(Very) Quick Trip to Munich

Agree on the first paragraph.

Will give you a heads up next trip.

 

The Czech Republic is cheap. Friends say that Poland is cheaper.

 

Bamberg however is certainly not expensive. Cheaper to Munich for certain and not just for beer but also for food. I also find the food is in the whole better cooked in Bamberg than in Munich.

 

I guess I've never noticed dirty lines or glassware in Bamberg. You are correct in that Bamberg is much less expensive than Munich or basically any city in the US. Prague is just even less.

 

Portland could probably give Bamberg a run for its price-wise, but that's the only US city I can think of. It's a hell of a lot more spread out, though.
I don't think I've ever had issues with glassware or lines in Bamberg, but I wasn't paying super close attention either. I've had beers that had off notes (at Faessla and Klosterbraeu), but I don't know if I could attribute that to lines or just QA/QC.

 

Portland can't really compete with Bamberg for price. Munich, but not Bamberg - remember that the US pint is not quite a 0,5 litre so to be cheaper a beer in Portland would have to cost $3,40, without tip. Of course in Portland the alcohol is generally higher though so if you were to do a real comparison you'd have to look into that side I guess.

The issue with lines and glassware isn't to do with off flavours, more to do with the pour. It's a pet peeve of mine as a former real ale drinker. In Prague, the glasses are often steeped in cold water and the lines are cleaned meticulously. You get a piece of art with a stable head that lasts til the last sip and a beer that is very softly carbonated and very drinkable. Poured by professional tapsters. In Spezial for example, the glasses are stored next to the kitchen and fatty deposits mean that you can get a very fizzy beer with no or little head. The tapsters don't really pay much attention to what they are doing either. I've mentioned this to the son and brewer, and he completely agrees.

There is no such issue at schlenkerla though, where beer is poured straight from the barrel, as god intended.

 

Nothing you have on your list is particularly close to Berlin, except I guess Leipzig (in which case I'd say consider spending a day in Dresden as well). You might want to think about your logistics - if you're flying in/out of Frankfurt, setting up a few days in Düssseldorf and Köln at the beginning or end of your visit would be easy on your travel plans. If you're flying in and out of Berlin you may want to stay closer to home in Leipzig. If you are flying in and out of München then either that beautiful city and/or Bamberg would be workable.

I had a friend visit once and we did Heidelberg (where I lived)-->Bamberg-->Dresden-->Berlin. He flew into Frankfurt and out of Berlin, so our itinerary fit in easily.

 

So true. I remember being in Bamberg drinking €2,70 half-liters (restaurant prices, mind you) and sitting next to a German couple who were complaining about the high prices. They came into the Big City every once in a while but apparently the drinkin' is even cheaper in the Franconian countryside.

 

Not apparently. Just a few km away and you're paying €2,40. Further away it can be €2,20, and in an extreme case there is a very good brewery that shall remain nameless where you can get a Seidla for €1,90. And if you want to buy bottled beer, most Franconian breweries will charge €12-€15 for a case (20 bottles). That's c. 70 cents a bottle, crazy - plus you get 8 cents per bottle back for the deposit.

It must have been a few years' since you were here as you won't get a beer in a restaurant in Bamberg for under €3 these days. Schlenkerla is €3 a Seidla now. It's greedy to be honest, courtesy of tourist hoards. You may compare with other places and say it's still cheap but in reality the tax on beer here compared with say, the UK, is so low that the actual beer (i.e. the product), is actually more expensive in Franconia than beer in the U.K.

 

Thanks for your note. I should have been clearer, I will be flying into Frankfurt. Even to go to Berlin it's less expensive to transfer in Frankfurt (I hate that airport!). Flying home I'll of course go from Berlin to Frankfurt and then probably New York.

I didn't even consider anything near Berlin because I didn't think there were any good beer towns there. Are there? I have been to Dresden; and I understand Leipzig is about the same as far as beer goes.

So my plan currently is Frankfurt - Bonn - Köln / Köln - Düssseldorf / Düssseldorf - Dortmund - Hanover / Hanover - Berlin

That adds 3 nights to my trip but I'll get to visit 5 cities I've never seen and taste the beers of Köln and Düssseldorf fresh. From there I should have 7 days in Berlin and a day trip to Leipzig might be possible although I think I'll just leave that for another time unless anyone thinks it's really worth it.

 

I recommend:
Day 1: fly into FFM, train to Düsseldorf
Day 2 - Day 6: cancel all plans, stay in Düsseldorf. Apologize to MIL
Day 7: secretly find permanent job and housing in Düsseldorf
Day 8: apologize to wife, tear up plane tickets
Day 9 - ?: you’re welcome

 

I would say Bamberg and/or München .... every day and twice on Sunday... not a Kölsch fan, personally. . Though the Dom IS fantastic ... had a tour there with my daughter last month... it IS awesome .... I have been lax (naw, he's been wrestling ... see who gets the reference)... hope to get a write up of my latest trip on here soon... Prosit!!

 

N’yuk N’yuk N’yuk!

Cheers!

 

Nice avatar.... we ALL put the yeast in!