A BAVARIAN GATEAWAY - ROHIT GHOSH

T R A V E L O G U E

A BAVARIAN GETAWAY

Rohit Ghosh is again back with a new travel story, this time closer home.

Whenever we think about Bavaria, the first thought that comes to our mind is all about Munich, the Oktoberfest, German alps and gorgeous alpine lakes making this region a truly wonderful place to live in. But if we start exploring Bavaria a little bit, one of the most underrated areas to visit lies in the heart of Hopfenland which is the engine to the core ingredient of beer making that the German are famous worldwide.

A 3-4 day trip should suffice really if you are looking to explore a bit about the history of beer brewing and the area around Abensberg is perfect blend of nature, beer making , historical monuments and the wonderful views around the river Donau (Danube).

Abensberg is an hour drive away from Munich. The town lies on the Abens river, a tributary of the Danube, around eight kilometres from the river's source. The area around Abensberg is characterized by the narrow valley of the Danube, where the Weltenburg Abbey stands, the valley of the Altmühl in the north, a left tributary of the Danube, and the famous Hallertau hops-planting region in the south. During our trip, we wanted to spend our time checking out the Kuchelbauer Turm and the famous Hunderwasser museum and spend our time exploring the Klosterbraueri Weltenburger and hiking in that area.

This was our first trip since the birth of our first baby Judith and it was important for us to make this trip less hectic and a bit more relaxing. We arrived on a hot Friday afternoon and spent the rest of the day settling in. We rented a big airBnb in Neustadt an Der Donau and spent the evening walking through the old town, checking our the remnants of the

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Roman wall which once encircled the area. After grabbing a nice dinner at Restaurant Rothdauscher's, a stone throw away from the local Rathaus, we decided to retire early.

Our Saturday morning started with a quick visit to the Kuchlbauer turm. Before starting the tour of the turm, it is important that you should spend some time going through the Hundertwasser museum which contains some of the greatest works. It also gives you a deeper understanding of how he perceived life so uniquely, and clearly illustrated it through his creations. After the completion of this museum, you should book in advance the actual tower tour. Trust me on this, you might have attended a lot of beer gardens but the sheer sight of this beautiful tower while sipping a cold beer is a moment to behold. During the tour of this tower, you will witness a beautiful panoramic view of Abensberg, but also witness different ingredients to creating beers through a magical storyline through Hundertwasser ´ s eyes. Part of this tour also includes the brewery tour and it gives you more insights about the beer making traditions in the regions and now the business moved from the model of independent breweries to a few established brands dominating the market. After this strenuous day, take a relaxing break at the biergarten and sip onto their specialty Weissbier. The rest of evening was spent strolling through the streets of Abensberg before retiring early for the night.

We started quite early on Sunday, and we directly drove to Kelheim. The day began with a nice relaxing boat tour across Danube before checking out the Liberation Hall. After the nice boat ride on the banks of Danube, we made a short hike upwards to reach our destination. What awaited at the end of the hike was the imposing structure of Liberation Hall, built by King Ludwig I. The memorial hall commemorates the defeat of Napoleon during 1813-1815 and the unification of all German races. The building was begun in 1842 and not completed until 1863. Inside the hall 34 goddesses of victory hold hands in a circle around the interior of the building. The 45 meter high dome has a coffered ceiling. Slowly make your way the interior of the circular monument and you will be greeted by a ring of beautiful statuary. We climbed the 165 steps

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to the top of this magnificent building , which provided an amazing view of the Danube.

The last part of the trip was a visit to the Klosterbraueri Weltenburger and it is officially the oldest monastery brewery in the world ! The brewery is not directly accessible by car, and you need to make a small walk from the parking area to reach this beer garden. I must say that the food is really amazing, especially the prices are quite reasonable for such a historic location, and don’t forget to try their specialty beer: the Kloster Barock Dunkel. Unfortunately, we were not able to visit the Brewery museum because we arrived a bit late but definitely worth if you have sometime available. From Weltenburg, you have access to Naturpark Altmühltal and make sure you do the hike upwards to the Felskopf vantage point to catch a panoramic view of the Weltenburg abbey. From the vantage point you look directly at the famous monastery Weltenburg, which is directly opposite the bank of a wide Danube loop. A beautiful sight. The picture from here is world famous and motif of countless advertisements, postcards, etc. Unfortunately, we were running short of time and was quite challenging with the baby but we would definitely come back very soon to visit many other pending gems in this area.

This small weekend getaway really encapsulates what Bavaria is all about : beers, hiking trails, historic monuments, great food and Bavarian culture around traditions & history.

P.S. : If you are driving down by car, make sure to stop and take some pictures of Hopf plantations that are visible everywhere during the summers. It is definitely a moment to treasure if you do love your beer

Rohit is a 36 years old strategy and business planning professional embracing his first steps in fatherhood. Currently employed with Merck Group, Rohit is passionate about Liverpool football club , reading scientific journals, cooking, fine dining and traveling to new places. Rohit has been based in Germany since 2012.

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