biergarten

My favorite season is here again: biergarten! 

The Muffathalle biergarten has an opening weekend special on March 30th: each Maß is just 4.50€! 

Which biergarten is your favorite? 

Iceland travel spots

In just a couple weeks we are going to be heading back to Iceland in hopes of catching the aurora borealis.

2012 + 2013 are supposed to be the best years in recent times to see them, so I hope we have a little bit of luck on our side.


Aurora Time-lapse / Iceland 2012 from O Z Z O Photography on Vimeo.

These sites: aurora predictor, aurora hunter, aurora forecast are a fun way to get a forecast and it says September and March are statistically the best times of year, too.

Even if that doesn't prove to be a success it's going to be great to be back in one of our favorite places on the planet. I'm already excited to eat as much skyr as humanly possible. Stefan can't wait to visit Icelandic Fish + Chips which has 'skyronnaise'.

We'll also be there for Beer Day, so we can sample some of their microbrews and the Food and Fun festival will be going on, too.

We are hardly running out of things to do in Iceland.

With my love for organization, I created a google map with locations I've read about or someone has recommended to visit (red spots are locations and links to places we've visited, blue markers are locations that we want to visit... looks like we need to stay longer):


View Iceland in a larger map

A few more helpful sites and videos if you are planning a trip, too. If you need any encouragement, just watch these videos and the nature will reel you in.

Grapevine best of Reykjavik 2011... the local English news and info source
Iceland Travel blog... a cohesive site with lots of Iceland info
aurum jewelry... I saw a bracelet that I loved here during our last visit, hopefully they still have it!

(As a side note, Jeni's ice cream shop is introducing an Icelandic cake flavor in March, it's called Icelandic Happy Marriage Cake and will have skyr, sweet oat biscuits, and rhubarb compote - yum! Maybe next she'll try one like the rye bread ice cream at Reykjavik's Café Loki.)


Scenes From Niceland from SCIENTIFANTASTIC on Vimeo.


ICELAND from Gunnar Konradsson on Vimeo.

San Francisco

We opted to avoid the holiday travel chaos, which meant a delayed trip to the US.

This was the best option after having several airline mishaps in the years past - driving from Washington DC to Ohio on Christmas Eve three years ago, and nearly getting stranded in El Paso two years ago.

Thankfully this year the weather decided to also cooperate with us.

Before our biannual Ohio visit, we stopped in San Francisco for 5 days to visit our dear friends, Emily & Jeremy, and their new pup - Banjo.

Having visited San Francisco twice before, it was so nice to see the city from our friends' view points and to simply catch up more on life after Germany. We sure miss them.

San Francisco is a great city;  fog swept rolling hills, inventive restaurants, creative people, and a lot of high tech industries. The only downsides are the amount of homeless people and dog poo littered sidewalks.

There are also many public parks speckled around and warm weather year round to make it incredibly livable.

Oh, how we missed the variety of American food. The portions may be larger than in many places, but it's the best way to enjoy a meal - by sharing great company and delicious foods. We did a lot of eating and this is certainly the city for that.

A few of the restaurants we visited included:

Tartine ... this is the legendary pastry shop with long lines that are worth the wait.
Nopa ... for a great New Year's eve dinner
Umami Burger ... waygu burgers
Tacolicious ... I will dream about these tacos and margaritas for a long long time. They are perfection. The tuna tostadas were my favorite, but I don't think you can go wrong.
Mosto... the tequila bar right next to tacolicious, making waiting time that much better.
Beach Chalet ... as close to a California beachside biergarten as it gets - with a veggie hops burger.
Tornado Pub ... an endless array of beers from around the world.
Mission Chinese ... this pop up restaurant has caused quite a stir and is now here to stay - don't miss it! The food is crazy good and the rap music is a hilarious blast from the past. The salt cod fried rice and the thrice cooked bacon were probably my favorites.

Bi-Rite Creamery ... delicious ice cream, which is extra sweet to enjoy in Delores Park with great weather in the middle of Winter. They also have an ice cream cook book coming out later this year! 

Chantal Guillon macarons... a touch of France in California. 

