After I wrote a friend of mine that “I’m living in Schlachthofviertel in Munich” and “Sleepless in Schlachthofviertel” doesn’t sound so romantic as “Sleepless in Seattle”, she wrote back:

Funny thing, isn’t it? The word: “Schlachthofviertel” – sticked together, like all longer words in german.
“Schlachthof-Viertel” – “Slaughterhouse-Quarter” sounds as: rude and heavy, as it was in the past. A working class district, the very old citizen tell so, if you ask about this quarter in a local pub. Flock of sheeps and cattle herds lock-steped through the streets: Lindwurmstrasse, Adlzreiterstrasse and down to the Schlachthof through Zenettistrasse.

When I moved here in 2004 there were, as in a row, closed butcher shops and closed knife grinderies and many, many pubs. Butchers are thirsty apparently and an old inn-keeer told me, at these days as work was done, butchers came in and some boys want to pay the quaff with a Schnitzel out of the pocket, wrapped in thin paper. “It’s a fresh one, from today – you should hear” holding the pack of Schnitzel at the inn-keepers ear: “You can here it moo, so fresh as it is!”.

These days are gone now. What remains is the name: Schlachthofviertel. With cattle carriers, which are able to be localized by GPS, coming from Czech, Austria and anywhere, tumble down there living load for doing Bratwurst and Grillfleisch of them. What remains is also: “Wirtshaus zum Schlachthof” – a local pub and cultur event place. And a 20 year old TV series, which is about this “Wirtshaus zum Schlachthof”: Zur Freiheit – well known to the Munich residents and all people in Bavaria.

“Sleepless in Schlachthofviertel” – it could be the old romantic of these days!