Stein or Krug?

After our long day in Munich, Klaus and Mihoko invited us to join them at their favorite Biergarten where one of their daughters, Nicole, and her family would join us. It had been many years since Stefan had seen his cousin, so that was fun. She has 3 kids under 10 so it was really great that there was a large fenced in play area for the kids right next to our table!Klaus had packed these discs at the house and I was wondering what they were for. While the rest of us were unpacking the picnic we'd brought along (yes, you can bring your own food to this biergarten, they say it's unique in that way) Klaus walked off only to return with a tray filled with large glass beer mugs. Stefan's favorite is a Radler, which is a light beer mixed with something like Sprite. So we shared a mug of that. The wooden disc on top is to keep the bugs, or anything else that might drop from the trees, out of the beer. I was told that this is why lots of the old fashioned mugs of old have those flip-top lids. I never knew! Also - Germans do not call these mugs 'beer steins', only North Americans say that. To sort out that confusion, read this link here.

It was a pleasant evening. Nicole told me how she had gone to Italy to train in constructing and repairing violins. Now she and Peter run a repair shop from their home and she works part time for a large violin firm in Munich. Peter is an independent contractor for editing journalistic photos. It's a creative household!
Later Klaus insisted on treating everybody to what I think is called Schmelznudeln. It's basically a large donut shaped like a pancake. Klaus likes them sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. Everybody had sticky fingers after that treat!
The next morning Klaus took us into Munich for a personal tour. We saw the Konigsplatz where the infamous Nazi book burning had occurred and then went to the new synagogue in the Jewish area of Munich. There was a Jewish festival going on, so the square was filled with people. It was really beautiful with all the modern architecture, limestone, and festive music. The lines to tour the synagogue were way too long, so unfortunately we didn't get to see inside, but it's something we'd want to see next time we go to Munich. The little square reminded both Stefan and I of our times in Israel. The architects of the synagogue, community center, and museum did a great job of capturing that essence. It actually made both of us want to go back to Israel all over again. However, our next stop was Kochel, and not the Tel Aviv airport!