Munich, Germany

We first visited here in 1996, and I had worked here for Siemens in the 1980's timeframe and had traveled here numerous times, but we had not been back for quite a while. We also have some very good friends who live here and we wanted to introduce Germany to our teenage son, so staying here for a week was an easy decision.

Munich is the third largest city in Germany. It\'s a very livable city with modern and historical sites, museums, parks and outside beer gardens to visit for an afternoon pretzel and a beer. Munich is also known for its Oktoberfest held in September every year which is an outside amusement park and festival like no other. The Isar River flows through the middle of the city and there are many beautiful parks that offer views of the river. My favorite is the English Garden which is a very large urban park and beer garden and perfect on a warm summer day. Munich is perfect for visiting with families. Families are fundamental to German culture and the Kinder (children) are included in many ways. For example, beer gardens frequently have playgrounds for kids to enjoy while the parents converse with friends. There are many fun and educational things to visit in the city and nearby such as Ludwig\'s castles; Neuschwantstien being the most recognizable. Although somber, it\'s also worth visiting one of the concentration camps that are required to remain in place as museums so as to not forget the atrocities that took place there during World War II.

Munich also has a fantastic public transportation system with underground trains known as the U-Bahn, suburban trains known as the S-Bahn and trams and buses. There is no need to have a car in Munich since the transportation system is so extensive. In fact, the area in central Munich known as "Marienplatz" is a "pedestrian only" area.

NOTE: The same transportation ticket is valid for all these forms of public transportation. You don't need different tickets, if you move from train to tram to bus. Where appropriate, a subway station will have trams and/or buses at the surface level of the station.

If you have never been to Germany, or if you have never had the opportunity to have good German friends, then I would invite you to increase your German knowledge by clicking here to read about German Culture at the "Live Science" website.

• Munich is the southernmost major city in Germany, but it is farther north than any major U.S. City (excluding Alaska).
• Munich's Technische Universiät (Tech University) has four-story slides to help students get to class faster.
• Old Town Munich closed down it’s major streets For The 1972 Olympics to pedestrians only and they have remained that way ever since.
• The Bavarians consider beer their national beverage, but at the same time they do not view it as a drink, rather as liquid bread - a food.
• The Englisch Garden in central Munich has beer tents, restaurants and a clothing optional area.
• Munich is home to the oldest cinema in the World - the Neues Kino Gabriel.

On this European Driving trip, we had been in Annecy, France for most of a week and our next stop was Munich. Our drive there took us through Switzerland via the E25/E27 and E60 allowed us to cross into Germany at the southern end of the Bodensee. We drove north on the E60, and then eastward to Munich on the E54.

And this begins the portion of the trip, where Suzette (our Tom-Tom mapping device) really earned her stripes. We had rented a condo, in an area of Munich that would give us easy access to not only the subway, but to bus & tram service as well. This condo unit had underground parking, but we were not familiar with the streets there.

The first issue that arose, is that our Tom-Tom device insisted on taking us to Klenzestraße, as though it was a two way street, which it was not. Since we had an excellent Munich street map, we were able to navigate our way around the block, and to drive into the street with the correct driving orientation. Getting back to our rental was a constant challenge throughout the week, complicated by the direction we would re-enter Munich as each day trip was over.

Image property of BBB via Bbb at Wikivoyage shared

Image property of Aloisius via Wikipedia.

Our first outing was to the Augustiner Keller (one of the largest & oldest Munich Beer Gardens) for dinner with old friends in Munich. Since it was Jeremy's first trip to a German beer garden, he was fascinated by the people, the food items, especially the HUGE pretzels, and the enormous amount of beer being consumed, etc.

Short History of Beer Gardens: Beer Gardens were invented in Munich during the 19th century and there are now approximately 120+ of them in & around Munich. The beer garden concept was quickly embraced by the major breweries.

It is unknown which Munich brewery opened the first Bavarian Biergarten, but it is likely one of Munich's big six: Löwenbräu, Hofbräuhaus, Augustinerbräu, Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr and Spaten. What is known is that they developed in the Kingdom of Bavaria in the 19th century.

The next day we visited another friend in Munich that we had worked with in the 1980's. He had started a new Chauffeur Service Company (First Class Chauffeur Service), and offered to take us around the city in his new Volkswagen Phaeton. This was an interesting way to see Munich, and even though I have been there a huge number of times, going around the city with someone who lives there and knows how to drive there, is a treat!

Image property of the BBC.COM Website

Image property of Wind via WikiMedia Commons.

Our German friend started the tour, by taking us by the world famous Eisbach River surfing spot (an artificial stream that runs through the English Garden). Many years ago as Munich grew, the old river channel was forced into an underground tunnel, which allowed the city of Munich to "grow" over the tunnel. And this produces a river outlet spot with considerable water pressure, as shown in these pictures.

