Bavaria is a land of colorful costumes, colorful fruit, and colorful history. More than twelve million people live within Bavaria, and while recent decades have brought industrialization to this Southern Germany state, farming remains a big part of the landscape.
Munich is Bavaria's largest city with all the trappings of any modern town amid bustling streets lined with stone buildings. In Munich and beyond, Bavaria boast some of Germany's signature traditions: beer, markets, and festivals.
The Hofbrau Brewery outside of Munich has been in operation since 1589, with a brief hiatus for WWII. Almost 500 years ago, they brewed beer made to order by the Duke of Bavaria who didn't like the Munich ale of the time. Today, the brewery keeps to old recipes despite being one of the most modern breweries in Europe. For the world's oldest Brewery, visit the Weihenstephan Brewery in Freising which began brewing in 1040.
Any town, big or small, will have at least one market where shoppers can find the freshest of fruit and vegetables from nearby farms. The town of Putzbrunn comes alive each year on May 1 for the Maibaum Festival where lively dancers show off traditional steps and colorful skirts for the women, lederhosen for the men.
The blue and white traditional colors of Bavaria are often on display, and any day in Bavaria is a good day for taking in a bit of history with a cold beer.
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