Adventures in Schwabylon

"Schwabing isn't a neighborhood, but a state of being," declared the Countess Fanny zu Reventlow, an early feminist who scandalized German society by parenting out of wedlock, carrying a revolver, and practicing what today tends to be called ethical nonmonogamy.

- ALEX HALBERSTADT

Thomas Mann described the fellow denizens of this northern corner of Munich as "the most singular, the most delicate, the boldest exotic plants." At the turn of the last century, Schwabing was on its way to becoming the artistic epicenter of Europe, a laboratory for the most progressive social ideas, and arguably the birthplace of modernity. Kandinsky made Western art's first abstract painting while living there; local cafes once patronized by Lenin would soon host a young Adolf Hitler. Some called it Schwabylon.

These days, Schwabing's spotless, freshly paved streets are lined with the glass-and-steel facades of Hiltons and Marriotts. Its proximity to MOC, Munich's titanic convention center, has turned the neighborhood into a destination for business travelers from near and far. The avant-garde salons and manifesto writers are gone. In today's Schwabing, you're more likely to stumble across the loaded nachos special at Champions! American Sports Bar.

This once-bohemian district is where I sheltered while visiting High End Munich 2024. This year's installment felt more crowded than the last, with more rooms to gawk at, gear that looked even more exotic and impractical, and longer lines for beer at the Paulaner stand in the courtyard.

Eager to visit the massive Silbatone room, where I pitched my metaphorical tent at last year's show, I headed to MOC's second floor only to find the South Korean company's exhibit missing. I checked the floor plan three times to make sure I hadn't gotten lost. As it turned out, the Silbatone team had a good reason to skip the show: They were in Seoul for the opening of head honcho Michael Chung's latest venture, the Audeum, a wildly ambitious hi-fi museum located in a quiet residential neighborhood with a commanding view of Cheonggye Mountain.