Showing posts with label Munich. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Munich. Show all posts

Our experience in Munich

Apartment and Air BnB.

We couldn't have chosen a better neighborhood to spend our week in Munich. An easy 10-minute walk into the old town, close to a public transport hub (Sendlinger Tor), 25 minutes by foot from the train station, next to one of the major cemeteries (an extensive green space to walk), and outstanding cafes and restaurants with a grocery store close by. It was also very quiet at night.

Our apartment was certainly large enough, and on the ground floor just off an interior courtyard. The bathroom was quite large and gave us plenty of space for spending a week and the bedroom was equally large with lots of storage for clothes. The king-size bed was very nice and quite comfortable and the pillows made sleeping easy. 

The overall feel of the space was one of comfort; heat controls were easily identified and adjusted and having the heated towel rack in the bathroom was a big plus.

But there were two or three issues. 

One was lighting. The outdoor lights above the door did not work; in the main living/kitchen area there was very little light to be had (unlike the bedroom and bathroom which were both very well lit). In fact, the only lighting over the stove barely worked at all (we had to use our phone flashlights to see the range controls). When at highest power the lights blinked repeatedly and could be dimmed but would not turn off. When this issue was pointed out to the agent we were told we could remove a picture from the wall and turn the electricity off to those lights inside the switch box. Really?? 

The switch to another light above the dining room table worked but erratically; there was a floor lamp in the corner which functioned normally.

Another issue and one which might bother some more than others concerned the Nespresso machine. When we arrived and were settling in I noticed there was standing water in the machine's reservoir. When emptied out the tank was literally coated with scale. I knew that scale can build up inside the machine itself but I had never seen anything quite like this.  

Lastly, the wifi connection in the apartment was quite slow but sufficient. 

Food.

The selection and variety of restaurants available in the city is amazing. Our neighborhood boasted three Vietnamese restaurants alone as well as numerous casual food venues all within three minutes of our door. Whatever kind of food you're looking for you can probably find it within the historic city center.

Reservations, at even the most casual of places, is strongly recommended, at least in our neighborhood where it seemed everyone under 30 (or 40) ate out every night. And when you add in the small size of most restaurants/cafes, space can only be had by planning ahead.

Payment is usually by cash or credit, although not always. At Jack Glockenbach payment was by cash or PayPal only, while at Botanista it was no cash and card only.

As for grocery stores we used a nearby branch of the Edeka chain. Plenty of choices and payment was made with our Mastercard. 

Transportation.

Getting around on foot is pretty easy and straightforward in the city center. However, if you want to go a bit further afield or hop around from one place to another in the historic center you'll want to tap into the extensive public transportation network. 

Note that the ticketing system is rather complex (and we thought a bit complicated) so you might want to stop by a nearby Tourist Info office for help in figuring out how to get from A to B. We didn't find much in the way of ticket booths staffed by humans; pretty much all the ticketing is done via kiosks. It's worth pointing out that some kiosks accept only credit cards that use a PIN (a European thing) while others make using a card easy so be prepared to pay with cash.

We took a cab from the train station to the apartment and Uber back to the train station.  Both worked flawlessly but we definitely leaned toward using Uber.

Attractions.

There is a wide variety of things to see and do in Munich. In our week in the city we tapped into just a handful of them. We tend to focus on just being in a place and experiencing its vibe, so we're not the best judge of how to structure your time.  If you're in the city for just a few days making your decision as to where to go and what to see can be challenging to be sure. 

While actually a suburban site, Dachau should definitely be on the list; German schoolchildren are required to visit a concentration camp and it should be required for all tourists as well.

The English Gardens are truly amazing and a great place to stretch your legs and relax.

Naturally a day spent strolling the old town would be worth your time, to get a feel for the Munich appreciated by locals and tourists alike: visiting the Hofbrauhaus and Viktualienmarkt alone is worth even just an afternoon in Munich.

For museum junkies we enjoyed the Alte Pinakotheke, but be forewarned the museum's collections are enormous -- so much to see. The Deutsches Museum is fun for everybody with lots of displays covering everything from mining to astronomy and just about everything in between. The holdings are scattered over six floors and some exhibits are a bit dated and many have signage in German only. Still, we thought the views  of Munich from the roof top and the first German U-boat were pretty cool.

Masking and Vaccination.

