Need to escape the football? Here are a couple of ideas of where to get away from it all for a few hours this month.
One great town in which to hide from the football throngs is Schrobenhausen. Anyone who’s kept their eyes open at fresh produce shelves and in local restaurants in Munich recently, can’t fail to have noticed that this little town, some 60 km north of Munich, is the source of the bulk of the city’s asparagus supply. With the season for the popular vegetable continuing until the end of June, there’s never been a better time to visit. Once you exit the A8 in Schrobenhausen, you will find that every other road signs saying “Spargel.” Follow these to visit local farmers, all of whom are happy to sell you the delicious, white sticks, whose mild, sweet flavor comes from this region’s typical sandy soil. Just cut from beneath this soil, the ultra-fresh delicacy will cost you between 5 and 7 euros per kilo. In Schrobenhausen’s town center, you will find a museum dedicated to this delicate vegetable. Opened in 1991, in a tower of the town wall, the museum features asparagus-growing history, paintings, cooking utensils, videos and more. (Am Hofgraben 1, Tel. [08252] 90 98 50, www.schrobenhausen.de/museen/spargel, open daily, 10 am–6 pm) Schrobenhausen is also the birthplace of the most famous portraitist of the late 19th-century, Franz von Lenbach. In 1936, the artists widow bought back her husbands birth-home, also a part of the town wall, and turned it into a museum in his honor. (Ulrich-Peisser-Gasse 1,Tel. [08252] 902 14, open from July to April, Wed., Sat. and Sun from 10 am to 5 pm, and in May and June, daily from 10 am to 5 am.