Subject: Re: Christmas Market Trip
Some memories of Munich (Not my favorite city, but it is what it is - If you have the time, Berlin is well worth a week or more)

Jeff

Munich, Germany
"I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train. - Oscar Wilde
Munich (München, pronounced Mewn-shin, in German), the capital of Bavaria, is a town that likes to party. Walk through the Altstadt (Old City) on a sunny day and you’ll see people sitting outside, in every nook and cranny, drinking beer and eating pretzels and sausages. The beer and oom-pah-pah is definitely here—you’ll find it at the famous Hofbräuhaus and other beer halls—but a substantial number (I’d say somewhere around 30%) of the people walking through the center of the city ae clearly from North Africa or the Middle East and women are as likely to be wearing a burka or hijab as Western clothes.

Munich has several world-class museums, and can lay claim to having the richest cultural, gastronomic and retail life in southern Germany. Its lovely and lively inner core, where church bells chime the hours (and a massive glockenspiel puts on a show three times a day), are filled with pedestrian streets. It is not as fast moving as Berlin or Hamburg, and somehow feels less “in your face” – more or a “minor city” feel. Much of the city had to be rebuilt after the Second World War.

Historically Catholic, and associated with the Italian Counter-Reformation, Munich’s (and Bavaria’s) architectural legacy includes exuberantly decorated baroque and rococo churches and palaces of a kind rarely seen in northern Germany and grand neoclassical monuments and buildings from the time of Ludwig I (1786–1868). The kingdom of Bavaria, created by Napoleon in 1806, Ludwig II being the mad – who populated the area with fairy tale castles until his uncle had him drowned because the costs were bankrupting Bavaria, lasted until 1918, and a sense of local nationalism still lingers in Munich. But this is also a city where it is a tradition to share a communal table in a beer hall and enjoy the company of complete strangers – as long as they will share sausages, which means Muslims need not apply. This seems the place where most Germans would live if they could.

Munich’s mass transit system is excellent and can deliver you close to nearly any spot you can imagine in the city. Major German cities such as Berlin and Munich handle things in a more orderly fashion than many other cities. The S-Bahn is a suburban train system which only goes below ground in the city center, but then rides on the surface when it leaves the congested area. All of these lines pass through the Central Train Station of the city. The U-Bahn is an underground subway train system which covers the city center. There are also trams (we called them trollies when I was a kid) which are single cars which ride on tracks through the city center as well as buses – both local and long distance. The same ticket can be used on any of them for a given period of time after it is validated (in a machine as one enters a train station or gets onto a bus or tram – a common system in many European countries).

There are no ticket takers at the U-Bahn stations. There are multi-language vending machines that will allow you to purchase tickets for the day, a few days or 7 days. The prices vary depending on the number of days or the distance you need to travel. The honor system rules on the transit system, but you have to be able to produce your validated ticket when asked for it by transit inspectors on-demand (or face a 60 Euro fine – just “having” a ticket is not enough, it has to be a validated ticket). Tickets for more than a day must be validated only once before the first ride to show when the ticket became active.

Since there are no personnel in the stations, if you have a problem, then you must then rely on the kindness of strangers (fortunately, most West Germans speak English). It is not unusual to find groups of tourists here, apparently lost, looking for help not aware that help is at-hand if they would only ask.


We were ready to take the S1 train (6 Euros) from the airport to the Munich main train station when the “nice” lady at the tourist information booth told me that there were “all sorts of problems with the train” and I should take the reliable Lufthansa shuttle bus at 11 Euros a head. Well, the air conditioning on our bus crapped out and we pulled off the road to wait in the sauna for a replacement bus and then lugged our luggage (I guess that’s why they call it that?) to the other bus and showed up later than we should have. (Subsequently we learned that there were construction delays on the S-Bahn S1, but the S8 was a somewhat more complicated, but viable alternative).

