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Arrival After an uneventful flight I arrived in Munich. Germany's train system is very good and reasonably priced, and I could have saved some money by flying into Frankfurt and taking a train to Munich. But after the long flight it was a lot more convenient to take a 30 minute train ride from the Munich airport to downtown Munich; a trip from Frankfurt would have added a couple of hours. In fact, public transportation around Germany seems to be very good overall. I was able to go from the baggage area at the airport, down a flight of stairs and get on the light rail system that took me to downtown Munich without any fuss or having to ask for help. Since we were going to be in Munich for a day before the tour started, we had to find a hotel. Using the Internet, we were able to find the comfortable and charming Jedermann Hotel just five minutes from the main train station, the Haufbahnhof, and less than a ten minute walk from Marienplatz Plaza which is the center of old Munich. I highly recommend the Jedermann if you want a reasonably priced place to stay in central Munich. The hotel has been family owned and operated since just after WWII. |
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I arrived on Friday night, so had time to familiarize myself with the area before meeting Jerry at the train station Saturday morning. Like most first-time visitors to Munich, we spent all of our time in the western part of the old city, between the train station and the town, along with the shopping and eating districts in between. We never did make it to the Hofbrauhaus or Englisher Garten on the east side of Munich, but we found a nice local brew pub, the the Augustiner Bier Hall. The only beer they served was the lager they brewed in-house – no complaints here. Jerry and I had lunch there and while we were there two of the local football (soccer to you and me) teams came in to celebrate. Pretty soon the bier hall was filled with the sound of competing cheers. The best part though, was the fact that one of the team's was kids. Yup, whole families in the pub for an afternoon of socializing. That's the way it should be. We spent the day walking around the main town. When you come out of the front of the train station and go straight along Neuhauser Strasse, your first major landmark is about two hundred yards away – the Karlsplatz or Stachus. The Karlsplatz is a major junction for public transportation (intersecting the streetcars and subways), and a home for various markets and festivals. During the winter the Karlsplatz is home to outdoor winter markets complete with skating rink and glühwein huts. The large building in the background is the Palace of Justice. The Karlstor (Karl's Gate) sits at the far end of the Karlsplatz. The Karlstor looks almost out of the place, because it marks the old city wall which has been long consumed by urban sprawl. But it marks the beginning of the old city and its massive shopping district. To tell the truth, I walked through this arch several times and never realized what it was until I got home and started doing research for this story. With all the vendors and advertising posters it wasn't recognizable. Going beyond the Karlstor, we entered the Marienplatz, or town square, which as the picture shows can often be a zoo. Much of the downtown shopping is done here, with all the modern European department store chains represented and a whole host of “Bavarian souvenir” shops (although many of them sell Black Forest cuckoo clocks which are anything but Bavarian). Even on a Sunday, this part of the downtown will be very crowded because of the numerous cafés and churches around. Western Munich has lots of churches. Many of them are built into the street architecture like storefronts, so sometimes you don't realize it's a church until you come up to it. The Michaelskirche gray house-style facade makes it looks like just another shop. The Bürgersaalkirche was also easily missed despite its bright red sandstone face -- sandwiched between two other shops. Of course, when you talk about churches, the one to visit is the Frauenkirche. The Frauenkirche is Munich's most distinctive, famous for its two rounded towers. Getting a clear photo of the Frauenkirche is next to impossible at street level because of the urban build-up around it, but a good view of it can be seen from the top of yet another church, St. Peter's, further down the street. Finally, in the center of the Marienplatz is the fabulous new town hall (Neues Rathaus). This building is famous for its carousel of Bavarian figurines that turns during certain hours of the day. The carousel is found in the greenish center of the main tower. The cellar has a really fabulous restaurant (the Ratskeller) which for the price is one of the best meals in town, and it's huge so getting a seat is not too difficult. Around the Marienplatz are several other prominent structures. The old town hall, or Altes Rathaus, is fabulous with its distinctive and colorful tower. The Holy Ghost and St. Peter's Churches complete the other sides of the plaza. Believe it or not, another place worth checking out is the massive train station itself, the Haufbahnhof, especially for eating on the go. The train station has a huge variety of fast food stops available, ranging from European to American to Asian. It also has some decent souvenir shopping, and obviously it has plenty of information booths available. The shopping extended to a wide underground network as well beneath the plaza in front and extending almost all the way to the Karlstor. With all this activity, it's no wonder that the west part of the old city is the most traveled. The rest is certainly worth exploring, but for sure if you like to be among people, you'll assuredly be drawn back here.
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