While we wore masks required on all public transport and in some museums, restrictions had otherwise been lifted. Otherwise, some continued to mask indoors and many did not.

We were asked for our vaccination cards only once and that was as we got off the train in Salzburg, Austria, otherwise no one seemed concerned about our vaccination status.


Deutsches Museum, Eataly and Hey Luigi

27 April 2022.

We had a very leisurely morning on our last full day in Munich. Sipping coffee and catching up on our thoughts and plans, I worked on blog images and notes. About midday we headed over to Sendlinger Tor. The plan was to take a tram to the Deutsches Museum. Unfortunately, I misread the metro map and got us on the wrong tram but we got off before we strayed too far afield.

The museum, which sights astride the Isar River, is probably most easily compared to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. Coincidentally, both have German submarines (unterseeboots): in Chicago the U-505 captured during World War II and in Munich the U-1, the very first German submarine. There are also numerous aircraft and other boats on display in this section. 

Covering six floors, the museum has collections covering oceanography, mining, physics, machinery, ceramics, astronomy (they even have a planetarium), mechanical toys, and musical instruments among others. Far too much to see and experience in just a day. Also, some of the collections were quite dated and there was an inconsistency in interpretative signage: some areas provided information in just German and others in German and English.

The roof of the museum provided some rather wonderful views of the city, though.

Deutsches Museum

Isar River

museum entrance

The display of the U-1 is unique: the sides of the hull have been cut away in order to allow the viewer to easily see the interior of a boat that would otherwise be next to impossible to walk through.

the first German U-boat, U-1




deep diving gear

simulation of a view of the ocean from a passenger liner deck

Munich from the rooftop, Frauenkirche in the distance


the maritime and aeronautical displays



Rumpler C IV c. 1916


a Wright Brothers Standard Type A, 1909

Leaving the museum we made our way through the viktualienmarkt to the Italian specialty shop and cafe, Eataly (a well known culinary venue in Italy and around the world). We found a table in the cafe amidst racks of cooking utensils and cookbooks (kochbuch) and settled in for our afternoon "hot beverage."

just one of many stands at the viktualienmark






It was a short walk back to the apartment where we began our packing preparations (one of many in the upcoming weeks) for leaving Thursday. We tried to get reservations at Junge Romer (we ate there our first night in town) but they had nothing available. It so happened I noticed a restaurant near our grocery store with the rather curious name of Hey Luigi so I went online and made reservations.

Susie ordered the Dhal, a lentil-based stew that looked more soup-like but which she claimed was delicious. I had spaghetti with meatballs which was equally tasty.

Hey Luigi

spaghetti with tomatoes and meatballs

Dhal, lentil stew

A quick three-minute walk back home where we settled in with a glass of hazelnut liqueur before bedtime.

Off to Hohenfels tomorrow so stay tuned!


Birthday in Munich

25 April 2022.

Today was my birthday. Seventy-four years since I shuffled onto this mortal coil and most of the time has been spent dazed and confused. But largely happy. And so I am today.

A birthday spent in Munich, Germany, strolling through a wonderful cemetery, taking life at a slower pace than usual and just enjoying being alive.

After a leisurely morning and equally leisurely walk through the Alter Sudlicher Friedhof (our cemetery next door) we had a hot beverage and a piece of their homemade cheesecake at our favorite spot, the Aroma Kaffeebar just a couple of doors down from our apartment.

We then headed off into the old town, this time taking a route we hadn't been on before which, as it turned out, took us past the new enormous Eataly complex. From there we headed over to Sendlingerstrasse where Susie went off in search of a bath item while I kept an eye on several young women who were getting ready for some kind of photo shoot. 

Susie and I made our way back through Sendlinger Tor and home for the evening.

For my birthday I fixed a dish that had been bouncing around in my head for a few days: sautéed shallots with chopped summer sausage with stir-fried little potatoes (blanched) mixed with Bergerkäse cheese with a side of blanched broccoli.  Oh, and since we failed to bring an apron, a deficit we hope to rectify shortly, I worked topless with paper towels around my waist (Susie didn't want to deal with potential splatter spots on my shirt). But you'll see it all in the last photo.

