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[veetravelblog]

Munich, Germany

When deciding how to travel throughout Europe there are many options; you can ride buses, rent a car, take trains or book flights. My husband wanted to fly but after after researching through various blogs, YouTube, TripAdvisor etc. I convinced him that booking trains would be the way to go! I booked First Class tickets on Czech Railways, it was a five hour train ride leaving early in the morning from Prague which would be the perfect way to travel to Munich, Germany…or so I thought. Long story short I should’ve listened to my husband…what was supposed to be a five hour straight shot, became a nine hour journey with two unforeseen train changes. I’ll spare you all the details, but this particular part, if I could do over, I would’ve flown…

Upon arriving to HBF Munich Station our hotel the Maritim Hotel Munich was luckily only a block away. Desperately needing a drink and some food, we checked in, dropped our bags and took an Uber to the famous Hofbräuhaus Brewery. This famous beer hall was originally constructed in 1589, known for it’s live music, great food, elaborate traditional decor and LITER STEINS :) The hall consists of seating for over 1000 people and it is a “get in where you fit in” seat yourself type place. It’s perfectly normal to sit with strangers and this is where we spent the next six hours! During this time we met so many nice people from all over Europe. There was a Father and Daughter from Holland who were in Munich to watch the Bayern Munich FC game, a European soccer match has been on our bucket list and we could not pass up the opportunity to attend. We returned to the hotel and I researched availability through vividseats.com which is a website I’ve used in the past to purchase sold out concert tickets, to my surprise there were great seats available which I purchased for the match taking place the following day! 

Our second day in Munich started with brunch in an Old Town restaurant called Donisl.  We got a late start and since there was a big match all restaurants and cafes were very busy.  We got lucky to walk into this beautiful beer hall and find a table rather quickly. Again, the seating style at all places in Germany so far, are get in where you fit in and wave your server down when you’re ready! We each ordered traditional white sausage and pretzels with a 0,5L of their seasonal beer. I had the misconception that the beer would be very bitter or “hoppy” like an IPA but it was quite opposite and I was pleasantly surprised. Here in Germany the currency is the Euro which at the time of our travels was just about 1:1 with USD. Beer was 5,30€ for 0,5L our bill for this brunch was about 35€. 

After brunch and walking around Old Town and visiting Biergarten Viktualienmarkt. We made our way to the train station where we saw the sea of red FC Bayern München jerseys, we had a good idea of where to go but if all else failed we would follow the crowd to the Allianz Arena. The ride was quite an experience, everyone piled in to capacity and once the doors closed the fun began. There were several fans from the opposing team, Mönchengladbach, who wore green, black and white, they all banged on the roof of the train while chanting and took turns as the rivals chimed in with their team’s songs. Everyone laughed and smiled at each other during the ride even if some abrupt stops made us bump into each other.  Once at our destination everyone flooded out of the station to a bridge that crossed over to an open field where you could see the Allianz Area in the distance. The energy once inside was like nothing I have ever experienced before, we quickly found a fan shop to buy some Bayern FC gear and made our way to the beer and bratwurst stand before finding our seats just in time for the whistle of the start of the game. The match ended in a tie 1-1, although a win would’ve been ideal I was happy we got to experience the eruption of the crowd after a goal at least once, it’s a moment we will never forget.

On our last day in Munich we visited Mauerer Cafe which was walking distance from the hotel, this place had delicious coffee and croissant sandwiches. After breakfast we decided to rent a Bird scooter and explore Munich. Bird scooters were readily available throughout the city, the only rule is that you had to leave and pick them up them in designated areas. We explored different plazas, churches and buildings throughout the city. Marienplatz is Munich’s main square since 1158, here we grabbed two patio seats at Wildmosers Restaurant with an amazing view of Rathaus-Glockenspiel which is a tourist attraction clock dating back to 1908. Everyday at 11am and 12pm the clock chimes and a show begins, between March and October there is also a 5pm addition which we were lucky enough to be sitting across the way to see.  The Munich Glockenspiel recounts a royal wedding, jousting tournament and ritualistic dance, different tunes are played on the clocks 43 bells and lasts about 15 minutes. Hundreds of people gather in the square for this so if you find yourself in Marienplatz, grab a seat if you can and enjoy with some great food, drinks and you’ll even make new friends. PROST! (That’s German for cheers!)

Munich was a very charming city, beautiful architecture, delicious food, great beer and friendly people. We missed Oktoberfest by just a few weeks but felt like Biergartens and bustling tourism is a norm for this welcoming city. We had an overnight train to catch in the evening to our next destination MILAN, ITALY, be sure to keep an eye out for next month’s post to see how it went…