September 2001
Get Outta Town
When they aren’t designing humorous Web pages (see Bundesdance), contributors of the
Süddeutsche Zeitung are collecting a wealth of information on gastronomic day trips in the greater Munich area. The prestigious local newspaper has graciously allowed us to translate passages from their handy paperback
Die Besten Ausflug-Tipps (The Best Day Trip Tips), published by the Südwest Verlag. This month, we head north to the Munich suburb of Freising. The author of the following is Dieter Sürig.
One hundred years ago, hikers already knew the pleasure of a day in the Freisinger Forst followed by refreshment at the town’s forest-based beer garden, Plantage. Opened in 1874, the garden boasts seating for 1,000, under the shade of oak, beech and maple trees. Here, a large playground will keep the young ones occupied. On Sundays and holidays, a live band entertains during brunch.
It is, however, the garden’s indoor tavern, with its crackling woodstove and rustic ambience, that is the real insider tip. Seven-course meals (DM 59 per person) require time to linger. Courses may include the house specialty, fried pigeon. A wide selection of à la carte items are also available. Proprietors Rochus Möcherl and Hans Kandl offer a wide variety of wines from the restaurant’s well-stocked wine cellar. After enjoying an exquisite, custom-designed gourmet meal—and perhaps a drop of the grape—a walk through the Freisinger Forst or a visit to the nearby Schafhofmuseum (a museum of agriculture) are fine ways to cap off a sublime day away from the city.
Plantage, Tel. 08161/6 31 55. Beer garden daily from 10 am to midnight, restaurant Tuesday–Saturday 6 pm to midnight.
How to get there: From the A 92 (Freising Ost), to B11 and B 301, Karlwendelring to Haindlfinger Strasse, take left fork in the forest.
