Starkbierfest, Munich, Germany

Here are some photos from our trip to Munich (Munchen), Germany to see the Starkbierfest (and some architecture too). Starkbier is a strong beer which is consumed in Munich during Lent. The "strength" of the beer is not referring to the alcohol content; instead it describes the concentration of dissolved solids: the starch, sugars, proteins and minerals. It was developed several hundred years ago in order to provide sustenance to the Paulaner monks as they fasted during Lent. Even today, the starkbier (also called doppelbock) is only brewed during for a few weeks during this time of the year, which is known as the "Fifth Season." Beer and the monks that produced it are so important to the city that it is literally named for them - Munchen, the German name of the city, literally means "monks."

Here we are entering the Augustiner beer hall. Augustiner is one of the breweries that produce a starkbier each year. Their particular starkbier is called "Maximator."



The following few shots are from the Hofbrauhaus beer hall. It is the biggest, most famous, and most touristy beer hall in Munich. And it was loads of fun, even though this particular beer hall didn't serve starkbier. And the food was incredible (as it was everywhere in Munich).


Will, Nick, myself...



...and Brian doing his best impersonation of the magazine article that inspired our trip.



Of course, we saw some architecture too. Here is the famous 1972 Olympic Stadium designed by the architect Frei Otto. It is a beautiful facility that does not look 36 years old. As a matter of fact, almost everything we saw in Germany was amazingly clean and well-maintained.



BMW's world headquarters building. It's not an exaggeration to say that almost half of the cars on the streets of Munich are BMWs.



The Swiss Re building outside Munich. The whole outer facade of this building is covered with vines and ivy. To bad it was winter and they were all brown and leafless. But the inner courtyards are absolutely beautiful. We were able to explore them quite a bit before we were run off.



Munich's famous Glockenspiel.



On our way home from Munich, we drove through Innsbruck, Austria, home of the 1962 and 1976 Winter Olympics.



For this trip our car was an Opel Astra. It was a bit slicker and sportier than our last ride. That's a good thing when driving over 180kph (115mph) on the Autobahn. Once again, we returned our rental without a scratch.