The Zoigl Experience

Have you ever Zoigled? No? Well, I have and it is the most awesomely awkward beer travel experience I have ever had.

What Zoigl is all about

First a bit of history. Zoigl is a beer that is brewed in the Oberpfälzer Wald, a region in the far eastern  part of Bavaria very near the Czech border. For approximately 600 years, beer has been brewed in communal breweries owned by either a town or a group of home brewers. The wort is then given to each brewer who takes it home to ferment in their own cellar. When it’s ready, they put out a six-pointed star – a symbol of a brewers guild in Bavaria – to show they are open for business.

The beer is served directly from the lagering tank until it is gone. Then the next brewer puts out his star and opens until his beer is gone. And so it goes throughout the year. I find it best to think of Zoigl more as a brewing tradition than a beer style. For more information on the history, visit Zoigl.de.

Now, when we told our friends in Germany where we were going and what we were doing, they were all a bit perplexed. Even they were not very familiar with Zoigl or the area, except to say that the people there spoke a very strange dialect, even by Bavarian standards.

We arrived in Neustadt a.d. Waldnaab, our home for the next few nights, and immediately spied a six-pointed star hanging around the corner from our hotel. We later learned, however, that while there are a number of places that put out a star and call their beer Zoigl, there is a much smaller number actually brewing communally in a Kommunbrauhaus. The one around the corner was not brewing traditional Zoigl.

Each Zoiglstube is only open for a few days to a week at a time, so if you want to maximize the number of Zoiglstuben you visit, planning is important. Before we left, Chris consulted the yearly calendar on zoiglinfo.de (a different site than mentioned above). We later found that each town prints their own handy pocket calendar to keep track of who will be open when. Oh, and we decided beforehand that none of the Zoiglstuben would count on the List because no brewing takes place at the individual sites.

We found our first Zoiglstube

For our first real Zoigl experience, we drove a short distance to Windischeschenbach, one of the original Zoigl towns. I really had no idea what to expect. I knew to look for the star, but that was about it. We easily found Zum Roud’n, operated by the Heinl family. There was no other marker, except for the star, so I tentatively walked down a short corridor to find the door. Luckily, right by the door was a sign indicating we had found the right place. It had been a very long time since I had felt so unsure of myself while in Germany.

I opened the door and was immediately faced with a long table of about ten men. They all turned to look at me in the doorway. For a moment I thought perhaps I wasn’t supposed to be there because I didn’t see any other women. I turned around for reassurance from Chris and he wasn’t there. He was still outside taking pictures. I let the door close behind me, which necessitated a somewhat embarrassing second entrance, this time with Chris as back up.

The room was small with four long tables and a bit stuffy. To give you a sense of how it feels to be in a Zoiglstube, think if you were to open your dining room or patio to anyone and everyone for a week at a time every few months serving beer and a small menu of home cooked Bavarian fare. That is a Zoiglstube.

Like good ol’ Americans, we immediately chose the one table that had no other people. Within a few minutes, the owner approached and we successfully ordered our beers (There is only one kind, but different sizes). In addition to my welcoming committee of ten men, about three other people sat quietly drinking their beer. Frequent glances in our direction with accompanying snickers made it very awkward, but with beer in hand I had regained my confidence. What I didn’t know then, but was to discover as we visited more Zoiglstuben, is that the Zoiglstube is a local gathering spot. The men had turned to look at us not to wonder who the heck we were and what were we doing there (okay, that’s not completely true), but rather to see which neighbor was arriving. Their summation that we were not just out of towners, but also American tourists perplexed them more than anything. This part of Bavaria is not a tourist destination and my guess is that foreigners are far and few between.

Our first taste of Zoigl

Turns out we had arrived just in time, as the place filled up quickly and we were soon sharing our table with others. Now this felt more comfortable, not only because it was an atmosphere we enjoy, but also because the attention on us seemed to be dissipating. Everyone in the room, including ourselves, turned to look each time the door opened. All patrons pretty much showed the same somewhat startled look as they entered. They commented on the crowd, scanned the room for people they knew, and then found an open seat. As far as I could tell, friendly salutations were exchanged amongst whoever made eye contact.

The beer came in half liter mugs and was tallied just like they do in Köln, ticks on a beer mat. The amber colored beer was unfiltered with a strong malt presence, very little hop bitterness was detected. It was very tasty and it went down easily. All of the Zoiglstuben also have a small menu of traditional Bavarian fare. At Zum Roud’n, we ordered a cheese board, which turned out to be quite sizable. To round out the first awesomely awkward experience, we discovered that prices are extremely reasonable.  Six beers and a cheese plate set us back about $20.

