How to spend a perfect summer weekend

Finally, the summer is in the city! Can you feel it in the air? People sitting outside in cafés, everybody vibrant, busy getting things done, relaxing in English Garden, drinking beer at Gärtnerplatz, jumping in cool waters... Munich people are well aware that this time of year is so perishable that they try to breath it in and soak it up to store it in their hearts for the next winter to come.

So I want to share a Munich weekend, one out of thousands of opportunities, nothing fancy, just how it can be.
Start your Friday evening with going to the hairdresser´s and get your hair cut short for the summer, apply bold red lipstick, put on your cut-off jeans, your converse chucks and favorite t-shirt. Hungry? Why not snack Belgian french fries at POMMESBUDE in Amalienstraße? Twice-roasted french fries, curried sausage with homemade dips, fast food as healthy as you can possibly get it. Sitting outside on the pavement, letting lots of young people pass by on their way to date a fellow student. After enjoying your paper-packed french fries (choose from 20 dips) you can´t miss one of the trendy ice-cream lounges. Located not far from POMMESBUDE, I chose that day "dER vERRÜCKTE eISMACHER" where you can get the most unusual variety of ice-cream. You won´t believe how many people actually would try the type Weißwurst, beer or Nutella with pickles (for pregnant women and anybody else who has the guts). But honestly, the eatable ones like Milchschnitte, Oreo or champagne-raspberry are just the kind your dreams are made of.
Full, happy and beaming with energy I send you to Gärtnerplatz where all the vibrant party people enjoy their beer they got from one of the plenty bars around. Gärtnerplatz is packed at weekend nights, even so much that you have to hunt for a free place. The air is filled with people´s voices, revellers´chanting and laughing, Italian piazza-atmosphere, clinking of cool beer bottles, the smell of Döner Kebab. At this point, I´ll leave you alone to move on to a close by bar or club, stay at Gärtnerplatz or go to bed.

Saturday is the perfect day for strolling over fleamarkets and I especially love the HOFFLOHMARKT, each time another quarter of the city, people opening up their yards and gardens to sell antiques, trash, treasures: valuable and waiting for the right person to fall in love. Each HOFFLOHMARKT has its own people and atmosphere. At some stalls you can get coffee or home-made Muffins, which are a very welcome change after all the bargains, socializing and the things to see. After you got your part of odds and ends, swing onto your bike and ride to KULTURSTRAND at Corneliusbrücke. Get a summer cocktail, Radler or Apfelschorle. Find a place in the shade to read your book, chat or just listen to the music - here you can easily chill out a whole afternoon and dangle your soul. In the evenings you can listen to Munich bands and DJs. Riding back home through the summer night and empty streets, feeling a bit tipsy - is there anything better in this world?

Sunday is the perfect day to meet friends for brunch and here I recommend GARTENSALON, fully living up to its name. You can sit outside on motley assembled chairs and tables - even the plates display a variety of fleemarket treasures. Order inside at the bar and while waiting, look around for small gifts and knick-knack that are sold there as well. The brunch looks so healthy and different from what you usually get in Munich. Everything is organic and home-made, cakes decorated with flowers and powdered sugar, the good old piece of bread with yummy toppings and a bit of chive, you will want to try and dip your fork into everything. Probably it´s more a girl´s place to go though a guy who wants to impress his date with the right feeling of what she likes will definitely score. After having had all this good food and a few Froilein Schneiders (sweetened milk, espresso, milk foam) you could go for a bit of culture and see the exhibition Mode der 70er Jahre at Münchener Stadtmuseum. If the weather is too nice for this kind of activity, postpone it and go to the public pool "Maria Einsiedel" which has an arm of the Isar flowing through it and is one of the most beautiful pools in Munich. But you don´t have to do anything, just let loose and let yourself float through the Munich summer.