Hello. I have to ask myself some days while hearing people say "at the beer garden" or "what a nice day for the beer garden", which is more important: the beer, or the garden? what are they really after? I set out for an answer.
So, last Sunday my friend Michael and I did the most Bavarian thing two non-German, non-Bavarian folk could do, and took a bike tour through the famous English Garden in search of Bier Gartens. We found a few before the rain clouds and wind set in.
The English Garden is one of the largest urban parks, and yes, bigger than Central Park in NYC. The paths that weave through the Garden are about 78km! That is a lot! Some bike, some walking, some are for horses (aka: “bridle-path”). Most of these paths are gravel, with a combination of paved paths. I was pleasantly surprised that my city bike was a better option than my road bike. We had a plan to find one beer garden, so headed North (Nord). We soon passed the Chinese Turm (Tower) that is one of the largest beer gardens in Bavaria. I found out it can seat something like 7,000 people! Hmmm, what a party!
I digress, so we started North and found the following beer gardens: We biked past Tennis Hirschau which was bus, but too early to sit and enjoy a beer, I mean we did have to bike! The next one we crossed, which I would highly recommend their food and beer, is called Zum Aumeister. We pulled up off the gravel path to the trees, linked our bikes together next to the hundreds of other bikes passing through, went through a little gate and found ourselves surrounded by the typical picnic tables and what is comparable to an outdoor cafeteria. On a hot sunny day I was concerned about sunburn, but a lingering beer, brezen (pretzel), and a caprese salad for lunch was pretty perfect. My German teacher told me that beer gardens typically have large Chestnut trees because when they would brew beer and did not have refrigeration they had to bury the barrels in the ground near the river where it was cool. The trees are known for providing a lot of shade, which helped in the cooling efforts. This particular garden was smaller than the Chinese Turm, but I have to say a favorite at first site. We decided next time though, we need to copy our table neighbors and pack our own picnic lunch. This is totally accepted and expected as long as you have a beer in the beer garden of course!
From there with our smiles and feeling slightly lazy we travelled on down the path and within a few minutes we were along the Isar. We pulled over, parked our bikes and ran down to the river where I dipped my feet in the very cold river water. It was clear, but had the standard mineralized (from the mountains) greenish blue tint. I was excited to say to a German girl "cold"... I hope she remembers that word in English when she grows up!
Onward we biked through trees and large open fields full of wildflowers and uncut grass. Couples and families parking their bikes and laying out blankets popped up along the side of the trail. If you wanted to make a movie, this would be the scene to capture!
We hit one last bier garden after passing sand bar sunbathers and beach picnickers. We finally made it to our destination that was the See Garten. I can only explain it as a lake at a state park picnic ground in Northern Minnesota (USA). But, there were nude kids and adults, ping-pong in the park, and a line like I remember as a kid..for ice cream. Oh, and of course...beer. Michael and I had an Eiskaffee (which we thought would have been iced coffee)...it was in fact ice cream AND coffee, an unexpected but delightful indulgence.
The wind started to pick up and clouds were moving in, so we decided to head back. On the way my bike was still making horrible noises because the fender on the back was coming loose. I have never been so thankful for a guy to be with me and willing to get a bit dirty to help me make it hope without ruining my tire. After a nice tiring 4 hour bike ride I felt alive. A perfect "summertime" kind of day.
So, I guess I learned which comes first...A perfect Bavarian balance....its the garden, then the beer!
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