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Munich Exposed – Part 5
- Retro-Pop aus Thailand: Chris Menist im Interview - 20. September 2011
- Thank you for rocking so hard! - 12. April 2011
- Brit Jazz Week – Soweto Kinch and the poetry of jazz - 21. März 2011
Der wöchentliche Blick auf München von außen – oder: a weekly rant of a non-Münchner Mädchen.
Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome, Fremde, étranger, stranger, glüklich zu sehen, je suis enchantée, happy to see you back for the last chapter of ‘ways of having a good time in Bayern.’ (I must admit that the other famous cabaret song that I thought of as a possible opener for today’s column was ‘Springtime for Hitler’ from The Producers but I had second thoughts. Although I really really like that song.)
Yes, the cabaret, such a mysterious mystery, I don’t even dare imagining what’s going on in there. I do believe it’s only some political and social satire in the form of songs or annoying theatre, along with, of course, group beer drinking and cheering. But to Bavarians, who often have the tendency to confuse centuries, it is a place of delight and recreation. In the rest of Europe people watch stand-up comedy; in Bayern they go to the Kabarett. I live in the Schlachthofviertel and there’s a Brauerei next to my place which transformed into a more modern version of a cabaret; it’s even scarier than the constant painful mooing of the cows next door. And the food is awful.
There are very few places in Munich where I went to dine and found the food to be bad. Most of them were Indian, Thai or Chinese places, so thumbs up for the Bayerische cuisine. I’m quite surprised that even the so-called tourist traps like the big beer halls downtown serve very honest food.
If I were to think of a description for the local food (besides ‘porktato heaven’) that would be ‘trustworthy’. I am (pleasantly) surprised that with a handful of ingredients (potatoes, cheese, cabbage, wheat and meat) you can prepare so many variations of delicious (even gourmet) dinners. I’m equally surprised at the fact that when the German feels hungry, he/she says they have ‘Kohldampf’. Ew.
I have to admit I had low expectations when seeing (but before tasting) the food here – it does look plain and fattening and it is. Also pork is not my favorite meat unless it’s baconized. But there is a very special thing about this honest, potato-based food – it’s always delicious and very local. This revelation came to me one day while I was stuffing my face with a very crusty Haxe in the Lindwurmstüberl and it somehow manages to reappear every time I taste a new kind of food or trusty food sidekick (like that crazy sweet mustard or the horseradish on lean veal, yum.)
Speaking of tasty, I’m proud to know some places where I can buy the best, freshest produce and meat and sadly most supermarkets are not among them. I hate the bio craziness in such an eco-friendly region like Bayern but I guess it’s economically necessary; I’ve recently started doubting many bio labels in supermarkets, am I paranoid enough? I’m also amazed at the numbers of obese people I learnt of from some statistics, but then again when McDonald’s has a Bayern menu complete with braten and rösti, what do I expect. This is, after all, the land of larger-than-life schnitzels and brez’n.
I love the fact that I don’t have a favorite place to eat – although I have a weakness for Kreuzberger in Glockenbach and El Gordo Loco near the Marianenkirche aaand maybe Sushi Sano – and I hate the fact that I don’t have any place to eat in after midnight. Except for Lamm’s, but all the weirdoes gather there and it smells bad. (So could you maybe recommend some nice ones if there are any? I know about biergartens in Thailand but haven’t yet heard about local late-night restaurants.)
Oh and I watched a bit of TV at a friend’s house one Saturday and guess what I saw on each and every German channel I found (and there were 20 of them or so): a cooking show. When they were not cooking, they were showing some boring footage of pigs grazing and mushrooms growing and bread baking while some very slow-talking person was voiceovering it with admiration. I don’t even want to think about what you guys go through every Easter spent in front of the TV.
The nice thing about living in the Schlachthof area is, except for the very fresh meat and fish, this nice wall filled with good, constantly updated graffiti. Sometimes really good, other times just decent, these drawings and lettering are to me one of the loveliest things about this town. Back home I used to write a lot about street art and graffiti and had a nice, steady relationship with wheatpaste and markers. I often fantasize about doing the same here but I didn’t manage to find any good places (except for a garage door or two) or people to do it with. Not yet. So for now I’m drawing on all the walls my friends offer me.
After racing through bars, beer, social games, grilling, exercising, nudism, cabaret and food, we’ve finally reached the radest thing ever (at least in my imagination) to do in Munich: look at colorful, extra sweet, aesthetically pleasing walls. And when I say walls I also refer to the SWM little houses on the river, to the bridges under it, to the amazing drawings at Kult Fabrik, to the nice pieces on the Muffatwerk wall and to the very few illegal tags and paste-ups in the city.
Where is the illegal painting? Is it just not needed anymore with the abundance of legal places around? I think so, yes. I’m sure you’re aware of this but you have some living legends in the city and these guys are like a whole crew each. So I’m really happy to be able to see works by SatOne, Skore183, his brother-in-cans Mr. Woodland and especially the crazy sweet Loomit&(South-American) friends’ pieces that make me let out an overwhelmed OMG every time I spot one. Also I like this guy Sdkaroe, he’s got amazing talent. So there’s some huge graff heads on the tiny but explosive local scene and what’s great about these guys is that they have a lot of talented friends. Yay!
This being said, let me catch my breath and thank you kindly for reading.
Happy Eastern everyone, like some of you say and don’t realize the funny.
Ciao und bis bald!
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