24 Hours In Munich

After moving to Germany, I quickly realized how easy it is to travel from place to place. This led to a short trip to Munich, Germany. Munich is known for its Oktoberfest as well as a couple other things. Taking a short overnight trip to Munich was enough. (This does not include Oktoberfest I will write on that later.) For sure things where missed and I will go back again but between Nuremberg and Munich; I much prefer Nuremberg.There is a lot to see and do when in Munich. Germany has a vast amount of history to it and I love learning about it and getting to explore it.

Road Trip

Munich is close to Nuremberg. Driving took us about two hours each way so it wasn’t bad at all. Especially with the beautiful German country side to look at. With any road trip drinks, snacks, and great music are all essentials! Luckily all where part of this journey. One thing that has been very prominent is that in Germany mostly English music is played. For me this is nice because some of my favorite artist are played constantly. Along the lines of music on the radio everything from country to pop to 80’s music is played on the same station and I love it!As far as snacks go just pretzels and a few other small things as to dinner was going to be shortly after arrival. For a trip longer than a few hours the variety of snacks would dramatically increase!

Hostels

When traveling solo I find it most beneficial to stay in hostels. Staying in a hostel provides an environment that makes it easier to meet other travelers. Often times they have bars in or near them. When staying in hostels most of the time you will meet likeminded  travelers. As well as meeting people hostels can often help save on cost while traveling.In Munich I chose to stay at the Meininger Hotel (linked below). Staying here was great, the location, staff and rooms where nice.

Location

From the hostel it is about a 15 to 20 minute walk to Munich’s city center. Close by is also the Hauptbanhof which is the main train station. They also serve a breakfast for around 7 euros and have a bar attatched.

Staff

Checking in was extremely easy even with my very poor German skills. Giving it my best try to check in speaking German failed and we kindly laughed about it and he spoke English to me and was extremely helpful with any questions I had.

Rooms

Booking the hostel for one night I chose to go the cheapest route. This means a 12-bed dorm. Greatly to my surprise the dorm was split into two separate rooms and the one I had was only 4 beds. Each room had its own bath room.  Over all the room was clean and my bunk mates where nice which helps a whole lot! Definitely would stay here again!

Friday Night

 After the driving and checking in to the hostel there where two things on my list booze and food. And what better place start with than the hostel bar. Once in the bar I met a pretty cool people. As a group of people, we went over to the beer hall that was right across the street from the hostel! Augustiner is a local beer made in Munich. Their beer hall Augustiner Bräustuben was such a great place to start out the night. There was a very Bavarian feel of the place with good food and lots of beer. After a few beers in the beer hall the group made the move to a night club.Neuraum was the club that we chose solely based on the fact it was walking distance from the hostel. Upon entry, you could tell how huge the club was. There was a massive coat check, a bar, a dance floor, VIP tables and the bathrooms. Then there were stairs where on the other side. Random stairs ask for exploring.  Some of us chose to follow the random stairs into an even bigger room with a massive stage, a bar, and so much dance floor. A guest DJ was there and had the room packed. Further investigation led us to another set of stairs. At the top of those stairs was yet another bar and a room playing much more chill music, the room had a very relaxed feel.

Saturday: Exploring Munich

After a night out there next morning came way to soon but it came. Once realizing getting up and going was a must I got up packed my things and got ready for a day full of Exploring. My first stop was food and coffee at Schnitzelwirt. Then the adventure began.

Glockenspiel

Growing up next to a town called Mt. Angel in Oregon exposed me to a small amount of German history/culture. With that came a small little glockenspiel. So as one cool imagine the real one in Munich was a must see for me. Seeing the Glockenspiel was great but slightly under whelming. The music was quiet and melancholy. Colors of the characters where dull and movements slow. The architecture was beautiful beyond all belief and so detailed.

Bürgersaalkiche and St. Michaels

Walking back through the center of Munich I noticed two very large beautiful building. These were open for viewing, they were churches. Entering them you could feel the pain and suffrage that had taken place there. There was something so peaceful yet so upsetting about standing in them. Bürgersaalkiche had a small museum in the bottom of it as there where two levels.St. Michaels was one very large room that was shaped as a cross almost. At the front was a one of the most beautiful steeples I have ever seen. Next came the transept which is where the nave and sanctuary are separated to make it look like a cross. Nave is the term used for the main part of a church where the congregation comes to worship. Along the sides of the nave there was small little cut out rooms. Somewhere decorated with history others had candle lightings in them.If you have any questions about the terminally please feel free to comment.

English Gard(t)en

After the time spent between the churches I needed fresh air. This led me to the incredible English garden! This was one of the coolest places I had seen in all of Munich. A small creek ran through the middle of the park full of ducks, frogs, and fish. Everyone seemed happy to be out and enjoying the sun after a small spout of rain during the day. Walking through the garden was such a relaxing moment.

Leaving Munich

Once realizing that time had escaped me and it was almost time to head home I had also realized that I hadn’t eaten lunch yet. With walking back to the car, I found a cute little café inside Pinakothek Der Moderne. The served salads, sandwiches, and amazing cake. Very glad I found that café. Then it came time to go back home.

Overall

Road tripping to Munich was a lot of fun and I am so glad I went and can’t wait to go back for Oktoberfest in September. To be honest thought it was kind of under whelming. Like when you stare at pictures of a place or person for the longest time before meeting them. Then upon meeting them they don’t fulfil your expectation. That’s what happened to me in Munich.If you have any questions or suggestions feel free to comment.If you haven't already read about me moving to Germany here is the link: http://thurstonforadventure.com/2017/05/11/movingabroad/

Links

The Hostel: http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/MEININGER-Munich-City-Center/Munich/5947?dateFrom=2017-05-27&dateTo=2017-05-30&number_of_guests=2&sc_pos=1Neuraum: neuraum.netBeer Hall: braeustuben.deCoffee/ Breakfast: http://schnitzelwirt.deBürgersaalkiche: http://mmkbuergersaal.deSt. Michael's: http://st-michael-muenchen.dePinakothek Der Moderne: pinakothek.de