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Munich Culture
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On the 30th of April in 1945,
American troops marched into a town that had been nearly 70%
destroyed. As part of the reconstruction program, a special
effort was made to preserve the historical areas. Residents
apparently did little looking back with any regrets and instead
went ahead to build modern Munich.
People here are often welcoming. While German is, of course,
the main language used in Munich, English is |
widely spoken and taught in schools. Most restaurants in the town
center offer English menus, many with quite interesting translations.
It is easy to get by with little or no German language knowledge.
The city is regarded as very safe. Because of its friendliness,
Munich is sometimes called either “The world metropolis with
a heart” or “the village of a million people.”
Like Berlin, Munich has everything you'd expect in a cosmopolitan
capital. Yet it's small enough to be digestible in one visit, with
much of it walkable. But it has the added bonus of a storybook setting,
with the mountains and Alpine lakes just an hour's drive away.
As attested by its many festivals and beer gardens, the residents
of Munich like to have fun. The city has more than 100 beer gardens,
the largest of which, the Hirschgarten, accommodates more than 8,000
people under sprawling chesnut trees. But surveys show that residents
are among the hardest-working in the entire country. The city is
also known as an intellectual center because it is the seat of Germany’s
largest university, with 100,000 students.
In recent years, the city has acquired an international reputation
but it still manages to retain some provincial flavoring. Native
Munich residents often seem to find ways to ignore the hustle and
bustle around them to take continuing pride in their long-standing
Bavarian customs and traditions. If you don’t believe it,
take note of some of their painstaking care in creating perfect
costumes for their various festivals.
More Information:
 www.state.gov
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