We had visited Zum Roud’n on the last day they were open. The next day, the star was down and the man who had served us was on his roof making some repairs.

No longer Zoigl virgins

In Chris’ original plan, we were going to take a 12km round trip walk from our hotel to Windischeschenbach and Neuhaus visiting a Zoiglstube in each town. However, Mother Nature had other ideas and we didn’t want to chance getting caught halfway through in the pouring rain. What this did allow us to do, however, was take a drive out to Mitterteich to visit an additional Zoiglstube.

Trying to confuse us

Lugert is located at 12 Bachstrasse, otherwise known as Boozhaus. According to Lugert’s website, the Boozhaus had been a Zoiglstube for hundreds of years, but closed sometime in the 20th Century. It re-opened 16 years ago.

Like Zum Roud’n, Lugert was a little tricky in that there was not a big sign out front. There wasn’t even a six-pointed star. Hanging from a pole high above our heads was what looked like the top of a Christmas tree hanging upside down. But it wasn’t the bright cheery green of a Christmas tree. Hanging upside down it made me feel sadly curious, very Tim Burton-esque. Just below on the wall there was a green sign. It was the authentic Zoigl symbol (Echter Zoigl vom Kommunbrauer), which would become a familiar and comforting sight for us. It showed we were in the right place.

Despite the relative newness of the current establishment, Lugert maintains a traditional feel with the beer and food. Our waiter was in his 30s, by far the youngest of all those who waited on us. We thought it was our best chance to speak a bit of English and maybe get a firmer understanding of how all this Zoigl stuff worked. We were wrong and the waiter showed little interest in chatting with us in English or otherwise. The room was of medium capacity and similarly crowded when we arrived. We found a couple of seats at an empty table close to the door. A trio of older individuals joined us and it became quite cozy. At Lugert there were far fewer weird looks in our direction and we were feeling much more confident, having had one other Zoiglstube under our belt.

The beer was in a similar vein as Zum Roud’n, malt forward (though with a lighter body) with little hop presence. This one was not quite as cloudy, but still unfiltered and paired nicely with one of my favorite Bavarian specialties, Obatzda. Overall. It was a very enjoyable experience. One we would not have been afforded had the weather been more amenable to the long walk Chris had planned.

Our second Zoiglstube

We visited two other Zoiglstuben, Schlosshof in Windischeschenbach and Schoilmichl in Neuhaus, the other traditional Zoigl town.

The weather was trying to cooperate with us and the sun was shining through a bit more. This gave us the chance to walk around Windischeschenbach a bit. Not being a tourist town, the window shopping was minimal, but that was okay. We were just happy to be out and walking around.

The sun is out in the Biergarten

We found Schlosshof down some winding streets in a residential area. In fact, most of Windischeschenbach seemed residential. We entered a Biergarten in front and headed inside. We were immediately hit with the stifling warmth of a sauna. Although no one else was sitting outside, we went back out to sit in the pleasant Biergarten.

With only one kind of beer, you don’t have to think much about it and just order. I found all of the beers at the Zoiglstuben we visited to be nice and easy to drink. The food was great, too. At Schlosshof we opted to go bigger and I ordered the Schweinbraten with Kartoffelknödl, roast pork with a potato dumpling. Chris ordered the cold roast pork plate.

Sitting outside made it a somewhat solitary experience, but it was nice to sit in the sunlight. We watched as laboring men stopped by for a beer and small children were picked up for a play date. I imagine that parents whose home is the neighborhood gathering spot would feel right at home at Schlosshof.

Finished at the Schlosshof

One of the cool things about Schlosshof is that it has an apartment to rent. However, when Chris made our travel plans he found that the apartment was not available. I think it would be a cool place to stay for the ultimate Zoigl-centered trip.

The last Zoiglstuben we visited was Schoilmichl. It was unlike any of the other Zoiglstuben we visited. The other three were packed or became so soon after we arrived. We walked in Schoilmichl to find the place completely empty. An older gentleman came out to greet us and Chris did his best to ask in German if the place as open. As I said previously, the dialect is very different in Eastern Bavaria and it took a bit of deciphering to determine that 1) they were open, and 2) because it was their last day, there as no more food. This explained why the large room was empty.