We are staying at the Mercure Hotel München City Center. Hotels in Munich can be expensive and this one was chosen based on being at a convenient location at a reasonable price. That said, it is a minimalist type of place, but interestingly, the room rate, while not including breakfast (a whopping 19 Euros), includes the contents of the mini-bar. (Before you get too excited, this turned out to be two bottles of water, a bottle of Coca Cola and a bottle of beer a day – but better than nothing). It is also located across the street from the München Hauptbahnhof (Hbf) (Munich Central Train station) which makes arriving to and leaving town much simpler, but the street the hotel is on appears a little dicey. The bed is comfortable, the room clean and we are only here for three nights.

We figured we’d hit the ground running and headed from our hotel, back to the Central Station and then crossed through the old city gate to Karlesplatz and up the crowded wide pedestrian street, flanked by huge department stores to Marienplatz. This is the most historic and most scenic square of Altstadt (the Old Town), the heart of Munich. At 11am and 5pm the square is packed with tourists watching the 43-bell Glockenspiel (carillon) on the 8.5m (28-ft.) central spire of the Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall). Brightly painted mechanical figures reenact famous events in the city's history. You can climb the steps of the Town Hall (or take an elevator) for one of the most panoramic views of Munich. The Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall), with a plain Gothic tower, stands to the right of the New Town Hall.

A bit further on, on the right at Rindermarkt, stands Peterskirche, the oldest church in Munich. Its bell tower towers over this 13th-century Gothic church and the climb is 306 steps for another “view from the top”.

Every now and then, we pass a guy wearing lederhosen (looking like a refugee from the set of The Sound of Music). The vast pedestrian square between Karlesplatz and Merinplatz is always crowded, but on Saturday night, it was absolutely jammed and buskers doing everything from juggling to playing pianos surrounded its edges.

Behind the church is the Viktualienmarkt a large open-air market with dozens of stalls selling cheese, wine, and sausages. To the north stands Heiliggeistkirche, or the Church of the Holy Ghost, a late Gothic hall-type church with much later baroque ornamentations.

To the east is Maximilianstrasse, one of the great shopping streets of Europe, with branches of most of the luxury stores found on 5th Avenue or the Champs Elysee, side-by-side with some of Europe’s leading art galleries.

We took the U-Bahn back to the Central Station and picked a place to eat more or less at random. Dinner was at an Uyghur (Turkish/Chinese) restaurant across the street from the train station – we would not go back and the less said, the better.

Over the years, while we have visited a number of Holocaust museums, we have avoided visiting any Second World War concentration camps. The Dachau death camp is within the boundaries of Munich (therefore the observation that the civilian population pretty much had to be aware of what was happening there) and we have decided to make a point of visiting the camp. Traveling from Munich to the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial is easy to do by public transportation. Take the S2 train from the Munich Central Train Station (München Hauptbahnhof (Hbf)) in the direction of Dachau (destination either Petershausen or Altomunster) until you reach the Dachau station (takes approximately 25 minutes).

Once at the Dachau train station, take bus 726 towards "Saubachsiedlung" (another 15 minutes) to the entrance of the memorial site ("KZ-Gedenkstätte"). I can almost guaranty you won’t be the only ones going there.

For using the S-Bahn from Munich it is advisable to purchase a single (or partner) day ticket München XXL. It covers the S-Bahn from München Hauptbahnhof (Hbf) (Munich Central Station) to Dachau and the bus in Dachau to the memorial site. Automated machines are available for purchasing tickets.

Entry to the memorial is free. Audio guided tours are available for 4.50€ and human guided tours in English are available daily at 11 am and 1 pm (Additionally Saturday and Sunday from July 1st to October 1st 12:15 pm). Tours take 2 1/2 hours, tickets are 3.50€ and you should buy them at least 15 minutes in advance. Frankly, the signage on the exhibits is so complete that using either of the other two options is simply a matter of preference. I would recommend coming earlier, rather than latter as it quickly fills up with private tour groups, which makes it more difficult to spend the time to read the signage.

Even if you do it on your own will likely take at least 2-3 hours to see. The emotions which are elicited during the walk through the massive museum attached to the site can be almost overwhelming. Those who doubt if the Holocaust took place should reassess their opinion after touring this place. The history of Germany between the two world wars makes one ponder the twists and turns of human nature and while history does not repeat itself, makes one try not to find too many rhymes in our times.

