An Alpine Christmas
Ambling down the pedestrianised Kaufingerstrasse, scarves pulled tight around throats and hats boxed onto heads, visitors will shortly be succumbing to the sweet whiff of cinnamon and roast chestnuts.
Winding their way into the Altstadt, they’ll find a City Hall pimped up like the cover of a chocolate box. The moreish pong of baked gingerbread will seep through crowds staring up at a glockenspiel that has chimed at the same times, every day, for a century. By the time you reach Marienplatz, the aroma of pine needles, mulled wine and bratwursts will have you almost dizzy.
Munich’s main Christmas Market (November 25 to December 24) is an original of the species. It first appears in the city records in 1642, alongside appetite-whetting mentions of lebküchen (gingerbread), children’s clothes and chimney sweeps made of plums and almonds. The range of foods, crafts and gifts around its 100-foot Christmas tree is legendary.
Think wood carvings from Oberammergau. Think of salty pretzels, lambskin booties, the atmospheric harmonies of Alpine choirs, the sugar-syrupy glasses of glühwein.
Needless to say, this being the home of chintzy Christmases, the Marienplatz market is far from the only show in town. As November forges on, you’ll find almost two dozen varieties striking up, from the Rindermarkt (specialising in handmade cribs) to the gay Christmas Market on Stephansplatz, famous for its pink trees, cross-dressing carol singers and white pagodas.
And yes, there will be beer. Munich translates as ‘home of the monks’, and is named for the friars who settled here in the eighth century and quickly established its brewing tradition. The quaffing of frothy ales reaches its apotheosis at Oktoberfest, but there’s lashings of it dished up in winter, amidst Germany’s beloved gemütlichkeit (a sort of social cosiness), too.
Conveniently enough, the best-known beer house in the city is practically around the corner from Marienplatz, so you won’t have to stumble far to get in on the action. The Hofbräuhaus has all the oompah bands, wooden tables, one-litre beer steins and frilly-dressed Bavarian beer girls a tourist could wish for.
The brewery was first founded in 1589 by the Duke of Bavaria, and remains state-owned — accounting for its traditional appeal. Subtle, it ain’t, but it is fun.
Not that Munich is all a blur of beer and lederhosen. The Bavarian capital is no Berlin, but for every beer garden you will find a boutique, and for every horse and cart, a BMW.
Bavaria lies at heart of Germany’s motor industry, of course. 75km away by autobahn (“if there is no sign, there is no [speed] limit,” I’m told), you’ll find the Audi Forum in Ingolstadt — the brand’s assembly line, corporate headquarters and museum.
The whole package is a thing of industrial beauty. The museum, spiralling upwards on three levels, traces the history of the four rings brand with a succession of custom-built classics, gaudy rally cars and cutting edge coupés. There are vintage motors from the early 1900s, nostalgic Audis from the 1970s and 80s, and a concept car driven by Will Smith in ‘I, Robot’ (the Audi RSQ).
Vorchsprung durch Technik, indeed.
Afterwards, I visited the assembly line itself — a stunning industrial ballet that starts with galvanised steel sheets and ends with full-blown Audi A3s and A5s. Big, balletic mechanical arms swoop and stamp and weld, workers dip in to finesse the nuts and bolts, the bodies take shape, squirts of petrol are added, keys are turned, and cars drive off the line.
2,400 cars are produced from scratch here every day, and if you can’t afford to buy one, you can always buy an Audi Driving Experience — hiring a top-of-the-line motor and taking off to the Alps, an ice-driving course in Scandinavia, perhaps, or advanced training in Saalbach.
It’s a smart product, especially given that the Alps are within such easy striking distance. By my reckoning, the ski resorts of Kitzbühel and St Johann in Tirol are no more than two hours from Munich Airport, and the highest mountain in Bavaria — Zugspitze — is just 90km from the city.
Even if you don’t fancy hitting the piste, the mountains make for a smashing daytrip. In summer and autumn, it feels like The Sound of Music wrapped only yesterday. In winter, snow covers everything, and every last car has a set of skis strapped to the roof.
Skiing in Berchtesgaden, I noticed a lonely building perched atop of a nearby mountain. It was Eagle’s Nest, my ski instructor pointed out, the retreat built for Hitler’s 50th birthday.
I opted not to visit The Kehlsteinhaus, as the building known in German — finding the notion of a restaurant there a little weird. But you can take a guided tour (€19.50) that includes a ride inside the mountain in the original brass elevator, a fireplace gifted by Mussolini and stunning views that contrast with the horror of the Third Reich.
Driving back towards Munich, Bavaria’s snow-covered old barns and farmhouses, its pine trees and reflective lakes, succumbed once again to the suburbs. The Alps are on its doorstep — you could easily be off piste and back in time for dinner.
Speaking of dinner, how does a whopping great plate of pigs’ knuckles sound? Haxnbauer im Scholastikahaus is an old-school restaurant in the Altstadt where waiters greet you with a huge platter of knuckles on the bone. You take your pick, the pork is marinated and roasted on skewers in front of an open grill, and everything is priced by size.
Another must-do in Munich is the enormous Deutsches Museum, which feels like it fits every invention on earth under one roof.
Its collection of 100,000 scientific and technological objects ranges from a model of a human cell to giant tunnel boring machines. And that’s not even starting on the gift shop.
One final excursion worth taking, if you like your fairytale castles, is the trip to Neuschwanstein, the remarkable 19th century castle built by King Ludwig II. Google it for an image — set on sheer walls of rock in the middle of the Bavarian Alps, it’s recognisable as the model for Disney’s Sleeping Beauty castle.
Inside, your jaw may continue to drag along the floor. The king’s bedroom looks like it was carved from chocolate — it took 14 woodcarvers four years to complete.
This Alpine oasis lies in stark contrast to Munich’s mix of twee tradition and sleek, modern industry. But that suits me. Both are within an hour and a half of each other, the perfect mix of city and landscape. As winter warmers go, it takes some beating.
For more information on Munich’s Christmas markets see meunchen.de. It has details on the various set-ups, their history, tie-in accommodation packages, and crucial intelligence such as where to take those all-important Bavarian singing lessons.
The Deutsches Museum (deutsches-museum.de) opens daily from 9am-5pm, with last admission at 4pm, though you’ll need more than an hour to see its fascinating displays.
For more information on Audi driving experiences and the production plant at Ingolstadt, check out audi.com. The factory tour costs €7pp. A compact training day in an Audi S5 costs €280pp.
Tour times and prices at the Kehlsteinhaus are available on eagles-nest.de. Reservations for Haxnbauer im Scholastikahaus can be made at +49 89 216 6540 or haxnbauer@kuffler.de.
Aer Lingus flies direct from Cork and Dublin to Munich. The Cork flights depart on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Ryanair flies from Dublin to Memmingen, approx 100km from the city. One-way flights were quoting from €19.99 plus tax going to press.
In terms of package options, Lastminute.com has flights and three nights at the four-star Top Secret Hotel from €237pp departing November 18 with Aer Lingus. Meanwhile, The Travel Department (01 6371600; thetraveldepartment.ie) has a three-night Christmas market trip including flights and four-star accommodation from €439pp, departing November 30. Thomas Cook has recently launched Flexibletrips.ie, a dynamic packaging outfit specialising in short breaks and tailored holidays. It is quoting two nights at a 4-star in Munich from €219pps.
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