Exactly, real, five-fifty and beer were his first German words. He juggled them like a vaudeville artist. Maybe Matt Devereux learned them in the reverse order. Being able to order a beer is important in Munich if, firstly, you enjoy drinking it and, secondly, if you come to this city during the Oktoberfest season, like Devereux. He had a Canadian and an English passport in his pocket, but little money. Nobody was talking about Brexit back then, and the young visitor didn’t speak any German either. He quickly learned “accurate, real, five-fifty and beer”, which helped him to serve in the Mathäser beer cellar. The German of the guests must have rushed past his ears on those evenings like the Isar at Flaucher in flood. Devereux demonstrates: “Steigenhiegenhogensagen.” To which he replied: “Exactly!” Or asked, “Really?” When it came to paying, he asked for “fifty.” At least that’s how the legend goes about that job in his early days in Munich.
Matt Devereux, restaurateur and comedian from Canada, observes the Germans. – Munich