While we are used to sunny weather – sometimes too sunny as the heat wave we have been dealing with so far in this trip demonstrates, it was dark and dreary with a slight drizzle and a good deal cooler. While we had decided to leave our Gortex jackets behind in Rome (to shed weight), we had picked up a couple of lightweight, nearly disposable, rain parkas at the “Chinese store” across the street from our Rome hotel in preparation (internet weather reports are useful in this respect) which did well. The rain ended about when we returned to the city, but the weather has stayed pretty cool – quit a relief after all the heat.

Since we had the afternoon ahead of us and no clear plans, we decided to take the 2 ½ hour Grayline Hop-On/Hop-Off bus. The route covers the entire center city highlights, as well as heading out of town to a number of additional nearby sites – the BMW World Museum, the 1972 Olympic City (there’s a festival going on today), the huge Palace of Schloss Nymphenburg and the Schwabing neighborhood, with an option to head out to the Allianz Arena.

It also cruises by the Englischer Garten where Münchners tend to do their sunbathing in the buff and enjoy one of the largest and most beautiful parks in the country. With its lakes and pavilions, including a Chinese pagoda, this is an ideal place to relax or start early in a beer garden.

While we have been grabbing morning coffees at a chain called Coffee Fellows, there are good breakfasts available at the Café Beethovenplatz at Gothe Strasse, 51.

Dinner was a “typical” Bavarian meal at the Weisses Brauhaus (Schneider Brauhause) at Tal, 7. This brewery has a vast menu of mostly meat products which I’ve elected not to eat (while I lapse from time to time, after seeing how sausages are made, I try to avoid “mystery meat” and stuck to sauerbraten and my wife had wiener schnitzel – both of which were excellent) and wonderful beers (I chose a dark weissbier).

Dawn came (as it always does) and we embarked on our second day to try to add a bit of culture to the mix.

On an island in the Isar River, but still in the heart of Munich, sits the Deutsches Museum of Masterpieces of Science and Technology (easy to reach from München Hauptbahnhof (Hbf) by taking the S-Bahn 6 train two stops to the Isartor station, following the signs for about 200 meters to the museum). This museum filed with machinery, ceramics, mining exhibitions, steam engines, computers and dodads of all sorts and is the largest of its kind in the world, with at least 16,000 artifacts on display. I could spend days here (I tried, I really did, but got vetoed ).

The Residenz (Either the S-Bahn to the Marinplatz station from München Hauptbahnhof (Hbf) or the Tram 17 to the Max-Weber-Platz station, followed by the U-Bahn 5 subway to the Odeonsplatz station) is one of the greatest palaces in Germany and served as the seat of government of the Wittelsbach rulers until 1918. The Residenzmuseum displays the splendid historical rooms and the treasure chamber (schatzkammer) as well as the impressive art collection. This place goes on and on with an almost infinite number of elaborately decorated rooms. The palace treasures include a number of gem encrusted golden crowns, orbs, swords, medals and piles of other valuable items which fills about a dozen rooms of showcases.

The Alte Pinakothek is one of Europe's greatest art galleries was next on our list of things to do today, but after over three hours in the Deutch Museum and another couple of hours in the Residenzmuseum, we were about tapped out and will have to leave this gem for our next rip to Munich. The collections of the Alte Pinakothek were started by the ruling Wittelsbachs at the beginning of the 16th century. They include works by Rembrandt, Rubens, and Raphael, Pieter Bruegel, as well as by Albrecht Dürer and a host of other old European masters.

Behind the Alte Pinakothek is the Pinakothek der Moderne (the name says it all – modern instead of old). The Staatsgalerie Moderner Kunst (Gallery of Modern Art), is the gem. Its collection of modern art is housed in an avant-garde glass-and-concrete building (the largest museum in Germany). The collections include Matisse, Picasso, Kandinsky, Kirchner, Max Ernst, de Kooning and Andy Warhol.

