The last week has been funny. Just a week ago we barely had 12 degrees Celsius (54°F) on the temperature scale, on Sunday/Monday it jumped right up to 30 degrees (86°F) – almost 20 degree difference! – and today it’s raining again – of course – while the temperature dropped below 10 degrees (50°F)… Good thing we took advantage of the 2-day summer preview!

It is this time of year when all the various beer gardens and almost beer gardens are opening their doors to embrace the first groups of Bavarian culture carrier. In other words it’s officially beer garden time, including roasted chicken, radish and “Obatzda” (cheese mix) with Brez’n (pretzels) and of course lots of high quality beer. Lucky us, the Biergarten Hofbräukeller is just 2 minutes walking distance away and always a save bet for spontaneous evenings with friends.

The beer garden is located next to the Wiener Platz, its many beautiful chestnut trees contribute to a pleasant snack. It’s quite obvious, why this place is one of the prettiest beer gardens of the city (it’s always in the top ranks – yes, they actually run beer garden polls :) Another interesting fact about Munich beer gardens developed out of history: You’re explicitly allowed to bring your own food as long as you buy your beer (or any other beverages) there, special tables (no table cloth) are reserved.

So we can confirm that for this year we’ve had our first Mass (beer mug) on Saturday and herald the season with beautiful weather and crowds of happy people :)

On Sunday we took the car out for a ride and ended up in a very nice and cozy rural restaurant, just a stone’s throw away from Munich: Landgasthof Stangl in Neufarn.

This place is owned and run by the same family for over 175 years now, with a very good cuisine, friendly and forthcoming service and pleasant ambience. We’ve been there many times and never have been disappointed in the slightest. During winter season it’s great to sit in the cozy “Jagdstube” (a little room with dark wooden furniture, a tiled stove and lots of hunting trophies). But since we had bright blue skies, we chose to sit outside, where they run a more classy type of beer garden.

They have an extensive menu, always adapted to seasonal specialties. However, we already arrived with a set mind… For the main course we both went for the haunch of venison (medallions) in black currant sauce, with sautéed mushrooms, almond broccoli and home made spaetzle. The medallions were overcooked a tiny little bit (for our taste), but still very delicious. Unfortunately we didn’t leave any room for dessert. Really, there was no way. What a hard decision for dessert addicts like us! Instead we decided to take advantage of the scenic landscape and went for a nice walk – lots of horses to watch (for the horse-lover in me!).