Ici ... (Berkeley) I'm not sure what the deal is, but sadly it was better the last time we went

Saigon Sandwiches .... Banh Mi, Vietnamese sandwiches

If you are planning a trip check out the following:
Jamie Oliver's San Francisco tips... We visited many of his recommendations, although the magazine came out a month after our trip.
7x7 Big Eat List of 2012... plenty more restaurants to try
7x7 Big To-Do List... 100 quintessential San Francisco experiences

Not all of our time was spent eating... we also did a lot of walking. I always seem to forget - or mentally block out - how impossibly slow and archaic the public transport is even in the biggest US cities.

With the California sun shining brightly and only needing to wear a jacket I wasn't sure if I was in some sort of alternate reality. A heavy dose of sunshine in the middle of the Winter is really is amazing and was the perfect way to start the new year. Those year-round beaches are such a luxury, too.

Fort Funston ... this beach is so unique. Dogs and their owners stroll along, splash in the waves, and find little treasures washed ashore. I'd go to take it all in even if I didn't have a dog, but I really can't wait to get one.

Tilden Park... for incredible Bay area views and a nice nature stroll.

Street art... lots of self expression around town 

St. Mary's Cathedral... home of the "two o'clock titty", at two o'clock the sun's channels its own Mary Katherine Gallagher to give the church it's own perky bust. 

What a great place to start the new year. Even the fog couldn't hold those fireworks back this year. 

Augustiner Oktoberfest Beer Ice Cream

The natural choice for beer ice cream is Munich's Beer: Augustiner.

Augustiner Oktoberfest Ice Cream (adapted from Antoine Westermann's recipe) has the sweetness of ice cream with the lingering hops and beer flavor. The difficult part is putting enough sugar in to make it scoopable, yet not so much that it overwhelms the beer. My friends Jeremy and Emily have the tip to blend it up before putting it in the ice cream maker to add some air.

If I was in Ohio I think it would pair perfectly with a pretzel cone from Graeter's, but for now I just have to eat it with pretzel sticks. I'll have to bring some cones back on my next visit home.

Cheapest Oktoberfest Maß

If you're running low on cash or simply want to experience another of Munich's great characteristics head towards Haidhausen and make a stop at the Muffathalle Biergarten (S-bahn Rosenheimerplatz).

It's likely the least expensive Maß of Oktoberfest beer and costs just 4.80€ for one liter (from Hofbräuhaus).

The atmosphere is charming -  right near the Isar River and it's open later than normal biergartens. On weekends they often have live music, too.

The hours are Monday - Thursday (15:00 - open end) + Friday - Sunday (noon - open end).

Maybe I'll see you there!

Paulaner Biergarten Radler Sorbet

In honor of Oktoberfest, and my love for ice cream making, I thought I'd attempt a couple inspired flavors: Radler Sorbet for the end of summer and Beer Ice Cream.

First up is the sorbet...

For this sorbet I created a recipe and illustration inspired by Paulaner's Nockherberg where we often bike for a lazy biergarten afternoon.

A Radler, or 'cyclist', is a biergarten favorite that is a mix of lemon soda and a helles (light) beer. They are refreshing and light.

Here's the recipe I used if you'd like to try it yourself...  

Radler Sorbet:

1 bottle of beer (12 oz.) chilled
2/3 cup lemon-lime soda / sprite
1/3 cup sugar

1 Tbsp lime juice
lemon zest

Boil the sugar + soda into a simple syrup
Pour the beer into the sugar syrup mix
Add lime juice + zest
Continue boiling for several minutes
Sieve out the zest + chill
Put into the ice cream maker for ~ 30 minutes.

Prost! 

Munich in May

What a busy month this has been.

we toured the Paulaner brewery and learned how to tap a wooden keg

celebrated a certain special someone's birthday

took a trip to Moscow

said hello to sunny days with endless flowers and creative cupcakes

... and goodbye (or at least bis später!) to good friends

We'll be traveling for the entire month of June to some of our favorite places. I can't wait to share more of our travels!

Frühlingsfest in Munich

The Frühlingsfest isn't as popular as Oktoberfest. With only 2 beer tents it's a much smaller scale, but it's still a lot of fun.

We visited with our friends Emily and Jeremy, who sadly are moving back to San Francisco soon. They will be greatly missed! It's still nice to pack in a bit more Bavarian fun before they say goodbye to Munich.

If you head to the Hippodrom, I highly recommend the spätzle with pears on it, but it's definitely enough to share.

The fest runs until May 15th.

Paulaner Brewery Tour + Free Beer

I've always thought the breweries here should offer tours akin to those offered at the champagne houses in Reims. Last year I read about the sightseeing beer tour, which pays a visit to Spatenbräu.

