Friday flicks: History and Beer in Munich

New E5BID feature! Every Friday, I'm going to post a video from the trip. At least until I run out of good footage. Or get sick of it. Or forget to do it. But it's a goal.

Frommer says that Munich is "a light-hearted, fun-loving city, whose residents look upon the pursuit of pleasure as a full-time occupation. ... Its avenues are broad, its theatres and nightspots are numerous and its prices are rock-bottom." Lee and I, ever the intrepid journalists, headed out to see if this was still true.

Here, Lee explains how the budget travel experience has changed and what you'll find in a typical hostel today. 

Unstated but worth noting as crucial elements of the modern European hostel: 

• Currency from around the world taped to the pillar in the middle of the bar. 
• Bartender and other staff not natives of the country in which said hostel is located (in this case, they were British).
• Assorted jaded backpackers straight out of central casting, going on and on--with pride--about the sketchiest, dirtiest places they'd stayed in all over the world, and having the classic "travelers" vs. "tourists" conversation. They, of course, were travelers. I strongly suspect that when they e-mailed friends back home, they claimed to be in Mongolia or Mozambique or someplace exotic and far-flung, rather than in Munich, mere steps from the central train station and the Oktoberfest grounds.