Munich, beyond the museums
I'll be in Munich tomorrow (eight blasted hours of driving) and last night did a little last minute research as to the places I need to see, experience and photograph (and no Max, this does not include erotic nightclubs). I'm slumming it for two nights at a superb 5-star hotel in the city centre and then heading to an equally gracious boutique hotel on the outskirts for my third night.
Other than old buildings and a thousand museums I cannot find a compelling enough hook to coax people to board a plane and fly thousands of miles to visit the city (as you may have guessed this is a commission for an international airline's in-flight magazine). I can see it now, panic begins to seep in, snapping at my heels as I frantically zoom around the city in search of something remotely interesting to photograph.
The last time I was given a guided city tour the only places I saw were museums. Even though the management of these establishments allow me to photograph stuff most magazine prefer not to print photos of art (copyright laws etc.) so I end up photographing a room full of dead people's things that are on display, or uninspiring shots of the museums lobby.
Frankly, visitors to the city, armed with sufficient brochures and guidebooks, can figure it out for themselves and don't need me guiding them. My job is to tell about a destination's interesting side and find that something guidebooks don't tell you. So, drawing from this experience, I explained exactly what I didn't want to see to the tourism authorities... there's been an ominous silence.
Not surprisingly the best places to find a good yarn are in the pubs, and this being the Oktoberfest capital, I'm certain I'll not struggle to find any suitabel subjects as they're the one's usually propping up the bar.
When I first started hanging around bars in foreign cities I could not understand why the management eyed me suspiciously, especially when I approached old timers and engaged them in conversation. Of course, I have now learnt to let the bar tender know that I'm press, and that I'm not cruising for a customer.
In
Wonder what interesting character I'll be meeting on this trip?
Labels: Adolphe Sax, Berlin, erotic nighlife, Isle of Man, Munich, Oktoberfest
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