Farewell My Lovely (Blond)

Sunday, October 18

04.30, excellent! The best time of day to arise in order to catch a 06.40 Aer Lingus flight for £14 (including check-in bag) to Munchen.
Herr Kharazi, mein host at the Royal Hotel, Schillerstrasse, greeted Hector on arrival at 10.30. Coffee was even offered whilst we waited for the room. But no, Marg likes the Glockenspiel Cafe overlooking Marienplatz; we could be there for the 11.00 Rathaus show...but no tables in the front room were available this very driech Sunday morning. We sat in a back room and had breakfast.

After an attempted nap there was a long walk through town and to the far end of the Englischer Garten... no bier, andno band at the Chineser Turm. The Pschorr Haus at the back end of Viktualienmarkt is another favourite of Marg’s and so coffee and Edelhell were consumed. It was time to rendezvous with Howard and Steve.

There was a table booked in the summer for the last night of the season at the Forrschung: St. Jacobus Brauhaus, Perlach. This is the finest bier brewed in Munchen, surely?
Would our booking be honoured? We were four, not six. Hector boldly walked in and went up to greet the Braumeister: we are here! We were shown to the very table we last sat at in July: the only table in the place which was not occupied. Hector went straight for the Blond. Howard and Steve started with the lesser Pils... There was a band playing live and doing walkabout around the pub. Traditional tunes were to the fore, Rosamunde remains a firm favourite.
It was suggested that Hector spend many more lines telling what a wild night we had, alas it all started to peter our around 21.00. The chap at the adjacent table suggested that “now the party was about to begin...” We soon had a choice, risk staying on until midnight and miss the last train, or go to Andechs!

Andechs am Dom does not sell Spezial Hell. We all know this, even Howard. This does not stop Howard asking for it every time he goes and then feigning disappointment. Actually, the disappointment is probably genuine.

Things became somewhat strange after this. Hector returned from the toilet, this is how he remembers it, to find Steve inevitably winding up Marg. The lady stormed off home. This is because Steve had wound her up and because she knew her way home. Tiredness had nothing to do with it.

Next year we find accommodation at Perlach.