March 2005
Holy Home
I’d like to tell you all about my last night in Holy Home. Or even the one before. But to be honest, I can’t remember a great deal. Please believe me, this is not down to me having had one too many of the bar’s potent gin and tonics or goblets of Rioja. No, the point about this place is that it is spectacularly unspectacular. Pretty much like spending a relaxed night in your own home, in fact. And how many of those do you remember in great detail? Ok, so there are a few differences. For starters, you’ll be lucky to find a seat. Holy Home is not one of these spacious, airy bars, but more like an intimate front room, packed to the brim on most nights with a young, laid-back crowd in need of a break from all the identical so-cool-it-hurts establishments that have been springing up in cities around Europe for the past ten years. In fact it’s probably one of only a handful of places in Munich that has no low-slung leather armchairs, velvet cubes or a backlit bar and that does not purport to the loungeiness which is all too prevalent on the city’s bar scene. Indeed, the only arty thing about Holy Home is the DJ, who sits in a booth edged by a gilt picture frame. A few too many of the aforementioned G&Ts, and you may well imagine you’re seeing things—“I could’ve sworn that guy in the picture just moved his head to the beat …” Ah, the beat. This is the second difference between Holy Home and your home. For unless you have very tolerant neighbors, chances are you won’t be able to pump out the latest chilled-out house and garage sounds at this sort of volume. It’s still civilized enough to make yourself heard, but, to be honest, this is not really the place to go if your idea of a good night out involves lots of verbal stimulation. No, Holy Home is more about the down-to-earth pleasures of a night out: shaking your head around a bit to some good music, and knocking back a few good drinks, without caring what you’re wear-ing or who’s watching you. In fact, in many ways, it’s very reminiscent of the sort of basic joints you probably went to as a student—which, for anyone keen to hang on to those last strands of their youth, makes Holy Home well worth the occasional pilgrimage. <<<
Wear: Your college scarf, sweater and jeans
Drink: Augustiner
Bring: As little as possible—space is tight
Holy Home Reichenbachstrasse 21,
Tel. 201 45 46
Open Sun.–Weds. 6 pm–1 am, Thurs.–Sat. 6 pm–3 am
