In 1990 I was somewhere in the middle of my Chemical Engineering degree and the question arose in my mind as to whether I would actually like to continue in this field later on. A possible alternative would be the Brewmaster training in Freising near Munich and that is why I went to Bayern that summer to get a better look at the brewing world. The Deutsche Bahn offered students the Tramper-Monats ticket, which allowed unlimited travel by train and bus for a month.
The first location was Ludwigsstadt, at the very top of Bavaria. I had been there a short time before and the place had a bit of a magical feel to it as it was very close to the Iron Curtain at the time. The railway that crosses the town runs from here into Thuringia. That magic had somewhat disappeared because six months earlier the GDR and its highly guarded border had fallen. In the town was the regional brewery Jahn's Bräu, where I had arranged the second day. I got a tour from the Brewmaster and he immediately set an important tone: when you get out of training, you get a job for 90% in the growth markets far away in the world... (that was a downer, couldn't I I didn't mean anything then, now I might think about it very differently). Around Ludwigsstadt I made a few nice pictures with my new camera, which came with a real remote control, so that I could also put myself in the picture.
On the third day by train to Bayreuth and from there by bus to Warmensteinach, where I had the second appointment with the Trassl-Bräu (now closed just like the Jahns Bräu unfortunately). Warmensteinach is a quiet village where there was not much to do in the evening, but I was lucky at the Treff zum Hans. Got to know some people there who showed me the area with a buggy the next day and took me to a nightlife in Weißenstadt on Saturday evening. During the day beautiful walks in the beautiful surroundings of the Fichtelgebirge and a second trip to the center of Bayreuth.
The first location was Ludwigsstadt, at the very top of Bavaria. I had been there a short time before and the place had a bit of a magical feel to it as it was very close to the Iron Curtain at the time. The railway that crosses the town runs from here into Thuringia. That magic had somewhat disappeared because six months earlier the GDR and its highly guarded border had fallen. In the town was the regional brewery Jahn's Bräu, where I had arranged the second day. I got a tour from the Brewmaster and he immediately set an important tone: when you get out of training, you get a job for 90% in the growth markets far away in the world... (that was a downer, couldn't I I didn't mean anything then, now I might think about it very differently). Around Ludwigsstadt I made a few nice pictures with my new camera, which came with a real remote control, so that I could also put myself in the picture.
On the third day by train to Bayreuth and from there by bus to Warmensteinach, where I had the second appointment with the Trassl-Bräu (now closed just like the Jahns Bräu unfortunately). Warmensteinach is a quiet village where there was not much to do in the evening, but I was lucky at the Treff zum Hans. Got to know some people there who showed me the area with a buggy the next day and took me to a nightlife in Weißenstadt on Saturday evening. During the day beautiful walks in the beautiful surroundings of the Fichtelgebirge and a second trip to the center of Bayreuth.
The next place was Freising, the city of the brewing faculty. I couldn't look around there myself because it was vacation after all. But I did get a nice impression of this medium-sized provincial city that is easily connected to Munich by S-Bahn. I left the real art and culture behind for a while, luckily I would walk into the Dom again later. Now it was the cozy Beergarten that caught my attention. Studying here seemed like a good idea... :-) The brewery visit was at the Schloßbrauerei Au in der Hallertau, which was easy to reach by bus (20 km). The Hallertau is the largest hop cultivation area in Europe and in that sense this part was a must. From Freising, therefore, also a day trip to Munich with, among other things, the Englischer Garten, the Weißes Brauhaus and the large bookstore of Hugendubel.
The last place to stay was Reit im Winkl im Chiemgau, the village in the mountains that I somehow fell in love with when I was there with my parents. From Munich by train to Prien and then by bus to Reit im Winkl. If you wanted to go somewhere from the village you had to take the bus, like the two brewery visits that were still on the agenda. The Hofbräuhaus in Traunstein (where I really got to see every corner of the brewery) and the Hofbräuhaus in Berchtesgaden. The last one was a lot of fun, because I got a tour from the director himself with a dinner afterwards, so I could ask everything I wanted to know.
In Reit im Winkl I stayed a little longer for the real holiday feeling. In the evening I was able to go to the small village disco Woipadinger. Trips again to Munich (1860 Munich football match against FC Bayern Amateure), the city of Rosenheim, the village festival Kössener Freinacht (just over the border in Austria) and the KZ Dachau. Also got to know some people here, who took me to a Waldfest in Unken (also in Austria).
Conclusion: I didn't go to Freising to study in the end (finances also played a part, of course), but I did have a very nice holiday. Traveling alone has the advantage that you get to know people faster. Eating alone in a restaurant was not very pleasant back then. Otherwise I would recommend it to everyone.
The last place to stay was Reit im Winkl im Chiemgau, the village in the mountains that I somehow fell in love with when I was there with my parents. From Munich by train to Prien and then by bus to Reit im Winkl. If you wanted to go somewhere from the village you had to take the bus, like the two brewery visits that were still on the agenda. The Hofbräuhaus in Traunstein (where I really got to see every corner of the brewery) and the Hofbräuhaus in Berchtesgaden. The last one was a lot of fun, because I got a tour from the director himself with a dinner afterwards, so I could ask everything I wanted to know.
In Reit im Winkl I stayed a little longer for the real holiday feeling. In the evening I was able to go to the small village disco Woipadinger. Trips again to Munich (1860 Munich football match against FC Bayern Amateure), the city of Rosenheim, the village festival Kössener Freinacht (just over the border in Austria) and the KZ Dachau. Also got to know some people here, who took me to a Waldfest in Unken (also in Austria).
Conclusion: I didn't go to Freising to study in the end (finances also played a part, of course), but I did have a very nice holiday. Traveling alone has the advantage that you get to know people faster. Eating alone in a restaurant was not very pleasant back then. Otherwise I would recommend it to everyone.
