If you are visiting Germany, and even if you are not a beer drinker, you need to go to the Hofbräuhaus Munich. Outside of Oktoberfest season, it is probably the number one destination for tourists from all around the world. This large, loud, and bustling beer hall is open every day of the year and it is almost always packed. Here you get to do what we think you should do in Germany: drink great beer, eat delicious food, sing loudly, and clank large beer mugs together in friendship.
Beer Steins and Beer Tokens
Since there is such an interest in the beer, the management has always catered to regulars. There are hundreds of people who have standing table reservations each week. There is even a list of them on the Hofbräuhaus website.
They will collect their tankard from a locker; order a maß (mass or beer-1 liter) which they will then pay for with a special Biermarke or token.
There are over 400 tankard lockers located around the main area of the beer hall, some of which have been handed down from generation to generation.
While you are sitting there just pull out your Biermarke and pay for beer. A Biermarke, or token, can be bought for a small discount per beer or you can buy ten tokens and get the eleventh beer free.
The Hofbrauhaus is not just for Tourists. The beer hall can seat 1300 people, and there are people there from all over the world. However, they are not all tourists; surprisingly the Hofbräuhaus has many regulars.
Hofbrauhaus Customs You Should Know
People have been going to the Hofbräuhaus for over 400 years since it first opened its doors in 1897 and one very important tradition that you should be ready for is singing. Every night a Bavarian band plays, and about every 15 or 20 minutes you can hear one or both of these songs: the “Hofbräuhaus Lied” (the Hofbräuhaus song) or “Prosit” (Cheers). Both give the visitors a chance to clink their beers with the person sitting next to them and have a toast. Don’t be shy! It is a lot of fun!You can always tell the locals by the trachtenmoden, or traditional Bavarian dress, that they are wearing. Before moving to Bavaria, I thought lederhosen and dirndl were only for tourists or restaurant workers, but I was wrong. Many, many Bavarians own their own and proudly wear it for any number of occasions. You can buy the traditional felt hat and pins right there in the Hofbräuhaus, but as you walk around Munich you can also buy all kinds of traditional Bavarian clothes.
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