DAY 9 - SEPT. 10 (SUNDAY) - LOVELY BRUNCH IN AYING AND OFF TO MUNICH

 

Ron was in the shower when the doorbell rang a few seconds after 10 AM. He had spoken earlier to the young man about checking out a bit  later, 10:30 -11:00, and he said "no problem". But apparently the mother didn’t agree. They said they would return in 15-minutes. Meanwhile,  I told them we had broken one wine glass, and the lady said that will be 4 EU. The son then returned our 100 EU deposit.

Being rushed to check out, we had to leave earlier than planned, which meant we would be early for our brunch reservation at the Brauereigasthof Hotel Aying. 

As we were driving we kept encountering slow-moving tractors, and wondered why they were on the roads on a Sunday. Shortly, we came to a small village where a “tractor fest” of some kind was taking place. Tractors from all directions were arriving, with the drivers and families decked out in their best Bavarian garb. We went back to see what it was all about, but there seemed nothing of interest to outsiders.

We found a handicapped parking spot directly in front of the Aying, a pretty, ivy-clad exterior and window boxes with geraniums.

Since we were early, we walked across the street and found a shady seat on the terrace of the Ayinger Braustube. I perused the menu, and saw things we both would like for reasonable prices. I said that perhaps we should eat there, as it seemed less costly than the hotel restaurant. Luckily, Ron had just seen the reservation paper I had printed out, and we would have been charged a €100 no-show fee.

We sat on the wooden benches, and Ron had a Ayinger helles. I have forgotten to take pictures of all the beer brands Ron has sampled during our trip. The last time I did that, I think there were more than 30

As soon as it was noon, we went over to the Hotel. 

The establishment has been serving patrons since the early 1800's. For the last 10-years, it has been under management of the Insel-kammer family, who have made improvements and innovations and brought the place back to its roots. They are proud to be in a traditional Bavarian village complete with the highest Maypole in Bavaria and a beautiful onion-dome church. We have been visiting here for about 50-years, from the time when it was less than half-an-hour to the old Munich airport in Riem. We spent the night here long ago when it was a more modest gasthaus.

The formal dining room appeared to be closed, and the tables were set beautifully in the garden (one of the improvements of the Inselkammers). Very lovely settings. I was beneath an olive tree.

Ron ordered a bottle of Grunerveltliner (Winkler). His first course was the Festtag soup, which was basically noodles in beef broth. I tasted and thought it was extremely salty.  

For main course, we both ordered the full portion of wienerschnitzel. We should have ordered the smaller portion. It was very thin (as we like) and we enjoyed it. Ron says that it was our first one, and we need to order several more to compare.

Being a waiter or restaurant manager is still considered a profession in Germany, and many young people in the hospitality industry study for 2-3 years. Ron asked the young man who attended our table where he had gone to school for his job, and he said he had studied two-years in Munich, and was now doing his apprenticeship at the Aying. You can sure tell the difference in the level of professionalism in service.

 Afer we finished lunch, we drove directly to the Hilton City Munich for our next 5-day stay - thanks again to Hilton Honors points. We had received an upgrade to the Executive Level floor (5^th), but were disappointed in the size of the room. Ron called it claustrophobic. Ron went down to the desk to inquire if we could get a larger room since we were "Hilton Diamonds" and frequent guests. He was told we would have a new room the next day. 

We went down the hall a few doors to the Lounge, and imbibed their complementary beverages, including Scotch for Ron.

Hazy Munich from Hilton Executive Lounge - 
Holiday Inn opposite used to be PENTA

When we first came to Munich we were in our 20's and stayed at the PENTA (seen above) many times. One of our best memories is walking with Patches (our precious mix-breed dog who lived like a human in Europe) down a nearby street to a little pub. There was a band playing mostly folk and ballads. We went there several times, and our favorite song they played was "On the Banks of the Ohio".🎵

We briefly sat out on the balcony area of the lounge, but quickly retreated inside due to the HEAT! The forecast promises only a few more days until it cools off.