The surfers line up on the bank, and step in as the previous surfer steps out, or falls off. It is truly amazing to watch, as these guys are seriously good surfers and they put on a great show! This is not a spot for surfers who are not extremely experienced, because one does not paddle to catch a wave, you jump on your board and the wave propels you immediately!

If you want to see some interesting videos of people surfing the Eisbach, click here to view an existing video (thanks to the video owner GP McGee).

The next stop was at the Oktoberfest grounds, where workers were busy constructing the festival tents that will house each "tent". Back in the day, each tent represented a Munich Brewery, however this is no longer the case. Nonetheless, each tent will offer food, beer and ompah bands to sing along with! And just for the people who do not like beer, there is usually a "wine tent" as well.

The first image above (left side), shows the Theresienwiese as it is being prepared for the Oktoberfest festival, this picture was taken in July and the festival starts in the last week of September - so it gives you a good idea of how much work remains to be c ompleted. In the center of image #1, you can see the "tents" being constructed which will house the beer gardens and restaurants. If you do not understand the use of the word "tents" in relation to the Festival, I suggest you click the "tents link" to go to Wikipedia and learn what it means.

The second image above (right side) is of the "Ruhmeshalle & Bavaria Statue" (located on the west side of the Theresienwiese) which is part of an ensemble which also includes a hall of fame (Ruhmeshalle) and a stairway. It was commissioned by Ludwig I of Bavaria, with the specific design being chosen by competition. It was cast at the Munich foundry of J.B. Stiglmair between 1844 and 1850 and is the first colossal statue since Classical Antiquity to consist entirely of cast bronze. It was and is up to the present day considered a technological masterpiece. Because of its size it had to be produced in several parts; it is 18.52 metres (60 ft. 9 in.) high and weighs about 87.36 tons. It rests on a stone base which is 8.92 (28 ft.) metres high.

NOTE: Image # 2 is from Wikipedia, however, the image does not have an author, so no accreditation is offered herein.

Quick Oktoberfest History Lesson: Oktoberfest started in 1810, the original Fest was the celebration of a Bavarian royal wedding. Princess Teresa (Therese) of Bavaria (1792-1854) had married crown prince Ludwig I (later king of Bavaria) on the evening of October 12, 1810. The next day, the city began celebrating the wedding with various activities, including concerts, parties, balls, and even a horse race on the 17th. It all went so well that the Bavarian royal family decided to hold another race a year later, beginning the Oktoberfest tradition. In fact, this is why the area where the Oktoberfest is held is called "Theresienwiese". Prince Teresa and Prince Ludwig were actually married at the Theresienwiese.

Each year there are 14 large beer tents with indoor seating between 700 to 8,400 persons, and only the breweries located in Munich (Spaten, Paulaner, Hofbräu, Hacker-Pschorr, Franziskaner, Spaten, Löwenbräu and Augustiner) are allowed to setup tents at the Oktoberfest.

The tents are non-permanent structures which are set up each year anew starting as early as July. For more information regarding Oktoberfest tents, click here to read the Wikipedia article.

In addition to the large tents, there are also the smaller tents, which are mainly the rotisserie chicken stands like Wienerwald, Cafe Kaiserschmarrn (Rischart), Vinzenz Murr, Poschners, Heimer, Cafe Mohrenkopf, Bodos café tent, the Inn in Schichtl and the Ammer chicken and canard rotisserie that since 2000, only sells organic products. These smaller tents seat 60 to 450 persons each.

To view the Wikipedia Article where the above history came from, click the Wikipedia link below.

Our next stop, was the BMW museum next door to the 1972 Olympic Center area. This is a fascinating museum, and it contains a number of BMW cars (including the Mini Cooper) and motorcycles.

In image # 1 that building on the left is the BMW museum, and the building on the right, is the BMW headquarters building.

It is simple to travel to the BMW Museum, for example from Marienplatz take the U3 subway. Taxi and/or uBer is a brief ride, or you could easily walk as it is only 3.4 miles. No matter how you arrive, the museum is an interesting visit, and then the Olympic Park is right next door.

NOTE: Image # 2 is the property of Arnaud 25 via Wikipedia.

BMW Museum Day Dreaming

This is the BMW K-1300-S (found in the BMW Museum) which I initially thought was going to be my next motorcycle. Instead, I wound up with a Harley-Davidson VROD (another story). This BMW has tremendous power and gets amazing reviews, so only time will tell if I made the right choice.

As you can see, Celeste and I were trying out the "riding comfort" of the BMW, and then I was explaining to Jeremy what I liked about this BMW motorcycle.

After our BMW museum tour, we walked across the autobahn on the pedestrian walkway to the Olympic Park. We rode up to the top of the Olympic Tower (right center of picture) so that we could show Jeremy the amazing view of Munich from that height.

