. Drink a Maß of beer at 11am in a beer garden
“I always has one at 11” goes an old beer slogan and in Munich, many always does.

Best done on a weekend and accompanied by a Breze (pretzel) and Weisswurst.

41. Surf in the Eisbach stream
It’s slightly daring, a bit nutty and thoroughly fun to watch – but why not join the famous surfers in the Eisbach stream?

Like many, you may only last 10 seconds before being swept off, but you’d have a great story for the rest of your life.
Takes place at the southern end of the Englischer Garten.

42. Go jogging in the Alten Nördlichen Friedhof (Old North Cemetery)
Not every city has one but Munich does – a cemetery that’s become a jogging track. You can contemplate life and death as you weave through the gravestones.

43. Down a glass of champagne in the P1 nightclub
Call it famous or infamous, P1 is hard to ignore. It’s Munich’s pseudo-celeb hangout, known for attracting the likes of Paris Hilton when she’s in town. It’s underneath the Haus der Kunst in Prinzregenten Strasse. Make sure you dress well to make it past the bouncers.

44. Listen to the Glockenspiel from start to finish
Hundreds stand with lifted chins as the Glockenspiel swings into action. As it chimes away figurines replay scenes from Munich’s history from their perch in the tower of the Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall).

45. Cycle to the Waldwirtschaft beer garden
This beer garden sits a good half-an-hour ride south along the Isar River. Here began the 1995 “Beer Garden Revolution”, an attempt by the government to force beer gardens to close at 9pm. The locals, of course, had none of it.

No. 52: Few can resist stroking the
Residenz lions.

46. Lean one of Karl Vanentin’s sketches by heart
Valentin was Munich’s answer to Charlie Chaplin, a funnyman with a thousand talents.

The Suedeutsche suggests learning one of his side-splitting routines to laugh like a true Munich local.

47. Dial the number 32-16-8
This comes from a line in an old song, Skandal in Sperrbezerk, by Munich band the Spider Murphy Gang.

Most locals know the song, but how many have actually dialled the number? Try it and see who answers.

48. Visit the Deutsches Museum
Every Munich school kid goes there and so do
most of its tourists – the Deutsches Museum will simply blow you away. This temple of technology and science is on an island in the Isar River.

49. Catch a film at the world’s oldest cinema
The Neues Gabriel cinema has shown flicks on the silver screen since 1907 – the world’s oldest cinema! A true “hidden gem” of Munich.

50. Drink a beer with “Manila”
The dark and dirty Schwabinger 7 pub was built from World War Two debris and is known for its cruisey tone. The colourful barkeep is Manila, apparently just as ready to serve you as a beer as tell you his life story.

51. Go to the opera
Just the domain of fur coats and penguin suits? Munich’s National Theater opera attracts the schick and rich, but who’s to say you can’t join in? This is a European cultural capital, so do as the Romans do and go to the opera.

52. Stroke the Residenz lions
A line of lion statues guard the entrances to the Royal Residenz on Residenz Strasse. As you walk by, reach up and give one a stroke for luck – no local can resist it!

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