Passport & Pork Knuckle

Not long ago, I shared the big news: I finally got my German citizenship. And now, I can officially say, passport in hand, Es funktioniert!

So when a business trip took me to London, it only made sense to hop over to Germany to give that shiny new passport a whirl. I chose Munich because I’d never been, and everyone I mentioned it to had the same reaction: “Oktoberfest! How fun!”

Not quite. I traveled to the city in October, yes. But by the time I arrived, the last stein had been raised, the tents long packed up. (And, truth be told, I’m not much of a beer drinker anyway. Heresy for a German, I know.)

Still, Munich had plenty to offer. I made my way to the Ratskeller München, tucked beneath the gorgeous Neues Rathaus with its famous glockenspiel. Surrounded by tables clinking with massive steins of beer, I went rogue and ordered a glass of wine - Müller-Thurgau. The waitress smiled knowingly. (A fellow wine drinker?)

Dinner was a glorious Schweinehaxe, that’s pork knuckle to us non-Germans, served with pillowy potato dumplings and the most incredible red cabbage I’ve ever eaten. Let’s be honest, it wasn’t the cabbage itself that won me over, but the dish’s generous hit of apple. Together? Sublime.

As for Munich itself? Beautiful, charming, and very Bavarian, but I’m not sure it’s my city. I suspect Berlin might be calling me back. Let’s see where that new passport takes me next…