Another day exploring Garching & trying not to think about the troubles in Seattle. Tho I can’t lie, it would be nice to have a whole week go by without a hospital stay for Tom. Fortunately Chris has figured out how to set up our phones for wifi calling! But I digress… Remember I mentioned how nice it was that the Augustiner Beer Garden supplied heavy flannel blankets to keep patrons comfy in chilly weather? Apparently it’s quite common here!

This is a little outdoor cafe, and below is part of Garchings central plaza!

And another unusual piece of art with no explanation.

The BioMarket puts Wegmans & Whole Foods to shame! Never have I seen such beautiful displays of the freshest fruits & veggies imaginable! In fact when I left a farmers truck was arriving with a large collection of freshly dug potatoes piled high in the wooden trailer!

Speaking of fresh, we arrived at the Augustiner & sat at the bar just as the first traditional wooden barrel had a wedge inserted under the back to help coax out the last few pints. Then the show began! A fresh wooden keg was brought out and hefted onto the bar. A wooden mallet with a head as big around as a dinner plate was brought out to knock the brass spigot into the front, then the mallet was raised high and slammed down on top of the keg to “wake up” the beer! The bartender then smacked a bell hanging down from the ceiling to announce the new barrel was in service! Each of these wooden barrels is only good for one hour as the beer would go flat after that, but based on the nonstop flow of pints off the bar I hardly think THAT is a problem!