We passed on dinner at the Hofbräuhaus am Platzl because, while it is only a 15 minute drive, it is about an hour by public transportation (and we have been to beer gardens before). No beer garden in the world is as well known as this sprawling, state-owned brewery, holding 4,500 beer drinkers. The air is overheated, and the smell of sausages, stale tobacco, and beer fills this massive late 19th Century. The largest banquet hall you will likely ever see is on the second floor. The pounding oompah band and the singing and shouting drinkers contribute to the retro Bavarian atmosphere.

Instead, we bought a load of supplies at the Viktualienmarkt and made a picnic of fresh crusty bread, unpasteurized cheese (a whole ’nother dimension of taste), heritage tomatoes, fresh mustard, a Riesling Mosel wine etc. I’d challenge a restaurant to beat the results.

We had purchased our train tickets ahead of time over the internet for the trip to Salzburg (the lowest priced tickets sell out early) and, the day we arrived in Munich printed actual tickets out of a vending machine with the ticket number given when we made the on-line purchase. We also took the opportunity to familiarize ourselves with the layout of the train station to save time when we actually left.

While in this neck of the woods, there are a couple of road trips which are worth considering. The first (which we did on a previous occasion from Salzburg, Austria) includes two of the fairy-tale castles of Ludwig II (The Mad) of Bavaria, who liked to embellish his real estate. Spend the morning at Castle Neuschwanstein and head to Castle Hohenschwangau in the afternoon.

Neuschwanstein, the castle which inspired Disney’s, would be my pick if you have time for only one castle in all of Germany. Neuschwanstein is like a fantasy castle except it is real, complete with battlements, gables, lookouts, spiral stairways, towers, and gates. The guided tour lasts 35 minutes. Keep your eyes and camera ready to be amazed. If you have time before lunch after your view of the castle, you can wander through the surrounding forests, enjoying the panoramas. If you have the stamina and lots of time, you can take the two hour climb up the mountain for an aerial photo of the castle.

King Ludwig II grew up at Hohenschwangau. In a heavy Romanesque style, the castle dates from the 12th century, when it was the headquarters of the kings of Schwangau. But Hohenschwangau in its present format was constructed between 1832 and 1836 by Ludwig's father, who transformed it into an elegant palace.

Given enough time, stop at Herrenchiemsee Castle, a partial replica of the palace at Versailles (located on the Herreninsel in the Chiemsee). It was built as Ludwig's tribute to Louis XIV of France, the magnificent "Sun King". Only the central portion of the palace was built; all construction halted on Ludwig's death. What exists of Herrenchiemsee comprises 8,366 square metres (90,050 sq ft), a "copy in miniature" compared with Versailles' 551,112 ft, but interesting all the same.

For a longer drive, one of Europe's most beautiful drives is the Deutsche Alpenstrasse (German Alpine Road), which stretches for some 480km (298 miles) from Berchtesgaden in the east, to Lindau on Lake Constance in the west. The road goes through mountains, lakes, "black" forests, and "castles in the sky." In winter, driving can be perilous, and mountain passes are often shut down. The best time to take the drive in early spring or early autumn. The trip will take two or three days and will take you through Obersalzberg and the Kehlstein (where you can tour Hitler's famed Eagle's Nest and enjoy the spectacular panoramic views) to an overnight at Berchtesgaden (where you can take take the 2-hour boat ride on the Königssee, 5km (3 miles) to the south.

This long, narrow lake, famed for its steep banks and dark waters, is one of Europe's most dramatic and romantic sights). In the afternoon, drive west along the Alpine road and then north on Route B20 some 19km (12 miles) to Bad Reichenhall. This is one of Germany's most famous spas on the Saalach River. The town was built around its Kurpark (spa center), and it is filled with hotels in all price ranges.

It is a shame we only had three days to spend in Munich. It definitely deserves at least a week to scratch the surface. That said, we enjoyed the city and look forward to returning in the future, but given the choice, I think Berlin would be our first pick in Germany.