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 Oh how many beautiful (and some, very delicious!) treasures there were to find at the Munich Christmas Market! I had such a lovely time in Munich, the place is truly magical around Christmastime.   The story of Munich's famous totem-like pole was one of my favourites I heard whilst in the city. A wondrous thing to behold, the pole is decorated with depictions of things important to the people of Munich, namely beer. In fact, almost every part has to do with beer! Each town in Bavaria has one of these, and they are a sort of symbol of pride for the people. So much so that neighbouring towns will even try to steal another town's maypole. One famous incident, was when the maypole in the middle of the Munich airport (past the security gates) was taken without a trace. Naturally, airport staff panicked and called the police, who then demanded free food as ransom for the maypole, which they had stolen! It is quite a spectacle.
Another aspect of the story that Melissa particularly loved, was the creation of a maypole by (traditionally) men to give to someone they wish to ask on a date. If the answer was yes, they got to go on a date. If the answer was no, the recipient had to provide the asker with a case of beer. So it was really a win-win. Traditionally raised as an official opener for Spring, the maypole is a must when visiting Bavaria, if just to hear the fabulous stories.  Beer is a pretty popular thing in Munich. Think Octoberfest. You with me? Well, you see, super popular. As not a big beer drinker myself (try: none), this aspect of Munich was not something that drew me to come here (lets be honest: it was the Christmas markets). However, visiting the famous Hofbrauhaus was still a very interesting experience. Beer halls like this one were so popular in Munich that often there would be huge lines snaking their way to the front door of the establishment. It got so bad, that even getting up to go to the toilet would lose you your seat. With this in mind, the beer hall owners carved grooves into the wooden floors, which led outside. The idea being that the men would simply pee into the long grooves and therefore not have to get up from their seats. They even had special sticks they used to tap the leg of the person next to them so that they would know to move over just a tad as the person peed. Utterly disgusting habit that is thankfully no longer. It makes for a very interesting story though!  
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Hi! I'm Louise. I am a writer, photographer, traveler, book fanatic and blogger. I love to post about my adventures and the little things I do that make life fun.
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December 2019
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