Our Zoigl experience comes to an end

Owner Manfred Punzmann was a jolly, round man who tried very hard to communicate with us. Together we sat at a table, with no other people in the room, trying to communicate by using a lot of hand gestures, some poorly pronounced German, a tad bit of broken English, and a fair amount of a German dialect completely foreign to us. Another couple (friends of Manfred as far as we could tell) came in while we were there. Manfred explained that we were American and the man came over to try to speak to us in English. Overall, this was probably the most awkward of all the Zoiglstube experiences.

To be honest, we couldn’t drink our beer fast enough. At the same time, it was extremely rewarding in that Manfred and his friends were not about to give up and leave us alone because we couldn’t communicate. They wanted to interact with us, offering information on Zoigl and generally being very welcoming. In a world with waning customer service and increasingly isolated consumerism, Manfred’s attitude was refreshing and reassuring that interpersonal communication was alive and well, even if we barely knew what the other was saying. It fully embodied the Zoigl spirit and pretty much encapsulated my experience of this new beer adventure.

Aside from the generous attention and hospitality, the best part of our visit to Schoilmichl was that we could purchase beer vom fass to go. For 3, we purchased a one liter bottle of freshly filled Zoigl. We even went out to by some heavy duty tape to make sure the swing top didn’t open during the trip home. We shared it with friends at home about five days later. It was fully carbonated and just as good as when we had it at Schoilmichl. Sharing this beer with friends allowed us to bring a bit of our awesomely awkward adventure home to re-experience in an awesomely not-so-awkward way.

In a trip with a compressed schedule, we moved on from the Oberpfälzer Wald the next morning. Other Zoiglstube opened later in the week, but we would already be home in California. Awkward at times and despite not adding any breweries to the List, Zoigl was one of those truly special adventures in our long years of beer travel.

Cheers to Zoigl!

View all the Zoigl images…

New beergeek.TV Episode – Our Happy Place

Prost! at Kloster Andechs

Our Happy Place” is the latest episode of One Pint at a Time.

After a busy and stressful summer selling Teachings From The Tap, we badly needed a vacation. And we could think of no better place than our happy place: Germany. Starting in Franconia, we explored the countryside, as well as completed the Bamberg breweries. After a relaxing few days in Munich, we traveled south to the Bavarian Alps to drink beer, hike and go to the top of Germany.

So enjoy our latest beer adventures in Germany…

For all the episodes of One Pint at a Time go to beergeekTV.

Hike-n-Beer, Garmisch Edition

The rain of the previous day cleared out overnight and Sunday dawned sunny and warm. With not-so-epic weather scheduled to come back in on Monday, this needed to be the day for our favorite travel activity, hiking in the Alps.

Olympic Ski Stadium

The hike I had picked out for us was to the Schachenhaus, a hütte (hut) at 1,866 meters (5,598 feet) in the mountains above Garmisch-Partenkirchen. A retreat built by King Ludwig II between 1869 and 1872, the Schachenhaus, like all hüttes, now serves as a rest stop for weary hikers. And we planned being quite weary after the three and a half hour journey.

The kickoff point for the hike was Garmisch’s Olympic Ski Stadium, home of the 1936 Winter Games. When we arrived, the gravel parking lot was already bustling with people getting all their gear together for a day in the mountains. After admiring the ski jumps, which we had never seen before in person, and checking out the stadium, we set off up the paved road.

Merideth about to enter the Partnach Gorge…

After a short walk along the road, we reached a crossroads in our hike. We could take the upper or lower trail. The highlight of the lower trail was the Partnachklamm, a walking path carved into a narrow gorge. We chose the scenic route, paid the €6 admission and donned our rain gear.

Entering the narrow gorge, the 800 meter walk was quite stunning with the sun streaming through the narrow slit at the top of the 80 meter high walls. Water streamed down the walls, falling like rain. Numerous waterfalls emptied into the Partnach River that cascaded with a large force through the narrow channel.

Nice view

Exiting the gorge and back into the bright sunlight, this was where our hike kind of went awry. Following signs for the Schachenhaus, we didn’t go the wrong way, rather the long way. The VERY LONG way.

It was a very pleasant walk up a not-too-steep grade with incredible views of the nearby peaks.  At some point, the time on the signs jumped from three hours to four and a half hours. Consulting a map, it was at this point we realized that we had taken the long trail that wrapped all the way around the mountain.