We're bigger Augustiner and Paulaner consumers, so I filed it away as something that might be fun when we have visitors.

Today I booked a Paulaner tour, which includes a tour of the brewery, beer taping course, tasting of 3 beers, a brotzeit, and a 2 course meal. The discounted offer is good for the next week with random dates from May through October.

Is it sad that I will be proud to hang my beer taping course certificate?

Another date to mark in your calendar, if you're in Munich, is 23 April. This is the day of the Reinheitsgebot anniversary for the purity law that went into effect back in 1516. The city celebrates with 1000 liters (Maß) of beer for free.

To be part of the celebrations make sure you're at the beer fountain at Oskar-von-Miller-Ring 1. It will probably be a little chaotic since it's on a Saturday this year. Prost!

Gift guide: Him + Her

1. Graffiti Mug - Draw until it's perfect then bake for a custom mug. (image plastic land)

2. Beer + Chocolate tasting - Find the perfect mix of salty and sweet. (image theo chocolate)

3. Bike spooklight - Charges by USB, enables braking and turn signals for optimal road safety. (image 50 cycles)

4. Buck Stacking game - A modern game of skill. (image uncommon goods)

5. Magwear Helper - A simple way to hold screws and nails. (image spoon sisters)

6. New Skewers - Nature inspired skewers that help foods cook faster. (image nextrend products)

7. Your name novel - Insert the names of yourself, friends, or family in timeless novels. (image u star novels)

8. O'Clock Watch - A beautiful array of versatile watches. (image oclock)

9. Light up books or the enlightenment - Perfect for bibliophiles or as a quirky accent piece. (image light up your world)

10. Tulip USB - More USBs in a decorative manner. (image fred flare)

11. Westelm Manzanita Candelabra - The perfect touch of nature for an elegant table decoration. (image west elm)

12. Colorku - A great Sudoku twist for visual types using color instead of numbers. (image garnet hill)

Oktoberfest Tents

This year I visited every single Oktoberfest tent and took photos of the interiors + exteriors for those that weren't able to make it.

Here they are in order of appearance on Wirtsbudenstraße + Matthias-Pschorr-Straße from the main gate up the right side and down the left:

Hippodrom

Armbrustschützenzelt

Hofbräu-Festzelt

Hacker-Festzelt ('Himmel der Bayern')

Schottenhamel

Winzerer Fähndl

Schützen-Festhalle

Käfer Wiesen Schänke

Weinzelt

Löwenbräu-Festhalle

Bräurosl (Hacker-Pschorr)

Augustiner-Festhalle

Ochsenbraterei

Fischer Vroni

Vintage Oktoberfest

Since Oktoberfest began 200 years ago it is more of a celebration than ever, although this is a photo of the calm before the storm. Vendors were finishing their set ups and Theresienwiese was relatively quiet.

The old-fashioned area with old rides, costumes, animals, and horse races opened the day before the actual kick off, so we were happy to take part in the festivities. It costs 4€ to enter, but it's definitely worth checking out. After all Jubileumswiesn was 200 years in the making!

The animal area is very impressive. They have sheep, cows, horses, rabbits, turkeys, and freshly hatched chicks.

Keeping with the Oktoberfest theme there is plenty of beer, but the beer in the Jubileums area is slightly different. All 6 breweries got together to help in creating it the old way straight from the wooden kegs and it's available at the Festzelt for 8.80€ / litre. It's a bit stronger in taste and alcohol.

It appeared as though many tourists didn't realize it was happening, because there weren't as many people as I would have expected.

On our way over I was talking to our cab driver about the supposed controversy between several brothels in the area. One is said to give the cabbies 120€ / person they bring, so the other brothel is complaining. He said since he's a day driver he doesn't know too much about it, but he did say he had a Turkish business man that wanted a 'typical German woman'. He wasn't sure what that meant, so he took him to several brothels to check out the ladies. The cab driver said the Turkish man found one he liked, but she was the cleaning lady and her services weren't for sale. Cab driver stories are always so random.

Amazingly we were his first trip to Oktoberfest this year.

In the Festzelt there were traditional Goaßlschnalzen whip crackers and locals with their festive costumes and kitted out tracht.

It makes me love our city that much more - they definitely know how to celebrate and incorporate tradition at every turn. They also make things so family friendly.

This is a great site to buy Oktoberfest decor and celebrate yourself if you're not able to make it.