AS a Tartan Army foot soldier, it’s always a joy to be welcomed into a city far from home. Munich played a brilliant host earlier this month, so I decided to stay on after the game to give something back, sharing the joys of a city that stacks up superbly for a break, with some old favourites and a remarkable emerging district that was much beloved by Freddie Mercury.
Until the football fan zone, I hadn’t realised how deep the Scottish connections with Munich run. The Bavarian capital is twinned with Edinburgh (the Scottish capital’s first city twinning) and indeed this year marks the 70th anniversary of that relationship, as Edinburgh’s Lord Provost took to the stage to reveal. John Swinney popped up to reinforce the ties too.
“History goes back a long way in Munich,” says my guide Hartmut Speck, as we peel away from the drama of the city’s grandest public space, the Marienplatz, the scene of much Scottish revelry before the Germany game. “The coming of print to Europe was bigger than the internet in some ways, and Munich was at the forefront of its emergence in Bavaria with ripples beyond.”
We make our own ripples out from Marienplatz – but first I ascend St Peter’s Church. “Old Peter” is sacred to the citizens of Munich and offers visitors perhaps the finest view of the city. You can see how religious Munich has been over the centuries with a flurry of church spires. They stand alongside the glass and steel buildings of this powerhouse of the German economy. This is a city where Siemens, Allianz and BMW hold sway, joined in recent years by the likes of Google and Apple.
Just a short stroll away is my favourite Munich market – the Viktualienmarkt. It has stood here since being moved from the Marienplatz at the start of the 19th century. It’s a glorious set-up – half a dozen breweries – Munich is the undisputed king of German cities for beer – take it in turns to run the central beer garden. I’m lucky it’s the turn of Augustiner, a famous Bavarian brewery which ploughs money back into the community through a foundation. And, of course, makes great beer. You can pick up foodie goodies from any of the stalls and then enjoy them with your beer at the communal tables.
Time now to delve a bit deeper under Munich’s skin, exploring the Glockenbachviertel district and its immediate surrounds, within strolling distance of Marienplatz. “In the 1970s, this area was very run down,” explains Hartmut. “But then came Freddie Mercury and a flurry of like-minded creative and open-minded souls.”
Mercury blossomed here in this tolerant corner of the city, where other creatives and seminal music industry figures like Giorgio Moroder also set up shop. Hartmut says: “The area is not so much gay-friendly, or lesbian-friendly, as more just people-friendly.”
At the Hotel Deutsche Eiche, Mercury is fondly remembered with photos and other memorabilia. Today it is very Glockenbachviertel – it functions as a hotel, a traditional restaurant and also perhaps the city’s most famous scene sauna.
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The hotel also sports a rooftop terrace, where we head for a coffee. The city authorities have in recent years really encouraged new businesses to come in, and they seem to thrive in what is now one of the city’s most densely populated areas. There are hipster cafés alongside Indian restaurants, Bavarian bars next door to craft beer start-ups and on to a pop-up vintage kimono store. Anything and everything goes in Glockenbachviertel.
We descend back to street level and discover impressive community projects too. Developers wanted to level the Bellevue di Monaco building and the community space around, kicking out the refugees staying here and making the swathe of community groups homeless. The community was having none of it, with a passionate attitude I see in Scotland with groups like SCOTO.
I wander around the Bellevue co-operative, chatting to a couple of students enjoying a beer in the shade. Behind us, local kids play table tennis, while others kick a ball around on the pitch saved from developers. Maybe I’m witnessing the next Bastian Schweinsteiger. The former German international and Bayern Munich legend has links to the area and has appeared backing the initiatives here.
I end my stay in Munich back at my hotel, the Hilton Munich City (www.hilton.com), which proves an ideal base right on an S-Bahn station and just a short stroll from Marienplatz. They’ve got the ace Juliet Rose bar too. I eschew the superb range of Scottish whiskies and opt for a Munich Mule made with local gin Duke. Delicious.
Munich journalist Aniko Berkau joins me. “It was great to see so many Scottish people enjoying our city and having fun with us. I’m glad you stayed on,” she says.
“We want more Scots to come here – they’re always interested in trying our beer of course, and also seeing some other sides of our city like Glockenbachviertel.”
With a drink in my hand, I can’t help but think that this is a city that offers so much more than just beer.
easyJet (www.easyjet.com) flies to Munich from Edinburgh. Tourist information at www.germany.travel
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