Heading back down…

It was decision time. Unfortunately, we surmised it was too late to continue on the trail we were on and make it to the Schachenhaus. It was also too late to backtrack and get on the correct trail. We decided to head back down and visit the Hintergraseck hütte. We had seen the trail to it on the way up.

Lunch!

Admittedly, I was pretty mopey on the way down. We set a lofty goal of having lunch at almost 6,000 feet in the Bavarian Alps but never made it out of the tree line. Instead, I worried, we were going to mingle with tourists dressed for a Sunday outing in town.

My mood changed when we settled into our seats on the edge of the Hintergraseck’s patio. We were amongst our fellow hikers all enjoying beers and the beautiful weather. With Paulaner Hefeweizen in hand, Merideth and I marveled at the panoramic view of the Alpine peaks. And lunch was very Bavarian. Merideth ordered Leberkäse while I went with the Landjäger, semi-dried sausage. We even had time to make a friend, the hütte’s sheep dog who split time between playing with us and watching over his sheep.

Dessert!

With a few beers in me, I was in a better mood on the final descent. Even encountering scores of normal tourists along this part of the trail couldn’t ruin my contented feeling. Almost back in civilization, we stopped at another hütte, where we each enjoyed more Hefeweizens and split a yummy Apfelstrudel. Continuing on after dessert, we were back at our car in a few minutes.

The silver lining to not accomplishing our goal, besides spending a great day together, is that we will need to return some day to try again. And now I know exactly what trail we need to go up.

View all the images from our day…

Alpine Ramblings

After a couple of days Munich, Merideth and I headed south for the Bavarian Alps. The last phase of our trip, the focus of our time in the mountains would be hiking and the great outdoors. Of course, we also found time to visit a few breweries.

Mühlfeldbräu in Bad Tölz

Leaving Munich mid-morning, we arrived at our first destination, Bad Tölz, in no time. A town along the Isar River with a rich history, we were there to visit  its brewery, Mühlfeldbräu. Located along the main thoroughfare, Merideth and I were the first customers of the day.

First beer of the day…

An anomaly of German breweries we have visited, Mühlfeldbräu was café-like: bright and airy with a very modern decor. I don’t say that in a bad way. Just that in a beer culture built on tradition, different stands out.

Sitting at one of the high tables in front of the counter, Merideth and I each enjoyed one of the pleasant house-brewed Helles. The decor might have non-traditional, but the beer was very Bavarian.

Oberammergau

Bad Tölz was only a quick stop and Merideth and I were soon headed south again on our journey to the Alps. Hopping onto the Deutsche Alpenstraße, we were on familiar ground having driven the scenic road on several occasions.

Despite its charm and idyllic Bavarian setting, we avoided Oberammergau on our previous visits to the area. Famous for the town’s production of the Passion Play, Oberammergau is a very, very popular tourist destination. But now we had a reason to visit Oberammergau, there was a brewery in town.

Ammergauer Maxbräu in the Hotel Maximillian

Ammergauer Maxbräu was located in the Hotel Maximillian. Luckily for us, it was on the periphery of the tourist-laden center of the village. An amazing, glorious day with bright blue skies, there was no question we were going to enjoy their beers and some lunch, in the beer garden.

Merideth enjoying a gorgeous day in Bavaria

When I woke up in the morning, I never thought we would be part of a wedding party that day. I chose our particular table because it was right next to a really cool fountain. Moments after sitting down, a waitress started setting up the table a few feet from us with champagne flutes. Sure enough, a few minutes later, a small wedding party arrived and mingled around the table. Admittedly, we felt a bit odd, wondering whether we should move. The wedding party didn’t seem to mind, so we stayed put. Merideth and I cheered the happy couple.

The beers were nice and it was a wonderful lunch. Merideth enjoyed the Klassik Flammkuchen. Being a bit porked out (blasphemy), I was very un-Bavarian and went with the Junger Blattsalat, a big salad.

Kloster Ettal

After a quick walk through the center of Oberammergau, it was time for us to head back down the Deutsche Alpenstraße towards our final destination of the day, Garmisch-Partenkirchen. A few miles down the road, Kloster Ettal, with its massive dome, dominates the landscape. Though it was already on The List, we could not pass right by without stopping.

Merideth drinking a Etaller Helles

We set up at the cafe in front of the monastery mainly because the beer gardens across the street were already in the shade. While watching multitudes our fellow tourists, bikers, elderly, families pass by, we finished the day’s alpine ramblings enjoying the Kloster’s Helles and Benediktiner Weizen.