You can see the BMW Headquarters building in the right side of this picture, gives you a good idea of the proximity of the Olympic Center to the BMW complex. Not a huge walk, Google Maps indicates approximately 500 meters if you use the footbridge across the Georg-Brauchle-Ring freeway.

NOTE: Image # 1 is the property of Taxiarchos228 via WikiMedia Commons. All other images (unless otherwise noted) are the property of Just Traveling Thru, LLC.

Some Park History: The Olympiapark München is an Olympic Park which was constructed for the 1972 Summer Olympics. Located in the Oberwiesenfeld neighborhood of Munich, the Park continues to serve as a venue for cultural, social, and religious events, such as events of worship. It includes a contemporary carillon. The Park is administered by Olympiapark München GmbH, a holding company fully owned by the state capital of Munich.

Click our Olympic Park Wikipedia link below to read the full article about the Munich Olympic Park.

Views from the Olympic Tower

As seen from the top of the tower. For those of you who watched the 2013 World Cup Final, this stadium was completely full of soccer fans, watching the final on several jumbo-tron monitors erected for the fans to watch the finals.

DIRECTIONS: As I previously mentioned, our good friend dropped us off at the BMW Museum, and then we walked across the footbridge to the park. If however you are at Marienplatz, you have the choice of riding either an S-Bahn or a U-Bahn to get to the Olympia-Einkaufszentrum Station which is the closest subway station to the park. In fact, we rode the U-Bahn (U-3) back to Marienplatz after our park exploration was completed.

We walked back to the Olympia-zentrum U-Bahn Station and rode the U3 back to Marienplatz Station. This is a large 4 level station, where the S-Bahn (S1, S2, S3, S4, S6, S7 and S8) lines intersect with the U-Bahn (U3 and U6).

We exited the station and strolled through Marienplatz (pedestrian area) to watch the glockenspiel march when the hour ticked over.

Not sure that you can tell from these pictures, that it had just stopped raining. Which, given the heat wave that was still over Europe, cooled things off nicely.

Strolling along in Marienplatz in central Munich, and you can see how crowded it is? This is typical for a summer day.

We were looking for a place to purchase an afternoon snack and an iced coffee - and fortunately for us, we found one quickly.

Every day at 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. ( as well as 5 p.m. in the summer) the glockenspiel chimes and re-enacts two stories from the 16th century to the amusement of mass crowds of tourists and locals. It consists of 43 bells and 32 life-sized figures. The top half of the Glockenspiel tells the story of the marriage of the local Duke Wilhelm V (who also founded the world famous Hofbräuhaus) to Renata of Lorraine.

In honour of the happy couple there is a joust with life-sized knights on horseback representing Bavaria (in white and blue) and Lothringen (in red and white).

NOTE: Image # 2 is the property of Christoph Braun via Wikimedia Commons.

Image # 1: We walked to the far western end of  Marienplatz to Karlsplatz (via Kaufingerstrasse & Neuhauser Strasse) to catch the bus back to our apartment, and the fountains there always attract a crowd. Of course, some of the crowd here is because Karlsplatz is a major transportation intersection point; buses, tram cars and the subway all converge here.

Image # 2: This is a good view of the Karlstor (literally "Karl's Gate") from the other side of the Karlsplatz Square.

For those of you familiar with Munich, this is a nice stroll through the center of the city, lined with shops, restaurants and other types of stores. In fact, there is a large shopping center underneath the Karlsplatz Square ( the "Stachus Passagen").

Image # 3: This is a great picture of Karlsplatz from the western side of the square, you can see the fountains and bus stops. You might not be able to see the U-Bahn sign (to the right of the stairs in the lower right corner of the picture) but the station is just below the square. Munich Karlsplatz Station provides access to S-Bahn and U-Bahn trains and is one of the busiest stations in Munich.

Although all of the locations we have described on this page were driven to in our rental car, you could also reach these locations via tour bus or train. Bear in mind that it would be impossible for us to describe every interesting place in Munich or Bavaria, so what we've done on this page and in the list below, is to describe those places we've actually visited;

Day Trip from Munich to Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is 221 Km from Munich, a simple drive north on the Romantische Straße. Most of this route is comprised of two lane country roads, all in excellent condition and the countryside is beautiful. Google Maps will suggest that you drive north on the A-9 and then west on the A-6, however the A-6 highway gets congested quickly and the Romantische Straße is a far more scenic route.

Rothenburg is a well preserved medieval town built in the ninth century., and one of only 3 towns in Germany that still have completely intact city walls. The town is mostly "auto free" except if you own a shop there, or live there - in which case you are allowed to drive your vehicle into the town. So the city streets are primarily pedestrian and cobble stoned (hint; wear good shoes to walk about!). Visiting Rothenburg is like traveling back in time, the medieval architecture makes it feel like you are definitely a time traveler.

Viator offers numerous tours throughout Germany, check their site for more information & pricing.

