Munich Local Customs

Weizen is the traditional Bavarian beer. You can get it anywhere, here, in Germany and in many countries in the world.
Read more about it in my Bavaria page:

Beer

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Begun in the 14C, this Christmas fair begins about the start of Advent and is gone by Christmas Eve. The walking street is decked for Christmas but there are added stalls that sell Christmas wares: home-made decorations, special pastries and candies, etc. There are stalls in the Marienplatz as well. There must be a way that the sites are awarded as some of the stalls seem to be old and only usable for this event. Inside the courtyard of the Neue Rathaus was a creche and mulled wine (gluwein) was being sld from booths that were open windows of the Rathaus (See pictures on our Intro page).

Some locals laughed at us while we were eating white sausages in Viktualienmarkt without having taken their peel off. They advised and told us that you have to cut the sausage along and take the peel off before you start eating them.

They also told us that locals eat those typical sausages before 12 a.m., so that if you eat them afterwards that clearly means that you are a tourist!!

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As with many Bavarian cities and towns, signs for local businesses are a photographer's heaven. Munich is no exception. I am only using five pictures here, but I have quite a collection. Basically, the signs depict what service the shopkeeper provides, which was necessary in the period before literacy. Now, the various signs are more decoration than anything else, but the visitor can somewhat visualize a time long past.

Parenthetically, Rothenburg ob der Tauber requires all shops to display these beautiful signs, and that includes McDonalds.

Photo 1 Although this is not a business sign, I include it because I find these things fascinating. It is a braille "map" of the old city of Munich for the blind.

Photo 2 Das Münchener Kindl (the Munich Monk). This is Munich's coat of arms and the symbol of the city. It dates back to the twelfth century. The story behind it is fairly involved and I suggest a "google" search to read the story.

Photo 3 This is a restaurant with a sign depicting the Munich Child.

Photo 4 This sign is for the "Altes Hackerbrauhaus"

Photo 5 The Hundskugel is Munich's oldest tavern dating from 1440

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The lion is the symbol of Munich. They are found everywhere, from statues and monuments to brightly colored pieces in the pedestrian zone. One of the most prominent monuments in Munich is the Siegestor (Victory Gate), which is based on the Arch of Constantine in Rome. The monument was built in the mid nineteenth century in celebration of Bavaria's role in the Wars of Liberation, 1813 - 1815. The chariot and lion sculpture on the top was created by Martin von Wagner.

The lions can be found everywhere in Munich and it is obvious that the city is quite proud of its association with the lion.

usually i visit the religious temples of each country i visit, so i've been to many churches as many as the number of my hair,lol. so my friend took me to this church, as she knows how much i love architecture. i was wearing my winter hat and she asked me to take it off. i was surprised.

"it's a sign of respect to take it, and there should be nothing between you and god", even the hat was a barrier. i was really amazed, how religious (or traditional) she was, very amazing!

in contrast to the culture i originally come from, covering the head is a sigh of respect and modesty and if someone want to show their arrogance off, then they'd take it off.

isn't it fascinating how one thing can be seen as respectful to some and disrespectful to other? so uncover your head if you are in a bavarian church. make sure to listen before you jump into deep waters and judge everone around

i had this impression at the first sight my eyes lied on the lufthansa airplane at heathrow london! the airplane front nose actually took the shape of a black-n-white football. was it a real attached football?

when i arrived in munich, i found out that the football fever was taking everyone walking in the street; people wearing sports t-shirts of the german team, souviner shops were full of football keychains and scarves, and basically i was almost converting to become a football-er!

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munich is a small town and thus it's easy to tease out and notice the huge number of lion figures everywhere. you can find lions in every pose and shape possible, dressing up in different costumes; a lion with a beer, a ice-skater lion, a football lion player, chess lion and even a vodafone lion.

lion is the symbol of bavaria, not sure what it stands for but perhaps it was originated after Henry the Lion who founded Munich, the capital of Bavaria. even the bavarian flag consists of a few lions and a crown representing different parts of bavaria and its inhabitants.

i dont pay much attention to history but i was taken by how strong the bavarian identity was...it was just everywhere! interesting!