View all the images from the day…

Rainy and overcast in the Alps…

The following day could not have been more different. Clouds and rain came in overnight shrouding the craggy Alpine peaks in mist. Being a veteran beer traveler, I already had a Plan B for such an occasion. Scrapping our planned hike in the hills above Garmisch-Parternkirchen, we headed towards the nearby Austrian border.

Hotel Thaneller, home of Stadl-bräu, the highest-altitude brewery in Austria.

In less than an hour, we were in the Austrian village of Berwang. A thriving ski area, the village was eerily deserted in the September rain. Parking across the street from Hotel Thaneller, we surmised it wasn’t a total ghost town as there was another car also in the gravel lot. Merideth and I wandered into the equally deserted lobby in search of their Hausbrauerei, Stadl-bräu.

A rainy day beer…

We finally located the brewpub on the second floor and even found people (staff). Oddly, there seemed to be a multitude of them, given that it was only the two of us in the whole restaurant. We grabbed an out of the way table in the front room.

With nothing much planned for the day, we  enjoyed a few beers and leisurely lunch, splitting an order of the Jägerschnitzel.

View all the Berwang images…

Merideth in rainy Eisenberg

Looping back into Germany, we were on our way to the village of Eisenberg and its brewery, the Maria Hilfer Sudhaus. Finding the brewery on the Interwebs, what intrigued me was their Allgäuer Bier–Käse Wanderung, a five stop beer and cheese walk in the village.

One the one hand, the rainy weather was the reason we had time to visit Maria Hilfer Sudhaus. The downside was, when we arrived, the rain was the heaviest of the day, preventing any sort of walk except a quick dash to the brewpub’s front door.

A busy day at Maria Hilfer Sudhaus

Walking in, we immediately faced a couple that seemingly were waiting for a table. Proceeding to the main dining area, we were confronted with a packed room, everyone enjoying a hearty lunch on the rainy afternoon. All the tables were full, except for one, a large pie-shaped table that was completely empty. Merideth and I immediately thought it was the Stammtisch, but the sassy waitress gestured to us that we could sit there. Admittedly, we didn’t feel comfortable until more people joined us at this huge table (Later, I spotted the real Stammtisch nearby).

A couple of Vollbiers at Maria Hilfer Sudhaus

Soon, we had two Vollbiers and a basket of pretzels sitting in front of us. The food looked really good, especially the Schweinebraten. We really should have split a plate but munched on some pretzels instead.

We thought about playing scrabble. But people continued to stream in and we felt bad about taking up a table to play a board game. Finished with our beers and satisfied with adding two breweries to The List, we returned to Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

View all the Eisenberg images…

Completing Bamberg

On our first trip to Bamberg, we half-joked that we were going to visit all of the city’s breweries in one day. Five years and two visits later, Merideth and I were back in the Franconian city to complete that lofty beer traveler goal.

Scenic Bamberg

On that first visit, a whirlwind one-day stop in 2007, we managed drink beer at most of Bamberg’s breweries. We picked up one more brewery passing through during our May Year in Beer visit (of course chronicled in Merideth’s book, Teachings from the Tap). This time around we stayed three days, plenty of time to complete Bamberg.

Where the malt is made…

One of the Bamberg breweries missing from the List, Brauerei Spezial opened at 9am, a beer traveler’s dream. Thus, we were on the move early, heading from our vacation apartment towards the city center. With a leisurely pace, we took a circuitous route from our apartment so we could marvel at the nearby Weyermann Malzerei.

Brauerei Spezial

Beer gardens are not always packed with maß clinking revelers. Passing through Spezial’s huge doors into their interior courtyard beer garden, we saw only one other customer, an older gentleman sitting in the corner. It WAS only 10am after all. Since it was a warm, beautiful morning, Merideth and I chose one of the empty tables in the sun.

A Rauchbier to start the day…

Much to Merideth’s chagrin, Spezial did not have their one non-smoked beer, the Ungespundetes. The only beer available was their Märzen Rauchbier. To her credit, Merideth did give it a try.

A brilliant copper color, the smoke was prominent on top of a somewhat surprising light-bodied brew.

