Our author has been living here for just a month and describes herself as a real Munich expert.
Unlike her "native" colleagues, she knows exactly what Hitler was up to in the Hofbräuhaus and who the Munich Kindl really is.
Munich - I've been living in Munich for about a month, before that I only visited the city for a weekend.
From the horror that I pay eight euros for a doner kebab here to the question of whether, as a non-Bavarian, I am even allowed to say “Servus”, the first few weeks were pretty turbulent.
But I was able to get rid of one insecurity: I now move through Munich city center like a pro.
For this expert knowledge I stand in the cold for two hours with Emanuela Gattaponi.
On their free walking tour, I find out who the Münchner Kindl originally was, why beer was already considered magical in the Middle Ages and what Hitler was doing in the Hofbräuhaus.
And also why an Italian woman of all people gives city tours through Bavaria's capital.
Discover Munich on a free walking tour: start at Marienplatz
Let's start at Marienplatz: Anyone who comes here often knows that the carillon takes place every day at 11 a.m. and 12 p.m.
Shortly before the first season we meet in front of the new town hall.
We, that means Gattaponi and a small group of six knowledge-thirsty tourists and newcomers.
"Right now it's winter, so I'm trying to survive," says the tour guide, referring to the low number of participants.
(Since the tour was in English, all quotes in the article are translated into German.)
In the summer, of course, more tourists would come to the city.
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Our author near Marienplatz with city guide Emanuela Gattaponi.
© Elisa Buhrke
At the beginning of the tour I learn that Munich's official history begins in 1158, in other words in the Middle Ages, with a dispute between a bishop and the Duke of Bavaria.
The city name "Munichen" can originally be derived from "Monk", strictly speaking from the monks of the Schäftlarn monastery, who probably lived between the present-day districts of Sendling and Schwabing.
The Munich Kindl was neither a woman nor a child
The monk can be found on the city coat of arms as one of Munich's symbols.
Over the years, the depiction was mistakenly interpreted as a child and this is how the idea of the genuine “Münchner Kindl” came about.
The Munich Kindl at the Wiesn - such as Viktoria Ostler - has little to do with it.
"Basically, the whole town is drunk," notes Shashr, one of the tour participants, of Oktoberfest.
He is originally from India but has been working in Munich for six years.
Since his wife has just moved to Germany, they both take part in the tour.
In any case, there are few tourists on the Free Walking Tour, but instead more or less fresh newcomers to Munich.
"I moved here to work for a space company," says Rona from Scotland - and I start a conversation with her about the spaceship start-up.
What Hitler and the NSDAP did in the Hofbräuhaus
In the Hofbräuhaus, on the other hand, I get the horror: the NSDAP was founded there in the ballroom over 100 years ago.
Adolf Hitler himself announced the party program on February 24, 1920, which excluded Jews from the so-called "Volksgemeinschaft", says Gattaponi.
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Emanuela Gattaponi introduces places like Marienplatz, the Viktualienmarkt and the Frauenkirche.
© Elisa Buhrke
But back to the happy things: "Beer was considered something magical in the Middle Ages," the city guide confides in us.
Isn't that still the case today?
What she means, however, is that roots or even poisonous mushrooms were often used as ingredients.
This is also the reason why the Bavarian Purity Law of 1516 came into being: in order to protect consumers, from now on only the three components barley, hops and water should be present in beer.
At the same time, as early as the Middle Ages, beer was considered the only clean drink: Precisely because it was only brewed in winter and then stored in underground tunnels at low temperatures to prevent bacteria from multiplying, says Gattaponi.
Munich's oldest beer: Augustiner, Hacker-Pschorr or Spaten?
Which brings us to the next topic: many a Munich child has the founding year 1328 tattooed on their bodies.
Of course we are talking about the oldest brewery in Munich, the Augustiner-Bräu.
We are standing in front of the Augustiner Klosterwirt inn right next to the Frauenkirche, originally "a monastery where monks brewed their beer", the city guide tells us.
But there is no time to stop here either.
What is a free walking tour?
A free city walking tour led by locals and trained city guides.
The tour, during which participants explore the most important sights of a city on foot, usually lasts about two hours.
In the end, everyone can decide for themselves how much the tour was worth to them and how much they would like to pay the guide.
Providers for a free walking tour through Munich:
Explora Múnich, SANDEMANs New Munich, Free Walking Tour Munich, Heart of Munich Tours, Todo Tours, ...
Why does Gattaponi, as an Italian, actually lead free walking tours through Munich?
She likes living in many different cities and had previously practiced the profession in Norway for several years, she tells me.
In fact, she freelances for several vendors and earns her living that way.
She acquired the content through training, but also through her own research and by taking part in other tours.
"Every guide has their own unique style," she says.
She especially likes historical facts and art, but also surprising details.
Just before the tour ends, we enter the Frauenkirche and I hear the typical story about the devil's footprint.
It should really be known to everyone.
When we arrive back at Marienplatz, everyone is very frozen.
But also smarter about a few facts.
When I come into the office on Monday and ask my colleagues about the Munich Kindl, I catch them on the wrong foot.
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List of rubrics: © Elisa Buhrke
