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December 2003

Open Secret

Do you know which restaurants are doing business on December 24?

This article was actually planned for last year’s December/January issue of MUNICH FOUND. At the time I was sure there were plenty of places to go and things to do for English-speaking Christmas dissenters that did not involve doing time with family or friends and spending copious amounts of euros on unwished-for and indifferent gifts. And, for lonely foreigners stranded in Munich, looking to spend a few convivial hours among friendly locals, before returning to their lonely bedsits, there were, I was sure, places where one could celebrate. And, last but not least, I was convinced that there would be soup kitchens all over this lovely city desperately hunting for volunteers to help out over Christmas.

After a fruitless search for ways to celebrate an alternative Christmas, I finally found an article in the Süddeutsche Zeitung of December 23, 2002—far too late for last year’s issue—with some useful hints on how to spend an unconventional Christmas. So, updated and revised for the benefit of MUNICH FOUND readers, here’s what you can do: December 24 marks the highlight of the German Christmas festivities and most locations around town, including restaurants, are either closed all day or shut early. The Hofbräuhaus is one place that is open on Christmas Eve. From 9 am to midnight the hungry, the lonely and the bored can pass a couple of hours here. Dissenters will also be pleased to know that there isn’t even any Christmas music to jangle the nerves—the musicians are all at home celebrating with their loved ones.

The popular restaurant “Atzinger” (Schellingstrasse 9), open December 24 from 10 am to 3 am, is convenient for Christmas non-conformers living in and around Schwabing and, “Kafe Zentral” (Schweigerstrasse 10), open 9 am to 1 am, caters to the Haidhausen crowd. If you have a few pennies to spare and are not determined to dress down, “Lenbach” near Karlsplatz (Ottostrasse 6), open from 6 pm to midnight, will provide a sophisticated ambience and delectable food. Maybe the most original way not to celebrate is by searching out locations that have no truck with Christian holidays at all. “Anatolya” (Sondermeierstrasse 105) will serve you a juicy kebab with all the trimmings, anytime between 11:30 am and 1 am, on December 24. Travelling further east and slightly up the price ladder “Mangostin” (Maria-Einsiedel-Strasse 2) provides good Asian food in comfortable surroundings and for those who prefer to spend Christmas Eve reminiscing about Mediterranean holidays, the Greek restaurant “Paros” (Rumfordstrasse 14) will be opening its doors at 3:30 pm. Lastly, for those who just can’t make up their minds whether to celebrate or not the “Johannes Café” (Johannesplatz 15) will dish you up a Weihnachtswurst or just a plain old Wurst, you decide.

That was the good news. The situation for the charitably inclined English-speaker is less rosy. Despite countless telephone calls to organizations for the homeless and needy around Munich, there seem to be no jobs for volunteers over the holidays. There is a big dinner organized for the homeless by the Katholische Männerfürsorgeverein (a Catholic charity), but they already have a surfeit of willing assistants—you can chat with the helpers though, should you decide to visit the Hofbräuhaus on Christmas Eve, as they tend to congregate there after 10 pm, once their work is finished. If, as it seems to be the case, all Munich’s disadvantaged are being cared for over the holidays, then we can get down to the business of celebrating in earnest. If, on the other hand, we at MUNICH FOUND have overlooked any volunteer groups searching for helpers, you can contact us at info@munichfound.com and we will post your organization on our Website.

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