Merideth was a real trooper because I insisted on going straight from Spezial to Schlenkerla so we could compare Bamberg’s two Rauchbier breweries. Crossing the Main-Donau canal at the Luitpoldbrücke, we headed into the heart of the tourist zone. Resisting the desire to join a tour group, we were seated in the almost equally deserted Schlenkerla beer garden within minutes.

The perfect pairing…

We ordered one of their Rauchbiers and and an order of the Schweinebraten, roast pork. Rauchbier might be an acquired taste, but that taste could be acquired by pairing it with succulent roast pork.

The Schlenkerla Rauchbier had a much deeper body, with more notes of smoked ham than it’s lighter Spezial counterpart. Just like I remembered and enjoyed it in 2007.

Wilde Rose Keller

Early in the evening, we returned to the City Center on our way to the the top of one of the numerous hills in Bamberg. Walking up Oberer Stepansburg, we were on our way to the Wilde Rose Keller. Through social media, we were told that we HAD to visit the hilltop beer garden.

There was only a smattering of people when we arrived. I had visions of sitting at a table overlooking the city but a multitude trees blocked any view. We chose a table in the middle under the trees and settled in.

Dinner at the Wilde Rose Keller

Wilde Rose Keller had house beers, but I will admit I’m not sure who brews them. Needing a refreshing beer after the walk up the hill, I ordered us two Hefeweizens to start. Once we settled in, we moved on to the Kellerbier. Both were quite delicious, perfect for the setting.

For dinner, Merideth ordered us a variety of our Bavarian favorites: cheese, Obatzda, bread, pickles and pretzels.

A wonderful evening…

As Merideth and I enjoyed our beers and food and played scrabble (I won 281-246, my only triumph of the trip), the beer garden steadily filled up with families, groups, friends, and couples. Some brought picnics and set up camp. Everyone was enjoying the beer and an absolutely beautiful Bavarian evening.

Bamberg in the evening…
Our favorite stop in Bamberg

The following morning we had blocked off for doing laundry. Much to our delight, we found a inexpensive, fast-service laundromat that would do the work for us (Bamberger Waschsalon…they speak English too). That meant instead of sitting in a laundromat on a beautiful day, we had the morning to explore Bamberg while our clothes were being washed. We decided to traipse back up the hill to Greifenklau, our favorite beer garden in Bamberg.

More enjoyable than doing laundry

The chestnut tree shaded beer garden has a panoramic view of the nearby countryside including the Altenburg, the 12th century castle a few kilometers distant. The first customers of the day, we found a somewhat sunny seat in the morning chill. While drinking a couple of krugs of their lager, we watched a red squirrel play amongst the apple trees in the grove below. What a great way to kill time.

Farm to table at Brauerei Kundmüller

Laundry sorted, we could now think about lunch. Driving a dozen kilometers west of Bamberg into the Steigerwald, Merideth and I found ourselves in the tiny village of Weiher at Brauerei Kundmüller. The restaurant and brewery were located next to their farm which included a Streichelzoo, or petting zoo, for the wee ones.

Lunch!

Walking into beer garden, we felt the stares of the locals at the Stammtisch who I assume don’t see too many American beer travelers. Leaving Merideth at a table under the big tree under the watchful eyes of the locals, I went inside to order our lunch, house-made sausages and their European Beer Star award-winning Kellerbier.

While enjoying our meal on another warm and sunny Franconian day, we watched some of the animals in the Streichelzoo, guinea pigs, rabbits, pigs and goats. We did wonder when the two pigs were going to be Schweinehaxe, Schweinebraten and hausgemacht Bratwurst.

Our last Bamberg brewery…

On the way back into the city, we stopped at the last Bamberg brewery that we needed to add, Kaiserdom. We stopped at Kaiserdom during our 2008 visit only to find it oddly closed. Pulling into the almost empty restaurant parking lot, I did get a bit worried that we were going to miss out again. It was with a great relief that the front door opened.

Merideth and I were the only customers besides a largish tour group of Russians. Ordering a Zwickelbier and Pilsner, Merideth and I basked in our accomplishment, we had completed Bamberg.

Last beer in Bamberg… for this trip

We finished our third Bamberg visit where we began our first one, at Mahrs Bräu. We were off to Munich the following morning, the next phase of our trip. Such transitions often get us in a reflective mood. Finally spending an extended amount of time in the city gave us the opportunity to experience more of Bamberg’s many charms. Though we had now added all the breweries, we saw ourselves visiting again. There is still the Weyermann tour to do… And we need to add our padlock to the bridge

View all the Bamberg images…