When I think of Germany I think of lederhosen’s, pretzels, glockenspiels, schnitzel and of course, Oktoberfest and beer. What I didn’t realize though (until this trip), is that I was always thinking of Bavaria. Berlin was quite different than the Germany I pictured- I loved its uniqueness and cultural blend but I was also excited to see ‘traditional’ Germany. Being the heart and center of Bavaria, Munich was what I had always pictured, and so much more. It was a beautiful city, and though it has a population of 1.5 million people, it held a quaint, town feel. I loved the medieval architecture of the city and old world charm with all its clocks and towers lining the main ‘platz’ (or squares). We stayed at an Airbnb apartment shared with a few flatmates, which made our stay feel more authentic. The place was in a great location right next to the train station so we could get around easily, and was also near a park we could go running through. We stayed in Munich for four nights, and overall it was a pretty relaxing leg of our trip. Originally we had planned some day trips out to other areas nearby, but Josh and I both started coming down with a cold, and felt pretty run down. We decided it would be best to just enjoy Munich, and travel more casually around the city rather than trying to see everything humanly possible in a few short days. Of course you can guess that we did a walking tour around the city (shocking right?), which was incredibly helpful for gaining perspective around Munich’s past and gave us a great overview of the key areas of importance. Here are some highlights:
Viktualienmarkt
My favorite part of the city was the main market, known as Viktualienmarkt. The market gained importance as a stopping point along a main trade route. This is what began to populate the area that became known as Munich.
It was large, but not overwhelming, and immaculately kept! They had everything you could imagine: raw and cooked meats, fresh breads, vegetables, oils, soaps, spices, flowers, cheeses, fruits (even tropical fruits imported from other parts of the world), and crafts of all sorts. They were starting to setup for the holidays and had all kinds of adorable ornaments and various home decorations lining the different stalls. It was so much fun to walk through and scan the aisles of everything that was perfectly kept. We got a few little treats there one of the days, and came back again for dinner one of the nights and made ourselves a little tapas meal from several of the stalls. I wanted to get some of the crafts for souvenirs to take home, but had to remind myself that these adorable knick-knacks wouldn’t last a week in my small pack.
Marienplatz
As we surfaced from the metro below ground up into Marienplatz, the first thing we saw was the New Town Hall, and I felt like I was in a time warp. The giant medieval building is jaw dropping and timeless. You can’t take your eyes off its sharp pointy towers and dark faded walls, and of course the legendary Glockenspiel clock tower that hovers over you, striking boldly each hour. Crazy enough though, we learned that the New Town Hall building, while it looks like it has been there for ages, is actually only a hundred years old! The Old Town Hall (500+ years old) is also in this platz, but was destroyed during WWII, so it was restored (part of it is now Munich’s Toy Museum). The New Town Hall was definitely my favorite building to look at, and because of its central location we’d typically end up in the square each day and I’d gawk at it in admiration each time. You might have heard about the Glockenspiel’s show…. Every morning at 11am and noon the tower bells go off and all the little medieval knights and figures start acting out a show to the (very off-tune) music. There is a jousting match and over 30 figures dancing around. We learned that this was the 2nd most overrated tourist attraction in Europe, so of course we HAD to see it! On our last day in Munich we made it to the 11am showing, and it proved itself true, but it was actually really cute and I liked it.
Tower of the Old Peters
Over 300 steps up a steep and narrow wooden staircase, and we made it to the top of the Tower of the Old Peters. This church is right next to Marienplatz, and the top of the tower had incredible views of the city that were worth the climb, but definitely messed with my fear of heights. I clenched pretty tightly to the rails as I slowly ascended, and Josh had to coax me to keep going. What great views it had though! You could see all the clock towers and red roofed buildings of the city center, and a faint view of the not so far away Bavarian Alps.
Beer
Yum, I love German beer! We missed Oktoberfest this go around, but I think that was for the best because we got to experience Munich’s beer halls and beer gardens without thousands of people waiting in lines. It was so much fun! We tried a few of them:
- Augustiner: The oldest ‘brauhaus’ in Munich, and apparently the former Pope’s drink of choice. We headed here to try this famous beer and found an entire hall full of chanting Dusseldorf football fans. We ended up going to their restaurant side and had dinner along with our beer, and both were fantastic! The architecture inside was incredibly unique with shells and rocks lining the walls. They sit you beer hall style with other people so we ended up sitting next to an English couple who now live in Zurich. We ended up chatting with them for several hours and had a blast!
Our Award: Best Ambiance
- The Hofbrauhaus: Of course we had to go here! Josh had been here before when he backpacked, but I had not and was excited to try a HB where it is made. HB, owned by the Bavarian State government, is considered one of the most famous beer halls in the world. The beer hall is massive! It seats up to 1,300 people on the first floor. The beer hall dates back to 1897 and has many historical engravings and initials on the tables. When we went in, it was packed, but we were able to find a seat near some live music, and I got to try their delicious wheat beer. I give it two ThumbsUp!!
Our Award: Most energy
- Paulaner Brauhaus: We had a great time here, but it wasn’t very busy at all. It was super relaxed, and decorated with Pretzels everywhere. I LOVE Paulaner’s wheat beer, so it was fun to go there in person.
Our Award: Best Beer!
Der (Hacker) Pschorr: This beer house was right next to the market, so a perfect stop over after walking through the adorable crafts. It was really trendy and chic inside (especially for a beer hall), and of course the drink was also a ThumbsUp!
Our Award: Most Modern
English Garden
Surfs up, in the garden! We enjoyed an absolutely perfect fall day walking through the English Garden (which is even larger than Central Park in New York City!). The highlight of the garden for us was definitely the surfers, who were riding the waves in the river. You don’t see that often! It was a crisp, cool day outside. We were wearing several layers, and hats…. Then we stumbled upon the wavy stretch of the river where there were 8-10 guys taking turns riding across the waves until they fell. All of them in wetsuits of course, but it was so entertaining and unexpected to see!
Food
It wouldn’t be a complete trip without trying some of the thousands of sausages and pretzels that lined the market stalls, and filled every menu. They were as delicious as we’d hoped for! We also had a great Bavarian home-style meal our first night in town at a local place near our flat that was great, and cooked a little for ourselves too.
Winter was fast approaching us in Europe, so enough with the cold weather, time for us to head to Asia!
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