The famous beer hall of Munich, Germany. Founded in 1589, Hofbräuhaus has an average of approximately 30,000 guests per day. And for good reason.

It was a quiet rainy evening in the streets of the city. Eerily so. Stepping foot into the Hofbräuhaus and it sounded like every single person in the city was inside. It was SO loud. And so happy. The smell of beer and fried meat overbearing. Feet sticking to the floor from spills of who knows what and beer (of course). Dodging waitresses with fistfuls of 1-liter steins (a single waiter can hold up to a record twenty seven steins at one time, each weighing approximately five pounds) as they come rushing between the long stretches of tables, desperately searching for an open chair or empty table. 

You would search and you would generally end up waiting for quite some time until someone left (unlike America, people in Germany have a tendency to take a longer amount of time so they can actually enjoy their food and conversation). As for the beer, (you know, the key to a good beer hall) because of the Bavarian Beer Purity laws, beer can only be brewed using natural ingredients which means you could almost claim it to be “healthy”.

The atmosphere of Hofbräuhaus was insane. Everyone was happy and dancing and just living life. If I remember correctly, too, it was a Wednesday night and people were still out and loving it. There were live musicians performing traditional German music and a large crowd of people singing and smiling and laughing and dancing. It was honestly one of the happiest things I have ever seen.

By some miracle there was one open table outside (probably because of the rain but still every other seat was filled). All I ordered was a pretzel, the German staple. It was a wonderful place and an experience I would thoroughly recommend.