Not a bad way to spend one's birthday. 



along Blumentstrasse it looked like a statue urinating but. . .

it was only a watering can held by a saint

Eataly store


Sendlingerstrasse

models getting ready for work. . . note the two using the chrome wall strips to apply makeup



Munich at the edges

23 April 2022.

A leisurely breakfast at home before getting ready for our hop-on/hop-off tour of the attractions beyond the city center. It took us about 20 minutes to walk up to the meeting point at Karlsplatz where we exchanged our mobile tickets for paper ones and boarded the bus.

There were few other riders this morning so we had most of the upper deck to ourselves. We plugged our headphones into the audioguide jacks on the seatbacks in front of us and off we went. On our way to our first stop, the Nymphenburg Palace we had the opportunity to hear about several interesting features of Munich's history as we whizzed down the Nymphenburgstrasse passed the Löwenbräukeller, home of the eponymous beer.


Arriving at the Nymphenburg Palace, we hopped off (hopping is required) and strolled over to the entrance to the palace, once the summer home of the ruling Wittelsbach family. 

At the entrance we were stopped by a staff member who asked if I was wearing an FFP2 mask (the equivalent of our KN95) under my cloth mask and I said no. "You can't go in," she replied matter-of-factly. (I recalled later that the filter in my fabric mask is in fact a PM2.5 which might have worked.) Anyway, almost immediately a woman walking by whipped out a fresh mask and handed it to me. Problem solved from the kindness of a stranger!

Once inside we got our tickets and headed upstairs to the palace. My primary objective here was to see the Gallery of Beauties, a collection of 36 19th century portraits of the most beautiful women in the region. Painted by Joseph Steiler over a period of over 20 years and collected by Ludwig I of Bavaria,  they are indeed stunning images of young women from all classes of society. 

Ludwig was keen on the women being beautiful in both body and spirit and also required the images to be as accurate a rendering of the subject as possible. 

To see the complete collection go here.

palace from the front

palace from the gardens side

one of the many hallways

grand hall

and its ceiling

gallery of beauties


Once back on the bus we headed for our second stop of the day: BMW Welt (world).

Located across from the Olympic Park (1972 games where Mark Spitz won his 7 gold medals) this complex of futuristic buildings includes the company's HQ (in the building that looks like four cylinders), a museum and our objective - BMW Welt. 

BMW Welt

the HQ is in the far distance



Walking into the building one is struck by how everything floats and flows together. We strolled among the various car models, amazed that they were all unlocked and people climbing in and out of them, getting the feel I suppose for what it would like to own one of these. Except for the Rolls-Royce display, that is. It was all look and don't touch.

The electric car area was fascinating and we loved seeing so many Mini Coopers! 

The second level consisted primarily of the BMW motorcycle displays and there were certainly plenty of people up there playing on the bikes. You could also see the showroom as well and, if I recall correctly this is where you would pick up your new BMW.

We opted for lunch here before walking back to the bus stop. 


Rolls Royce Cullinan

the new electric I series

note the batteries in the floor of the car


our favorite stop, the Mini!


the showroom, from the upper level


We just made it to the next bus and found this one had the roof open. A bit chilly to be sure but we weren't on it long before we arrived at the English Garden stop next to the Siegestor.


Siegestor, tor is gate
After a short walk from the bus stop we found ourselves in this incredible green space. The so-called English Garden is a large collection of lakes and streams set among a green space some three miles long much of which parallels the Isar River. 

We strolled up one of the many meandering paths to the Chinese Tower (the one landmark we had come across somewhere) where there was a band playing amidst a large biergarten packed with folks drinking and eating. 


the Chinese Tower


From the biergarten we made our way back roughly in the direction from which we came and walked up to the the temple-like Monopteros for a lovely view of the park and the old town in the distance.




Returning to the Siegestor stop we waited for the next bus which seemed forever to arrive. But the day had turned nice so it was pleasant to just sit and take in the sun.

We left the bus at a starting point different from where we began the day and felt a bit turned around. But we asked directions and soon found our way back to Karlsplatz and home. After dropping a few things off we headed back out to the Aroma Kaffeebar to get our afternoon hot beverage. 
Then on to Edeka to pick up a few groceries and back home before dinner.


I had made reservations at a nearby Vietnamese restaurant, Jack Glockenbach. The food was incredibly good (the best spring rolls we've ever eaten) and the service was equally so. 



filet of beef with betel leaf and rice noodles with a cucumber salad


curried chicken and rice

The end of another wonderful day in southern Bavaria.

Tomorrow it's off to Salzburg - stay tuned!

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