Munich is not a carnival stronghold – and yet with the market women on the Viktualienmarkt it has something unique to offer. Those who already dream of summer holidays and outdoor sports in February will get the best inspiration at the travel and leisure fair "f.re.e".
With almost 200 million records sold and 12 Grammys, Tina Turner was one of the most successful singers of all time. Nine months after her death, the Deutsche Theater is reviving the memory of the Queen of Rock. The successful London show One night of Tina - A Tribute to the Music of Tina Turner brings her eventful life and her greatest hits such as "The Best" and "Private Dancer" to the stage in a spectacular concert show. In combination with impressive light and sound installations and a brilliant ensemble around singer Sharon Ballard, the rock legend is given a worthy memorial that will not only thrill Tina Turner fans.
One night of Tina, 5 to 7 February 2024, Deutsches Theater
Shortly after Christmas, the colorfully filled doughnuts are already piling up in Munich bakeries, a clear sign that the Fasching is approaching. Because the carnival season officially begins on Epiphany (January 6) and ends on Shrove Tuesday. This day is the highlight of the Munich carnival season: At the Viktualienmarkt the Lord Mayor speaks, the prince and princess couple and carnival guard say goodbye with their last performance - and thousands of people look forward to the dance of the market women. During the year these women sell fruit and vegetables, fish, flowers, spices or fresh juices at their stalls. Now they whirl across the stage in brightly coloured costumes, so that the petticoat skirts and high hats just fly. Every year the start is made by the cult song "Linie 8", followed by newly rehearsed dances. A unique experience!
Shrove Tuesday, 13 February 2024, Viktualienmarkt
At the trade fair "f.re.e" from 14 to 18 February 2024, people will be mentally on holiday, in the mountains, on the water and on their bicycles. The largest travel and leisure fair in Bavaria inspires in camping, cruising, health and wellness, water sports and everything to do with outdoor activities. On site at the Messe München, visitors can climb steep rock faces, try their hand at stand-up paddling and even take a taster diving course.
Trade Fair "f.re.e", 14 to 18 February 2024, Messe München
Aida, 22 February 2024, Olympiahalle
Joseph Mallord William Turner has long been hailed as a revolutionary innovator who helped pave the way for modernism. He began exploring the possibilities of landscape painting early on, both by studying earlier masters of the genre and in direct engagement with the world around him. He experimented with the conventions of his craft, gradually pushing the boundaries of traditional representation. Soon his works loosened the bond that tied them to nature as it appears to the eye to such a degree that, in their reduction to colour, light, and atmosphere, they called the picture’s representational function into question. His art amazed contemporary beholders and sparked controversy.
The cooperation of Lenbachhaus in Munich with Tate Britain, London, which preserves his extensive estate, enables to vividly illustrate Turner’s career and his pictorial innovations. On display are around forty paintings and forty watercolours as well as sketches from all parts of his oeuvre.
Turner. Three Horizons, 28 October, 2023 to 10 March 2024, Lenbachhaus
Winter in Munich without any skiing or snowboarding? Unimaginable! After all, the city has the mountains right on its doorstep. Brauneck mountain, for example, is around an hour away in the car or on the train. Lenggries ski resort offers a variety of pistes and a long valley run. However, its best snow conditions come during high winter. Sudelfeld Bayrischzell is Germany's largest continuous ski resort and is known for being particularly family-friendly. The lifts have been undergoing expansion and renovation measures for a number of years. Garmisch-Partenkirchen has not one but two resorts in its direct vicinity. One the one hand, you have the Garmisch resort with its local mountain, Alpspitze, Kreuzeck and the legendary Kandahar run. And on the other hand, you have Zugspitze, Germany’s highest ski resort. Up there, the peak is still covered in snow when the beer gardens back down in the valley are opening for the season. However, the terraces on Zugspitzplatt (plateau) are also an ideal spot to enjoy the first warm sun of the new year.
If the sledging slopes in Munich’s parks are too small for you, why not try heading to a proper mountain. The best place is Wallberg mountain in Rottach-Egern, a 1722-metre-high peak in Bavaria’s Alpine foothills. Starting at the mountain station for the Wallbergbahn cable car, a 6.5-kilometre-long natural sledge track winds its way down the valley. The route is one of the longest and sportiest in Germany. Sledgers need around 30 minutes to cover the 825-metre drop in altitude from the top to the bottom. Sledges are available to rent from the Wallbergbahn cable car. The sledge route is open daily if there is enough snow; the track is then prepared overnight ready for the next day. After your descent, relax with a beer or snack at Herzogliche Braustüberl Tegernsee or a trip to the lakeside sauna Seesauna Tegernsee. The highlight of any trip to the sauna is a round in the Irmingard sauna ship, a 15-tonne steam boat from 1925 that was once used to train captains.
Schmalznudeln – also known as Auszogne or Kiachl in Bavaria – literally means “shortening noodles”, though these deep-fried pastry treats have little to do with pasta. Auszogne are a traditional part of Alpine cuisine. They are made from a yeast-based dough, cooked in fat and then dusted with icing sugar. These little discs are thick around the edges and exceptionally thin in the middle. The Bavarian name Auszogne comes from the traditional technique used to make the pastries. The dough used to be pulled out (“ausgezogen” in German) by hand and stretched over the knee to make rings. Auszogne are sold in plenty of bakeries, though the undisputed number one choice when it comes to Schmalznudeln is Café Frischhut on Viktualienmarkt. In the 1970s and 80s, no sooner had the discos closed for the night than the city’s night owls arrived at the café for a Schmalznudel and cup of coffee. Nowadays, the café’s most loyal customers are the stall owners at the Viktualienmarkt.
A detailed calendar of events can be found here.
More about this: New arrivals talk about where to find a taste of home in Munich. Hélène Badault from Paris (aufildelene.com) talks about popular pastries, chatty restaurant owners, and lamb that tastes of summer. Bonjour Munich.
