Travel and Adventure Abroad

Munich has to be my favorite travel destination to date. I’ve been there many times and at different times of the year as well. The charm hasn’t worn off yet.

Best time to go:
Summer – lots of outdoor Beirgartens and green spaces to walk.
Christmas – From the last week of November and all of December. Christmas markets with hot mulled wine on every corner

Worst time to go:
Oktoberfest - (last week of September and first week of October) – Way, way, way, too crowded. We tried on two different days to get into a festival tent with no success. It’s nice to say you’ve been to Oktoberfest but don’t make it your first trip to Munich.

Munich is on pace with Paris for how to experience this city. You need to relax and soak it in, literally. There is a touristy spot called the Hofbrauhaus that is frequented by the locals just as well. Set aside an entire evening to just drink, eat, and be merry. We’ve met some of the nicest people at this “bench-and-table” restaurant where you seat yourself and will likely be elbow to elbow with strangers.

Munich is an old world city by design. After being leveled by allied bombs in the 1940’s, Munich was rebuilt by careful city planners. The old city was rebuilt faithfully from old plans and modern structures are prohibited from the city center. The skyscrapers of modern industry and commerce are all located on the outskirts, mostly to the north e.g. BMW motor cars and their museum. This foresight has created a cozy city center of cobblestone streets that bustles with pedestrian traffic at all hours of the day. But, don’t take this to mean there is nothing in the downtown. There is shopping, shopping, and more shopping from Cartier to Bavarian folk clothing. There are countless churches, cathedrals, museums, galleries, restaurants, bakeries, bookstores, you name it.

There are plenty of museums and royal palaces to satisfy that need when necessary. For the gear head, perhaps the ultimate museum is the Deutches Museum. Located on an island in the Isar river, this museum will easily take 2 full days to explore in detail. It took me about 8 hours to casually walk through the entire museum only briefly reading the major plaques and descriptions. They don’t skip on the displays. Just because they have a satellite in the Space section, doesn’t mean they won’t have more in the communications section. Cars, trains, planes, ancient steam engines, and modern jet engines; everything science and industry is represented here including an entire submarine in the basement.

The English Garden is another fine afternoon. You can wonder this immense green space on foot, rent a bicycle (recommended), or horse drawn carriage. There are two biergartens, one at the center next to the Chinese Tower and a second on a large pond at the northern end where you can rent small boats for a paddle with the geese.

As for where to stay, I would say anywhere is fine. Some may like to be stumbling distance from the Hofbrauhaus while others won’t mind a short train ride. If you’re staying downtown proper, get as many stars as you can afford. I’d recommend at least 3 stars for a comfortable stay. We’ve stayed at the Kings Hotel near the main train station and were pleased with the Bavarian hunting theme. If you don’t mind a 20 minute train ride and walk, I recommend the NH hotel near the Reim train stop. It’s a very modern styled business hotel, but they most always have rooms and you won’t find anything this nice downtown for the same money.

Getting around the city is best done by foot, subway, or bicycle. Taxis are available, but the city center really isn’t that big unless you have a physical need for motorized transport. The subway and trains can take you anywhere you need to go including the airport. It’s about an hour by train to the airport and the trains run very frequently.

Day trips from Munich are many. You can visit the famous castles of crazy King Ludwig in Fussen. Or, visit the ski villages of Garmisch-Partenkirchen at the base of the German Alps. Beautiful Bavarian lakes abound and Saltsburg Austria is also only a few hours drive. Car rentals are easily accessed at the main train station downtown. Since Germans also drive on the right side of the road, drive is fairly simple as well. Just watch out for fuel prices. Gas costs about twice as much in Europe as the USA. Don’t be fooled by the small number on the pump. It’s priced by the liter (just about a quart) as opposed to gallons like we do in the states.

For more info, I recommend the DK Eyewitness guides.