I had a very very good friend (now, sadly, "gone over the mountains", as he put it) who lived in Würzburg. He was a historian, and I remember listening to him in fascination one evening as he laid out the chain of events that started in the late 10th century with Otto the Great's creation of the Prince-Bishops, and led through many windings to the fragmentation of Germany, its unification under Bismarck, and the rise of Hitler. During that trip over there many years ago, we spent 5 days in Münich. The weather was glorious, and to be able to lunch at the Viktualienmarkt on some of the finest food in the world, and sip my way through some beers that showed up the English lagers for the poor brews that they were, was truly a treat for the Gods.
And if you go to Germany, there's something else you can try. The best-known German wines are from the Rhine and the Moselle, but go over to Franconia, and try some of the Franconian wines. Some of them are absolutely gorgeous — usually a little drier on average than the Moselles. I've tried to get them in England, but the ones I could get hold of didn't rank with the ones I brought back with me. I wish I could remember the names, but it was too long ago.
