Intellectual Ferment of a Different Kind
It was my last day in Bamberg, and the sun had finally dispersed all the clouds, gloriously illuminating the fall foliage. I had just spent the late morning hours at Greifenklau and still had a few hours before my train. The gravitational pull of Aecht …
You have to admire a city where the rhythms of life revolve around excuses to tap a keg and raise a mug of good cheer. Munich is one such city where the seasons are marked by festivities that involve a healthy amount of imbibing. Most …
Not a cloud in the sky and the streets are starting to radiate the heat of the late afternoon. So much to see in Vienna. But I could use a cool drink right about now. Perfect time to head to a beer garden. “A …
What could be more typical of Austrian cuisine than the Wiener Schnitzel? You see it on just about every menu in just about every type of establishment, from the most modest to the most elegant. And you’ll find it as Vienna’s culinary calling card …
When Päffgen opened its doors in 1883, it was just one of over a hundred small breweries in Cologne. Wars and consolidation exacted their toll on the other small breweries, but Päffgen soldiered on. Today, it one of the last small Hausbrauereien (“inhouse breweries”) …
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: You can never have too much Munich in your life. But what about those times you really do need a break from the big city? Maybe some meadows dotted with cows, Alpine scenery, …
Cantillon with its cobwebbed rafters sheltering rows of barrels. The cheerfully riotous Delirium Café. Moeder Lambic with its rare beers. The Morte Subite, elegantly attired in art nouveau. You could spend days or even weeks in Brussels without coming close to exhausting your possibilities …
That sweeping vista across the valley below! It’s the first thing you notice when you find a seat in the Waldwirtschaft’s expansive beer garden. Known locally as the “WaWi,” the Waldwirtschaft in southwestern Munich is nestled in the woods just beyond a residential neighbourhood …
We climbed the hill in the direction of the monastery as dark clouds began amassing. The storm broke loose with a crash of thunder and a biblical fury just as we reached the heavy doors. Inside, the heat melted away as we descended the …
A Visit Long Overdue The stars finally aligned with bus schedules, opening times, weather, and my schedule for a trip out to the illustrious Brauerei Zehendner, brewers of the highly regarded Mönchsambacher Lagerbier. I arrived an hour early, so I turned the outing into …
The sun was already low in the autumn sky as I finished up my beer at the legendary Waldwirtschaft (WaWi) and headed north toward the equally legendary Gutshof Menterschwaige. I’d been to the WaWi several times over the years, but hadn’t yet made it …
Nestled amid leafy-green hills cradling the Neckar River, Tübingen is a mere thirty kilometers from Stuttgart but centuries closer to the Black Forest. Timber and stucco houses line the market squares where folks gather in cafes to while away the afternoon. Escher-esque lanes and …
Introducing Mittenwald It was September 1786. Goethe had just left Munich on his way to the Brenner Pass, where he would cross into Italy and remain for two years. The stagecoach called at Mittenwald, a market town along the ancient road from Verona …
