November 2002
Reflected Glory
The recently reopened Falk’s Bar at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof is a place with history. First opened in 1841 this bar, lavishly decorated with stucco and mirrors, miraculously survived the bombing of World War II—much of the rest of the hotel was destroyed—and reopened shortly after the cessation of hostilities in 1945 while the rest of the hotel was being rebuilt. It is named after the late Falk Volkhardt who was first to discover it unscathed during the war and whose daughter, Innegrit Volkhardt, is currently the manager of the hotel. Now the bar has been given a complete face-lift and while it retains all of its charming decorative features the addition of a new lighting scheme and two computer terminals have brought it firmly into the 21st century. This is a place to see and be seen—though celebrities can slip in and out undetected through a hidden entrance. Falk’s Bar is open from 11 am to 1 am, at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof, Promenadenplatz 2–6.
