Florian Blickenberger, barefoot goldsmith and designer, met our press group at his studio inside a spacious specialty store in Riedering, Germany, called Mamma Bavaria. It's his business, created to sell jewelry and clothing reflective of the region's traditions and Alpine topography.
And, yes, our 38-year-old host greeted us sans shoes. He said he is always barefoot except when it's deeply cold outside or he is visiting his banker.
Florian Blickenberger, a barefoot goldsmith and designer with a shop in Riedering. Photo Credit: Nadine Godwin
Mamma Bavaria was born on the back of a singular idea. Inspired by the crosses that stand atop mountains in Bavaria and beyond, Blickenberger hatched the idea for his signature product: customized summit crosses. He sees the crosses, which vary widely in design, as symbols for personal aspiration or achievement.
Nowadays, his jewelry offerings are more wide ranging.
Blickenberger conducts jewelry-making workshops for small groups -- we were one such group -- managing to "work" on silver crosses and pendants without hurting anyone.
Not your typical holiday excursion. But that was the point.
Our trip host, Bavaria Tourism, highlights lesser-known regional attractions. So, on our arrival in Munich, we were spirited away to the smaller Augsburg (population: 300,000) then beyond to meet local artisans like Blickenberger, lunch with cheesemakers, sip with beermakers and put foot to an Alpine hiking trail.
Similarly, Munich Tourism strives to spread the wealth by pulling visitors away from the city center. Its website supports that goal.
Our Munich tour opened in the edgy meatpacking district, with a truncated central city visit landing dead last on our rounds.
Village homes in Reichersbeuern. Photo Credit: Nadine Godwin
Augsburg and its stories
A city with stories to tell, Augsburg's highlights include the world's oldest still-extant subsidized housing project, called Fuggerei, with 142 residences. The extremely wealthy local merchant and banker Jakob Fugger, aspiring to a place in heaven, established a foundation in 1521 to house the deserving poor.
The rent is unchanged, about 95 cents a year plus three daily prayers. Tourist entry fees -- to walk the streets of the walled complex and visit a model 16th-century apartment and other museums -- help fund the private charity. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's great-grandfather Franz Mozart spent 13 years here.
The city's water management system, built to funnel river water into canals to support mills and other industry, evolved from the 14th century to today's sustainable hydroelectric system. Our guide said Augsburg with 530 bridges has "more than Venice," though they are often short ones crossing canals, where the water raged in their allotted pathways during our rainy-day visit. The canals extend to about 400 miles.
And then there is the Golden Hall inside the Town Hall, originally built (1615-1620) for meetings involving the Habsburg emperor only to have the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) make that plan moot.
Even our hotel, Maximilian's, in the middle of town has a history -- 300 years of it. Design features recall that past, but the 132-unit property is Augsburg's only five-star hotel, site of a Michelin-starred restaurant and member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts and of Virtuoso.
Going off the beaten track in Bavaria
Meatpacking district
Schlachthofviertel is Munich's district known for butcheries and meatpacking, but it is now appreciated for a buzzy underground culture.
One slaughterhouse remains, but the former administration building for another is part of the Volkstheater, or People's Theater, opened in October 2021. With cheap tickets, it welcomes all comers, regardless of budget or attire.
Close by, creative types, with city approval, in 2016 founded a business district of sorts constructed entirely of castaway elements: rail cars, buses, containers and anything else that could be a wall or a roof.
Businesses include cafes, hairdressers, bike rentals, bars -- all without indoor plumbing. The amount of graffiti is blinding and can be dramatic, serious, comic and even pornographic.
Called Bahnwarter Thiel, it will be displaced by a residential development. But probably not anytime soon.
The Old Town Hall in Munich. Photo Credit: Nadine Godwin
Discovering Bavaria
Here are some of the people who made an impression during our visit:
• Sandra Muller, buttonmaker and tailor in Waldstetten, conducts button-making workshops for small groups, no experience required.
She was patient as we hesitantly wrapped wooden buttons in bright threads. Muller also makes custom vests, plus, as an artistic endeavor, she creates modern iterations of traditional dresses.
Button photos appear at the German-language site: www.posamentenknopf-manufaktur.de.
• Werner Hartl, illustrator and designer in Reichersbeuern, paints using cow dung (which smells like grass when wet) as his medium, aiming to raise awareness about food production and push back against industrial agriculture. His barn is his studio.
Hartl's paintings, often rural scenes, have the sepia coloring of old-timey photos. Agents with clients who buy art can see Hartl's work and click for contact details at weeh78.de/kuhmistkunst.
Also, Hartl designed a stein for Munich's Hofbrauhaus, which will be in the beer hall's shop this fall.
• Stefanie Parml operates Munich Wanderland, a specialist in daytrips from Munich to hiking trails in the Bavarian Alps. Her trips are generally "fairly easy."
Most of her business comes from American agents booking FITs. She is at Stefanie@munich-wanderland.com, and agents can book at www.munich-wanderland.com.
• Finally, reach Blickenberger at flo@mamma-bavaria.de; photos appear at the German-language site mamma-bavaria.de. Mamma Bavaria can be reached from Munich by train plus bus.