Parking is outside the town, and you will also find numerous & varied small shops, pubs and restaurants.

• Munich to Rothenburg via bus
• Munich to Rothenburg via train
• Munich to Rothenburg via tour bus.
• Munich to Rothenburg via a private tours Here is a link to a Google Search Results Page.
• Munich to Rothenburg via personal vehicle.
• Click here to view our Rothenburg Page.

Day Trip from Munich to Nuremberg

Nuremberg is 83 Km from Rothenburg and 170 Km from Munich. We toured Nuremberg & Rothenburg in a single day because that was our "time plan", if you have more time, consider seeing Nuremberg as a separate trip because if you are a WW2 history buff or just a regular history buff, Nuremberg has some interesting things to see, ie; the Nazi Documentation Center, the Imperial Palace (Kaiserburg), the Nazi Party Rally Grounds (this is where Hitler stood and watched his troops march by, an erie feeling to stand there), the World's Oldest Sausage Restaurant, and Altstadt the old city (from 1050 AD) section of Nuremberg. The Imperial Castle of Nuremberg is also an interesting place to explore and there is an amazing museum there ("Imperial Castle Museum") that you will find interesting & informative.

• Munich to Nuremberg via bus
• Munich to Nuremberg via train
• Munich to Nuremberg via tour bus.
• Munich to Nuremberg via personal vehicle.
• Click here to view our Nuremberg Page.

Day Trip from Munich to Neuschwanstein Castle

Neuschwanstein Castle (King Ludwig's finest construction) is a 114 Km drive from Munich via the Bavarian Highways B2 & B17. The area around the castle is picturesque, but be forewarned that the castle is very popular with tourists, and you should acquire advance reservations (or you might not be able to get in!). There are several sites where you can acquire advance tickets, click here to go to the Viator Website for ticket purchasing. Note: there are multiple sites that offer tickets, including the Official Site - or do a Google Search to find one.

• Munich to Neuschwanstein via bus
• Munich to Neuschwanstein via train
• Munich to Neuschwanstein via tour bus
• Munich to Neuschwanstein via personal vehicle
• Click here to view our Neuschwanstein Page.

Day Trip from Munich to Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Garmisch-Partenkirchen is 90 Km from Munich (via the A-95), and the Zugspitze Mountain (tallest in Germany) is just south of Garmisch. There was originally two small towns, but they were merged in 1936 for the Winter Olympics. Garmisch still has a "village feel" to it, as the population is small, however this is a popular tourist destination, so crowds and parking issues are going to be challenges. Take a look at this list of things to do and see here.

There is a Munich train (operated by Deutsche Bahn) but it is perhaps easier for the visitor if you have your own vehicle, as you would then be able to visit Zugspitze or Alpspitze. There are a wide variety of hiking trails in this area, click here to view one of the better hiking lists.

• Munich to Garmisch via bus
• Munich to Garmisch via train
• Munich to Garmisch via tour bus
• Munich to Garmisch via personal vehicle

There are of course many other excellent day trips, consider doing some of your own research about places like Obersalzburg, Salzburg, Berchtesgaden, Regensburg, Chiemsee or the Lindorhof Palace. Lest I forget, the Dachau Concentraion Camp is 24 kilometers from Munich and reachable via Metro (MVV S2 train from Munich in the direction of Dachau/Petershausen). We can recommend any of these, as we have visited each.

See our "things to do and see" links below, those links will aid you with your own trip research. If you are looking for a chauffeured private tour, click here to go to the First Class Chauffeur Website or check the Viator Website as they offer a range of tours.

It would be impossible for any single web page to tell you everything in the world about Munich, so we have included below a list of web sites that we utilized to research & create our own plan to visit Munich.

• History of Munich on the 'Britannica' Site
• Munich History on the 'Discover Munich' Site
• Google Search Results List for "Beer Gardens in Munich"
• 25 Best Things to Do in Munich on the 'Crazy Tourist' site
• Top 51 things to do in Munich on the 'Like a Local Guide' site
• 7 free things to do in Munich on the 'Euro Cheapo' Site
• Top-Rated Tourist Attractions in Munich on the 'Planetware' Site
• Visit our Youtube Channel
• Rules to follow visiting Munich Beer Gardens
• First Class Chauffeur Service
• Amazon Search Results list for "Munich"
• Google Search Results list for "restaurants in Munich"
• Google Search Results list for "accommodations in Munich"
• Munich WW2 Walking Tour from the "Get Your Guide" Site
• Youtube Search Results list for "Munich Germany"

• European Travel Tips from the "Just Traveling Thru, LLC" site
• Travel Planning Tips from the "Just Traveling Thru, LLC" site
• Munich on the "Rick Steves" site
• Our Image Gallery for Munich
• Wikipedia Article for Munich
• Google Image Gallery for Munich