007 Hotel: Hotel Gasthof Paulanerstuben

HOTEL GASTHOF PAULANERSTUBEN

Location: Wasserburg am Inn, Germany
Address: Marienplatz 9
Bond connection: Bond stays here in “Seafire” (1994) novel by John Gardner

Visited by 007 Travelers: July 2024

Located in Wasserburg am Inn, Hotel Paulanerstuben provides free WiFi throughout the property. Featuring room service, this property also welcomes guests with a restaurant and a terrace. The private bathroom is equipped with a shower, free toiletries and a hairdryer. At the hotel every room comes with a desk and a flat-screen TV. Guests at Hotel Paulanerstuben will be able to enjoy activities in and around Wasserburg am Inn, like hiking and cycling. Munich Airport is 57 km away.

James Bond visits here in John Gardner’s novel “SeaFire” (1994). 007 Travelers had a pleasure staying at this lovely hotel 30 years after 007 in summer 2024.

“Another call assured him of a hire car that he could pick up at Munich airport, and lastly he dialed a final German number – the Hotel Paulanerstuben, in Wasserburg am Inn. This place was listed as average good, in the Michelin Guide, but its main draw was the address – Marienplatz 9 – the same square in which the Tarn lawyers, Saal, Saal u. Rollen, had their offices.”

“At the Paulanerstuben they showed no surprise at this guest arriving at eight in the morning, but welcomed him in, showed him his pleasant room overlooking the square and offered him a second breakfast, which he accepted, ruminating on the many four star hotels throughout the world where he had been treated as a pariah when arriving this early in the day.”

“Asserting to a second breakfast was not a matter of greed, but a way to engage the one elderly waiter in conversation, so the meal passed with skirmishes of dialogue. Bond’s German was excellent enough for him to pass as a native, and the exchanges yielded several useful pieces of information. The local people were slightly reserved when it came to foreigners, and he soon learned that this conservative trait had reached a high level during the week.”

“Outside again, he walked back to the parking lot exit, strolling along the road that would take him onto the B-304. A few steps along this side road he saw a lane turning off to the right. On the wall, beside the lane, there was a notice warning of danger. This narrow road led out onto a smooth plateau that ended abruptly in rocky outcrops and a line of white warning poles. He could hear the river from practically anywhere around the Marienplatz, but now the roar was very close and, on reaching the wooden poles, he saw that he stood at the edge of a huge craggy cliff face. Two hundred feet below him, the waters of the river Inn snarled over more rocks.

The local Lovers’ Leap, he thought, retracing his steps and making his way back to the hotel, where the first person he saw was the elderly waiter who told him they had excellent Gänsebraten mit Kartoffelknödeln for dinner. “People come from a long way to sample our roast goose with potato dumplings,” he added. “I should be quick into the dining room, or you will miss this delight.”

“Indeed, the goose was a delight, and the potato dumplings were probably the best he had ever tasted, but he left the table a little concerned, for Bavarian food, while tasty, could lie heavily on the stomach. His mind, however, dwelt on the strangers he had seen in the square on his way back to the hotel. Thugs, toughs, young men and women, many of the men with their heads shaved, all of them in various kinds of disreputable dress. The kind of louts, he thought, who over the past couple of years had made the German cities unsafe: attacking foreigners, firebombing synagogues, and marching in antigovernment protests.”

Unfortunately Gänsebraten mit Kartoffelknödeln was not on the menu at the time of our visit as Alexander Hartung from the hotel explains: “Roast goose with potatoe dumplings (Gänsebraten mit Kartoffelknödeln) is a dish that is still served at our restaurant, but unfortunately not during the summer season. Goose dishes are typical for late autumn and winter, usually they are on the menu from november until the end of the year.”

But we had a wonderful dinner anyway. Wienerschnitzel was very tasty and ice cream for dessert with local beer was a great end to our day in Wasserburg am Inn.

“Scooping up her pistol, he headed straight to the rear end of the building, letting himself out and quietly closing the door behind him. At a steady jog trot he made for the parking lot, now more conscious of the dog bite in his right forearm. Trying to banish any thought of the pain from his mind, he made to the car in three minutes flat, realizing that he did not have the time for such niceties as collecting his luggage or paying the bill at the Paulanerstuben.”

John Gardner: “Seafire” (1994)

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