I had never really had a huge desire to visit Germany.  But when planning my bucket list trip to Prague, Munich just seemed to make sense as a stop.  It is geographically close to Salzburg, our other definite stop, (more to come on those) and made traveling between cities pretty easy.  We made Munich the first stop of the trip, and were pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed it.  It’s a city full of character with lots to see and do. And if you are a beer drinker, then Munich most definitely needs to be a stop on your Central Europe vacation, as it’s the Beer Capital of the World.

Top 5 – Munich

1 – Biergartens

Who doesn’t love day drinking? You can’t visit Munich without a stop at a German beer garden. Even as a non-beer drinker, this was my fav part of Munich.

A – They have other options than just beer (wine, champs, juices, water, pop, etc.).  They do not, however, have cider, which was unfortunate.  I learned from a German beer connoisseur, that cider is only available in Frankfort.  I did try the Radler, which is a lemonade-beer, and I semi liked it.  Still a little too beer-y for me, but I was determined to have a legit beer in a stein glass in Munich…and I did.

B – It is great for people watching.  Also you can treat yourself to some heavy Bavarian foods or a classic pretzel, listen to some traditional German music and just enjoy being outside in the sunshine.  It’s a must do for any trip to Germany, but especially Munich, Home of Oktoberfest.

 

Definitely visit the Hofbräuhaus, the world’s most famous tavern, dating back to the 1500s.  It’s the face of Oktoberfest and the original German biergarten.  I also recommend Chinesischer Turm, the Chinese beer garden (yes you read that correctly) in the English Gardens park.  It holds 7,000 people, had tons of food and drink options and great live German music.  If you’re lucky like we were, there may be a farmers market, handing out free bites of food, including a potato bite with the BEST homemade sour cream to ever be made.  It’s the stuff dreams are made of.  Simply put, biergartens are the quintessential German experience and I couldn’t get enough of them.

 

2 – Neuschwanstein Castle day trip

This was a highlight of the entire trip.  The castle is about a 2 hour train ride from Munich.  The train ride is comfortable and clean and you get beautiful, panoramic views of the countryside along the way.  We did our day trip with Radius Tours and our tour guide, Jax, was helpful and nice.  He gave us a great history lesson on the Mad King, Ludwig II of Bavaria, along the way.  I knew literally nothing about him before this trip, but found his life sad, but interesting.

The tour does require a significant amount of walking uphill, so I would recommend wearing good shoes and bringing a bottle of water. It’s a nice way to get in some physical activity and your reward is the beautiful view from the top.

 

The castle tour itself is short but well done, and worth while to see the inside. Ludwig only completed 18 of about 200 rooms in the castle, but the ones that are finished are fantastic. After the tour finishes, be sure to walk out on the balcony and be rewarded with one of the most breathtaking views of the German countryside you’ll ever see.  When you exit the castle, keep to the left and walk to the St. Mary’s Bridge, where you can get the money shot of pictures of the castle.  The views from the bridge are nothing short of amazing.  Then if you are feeling up for more walking, keep going up the foot paths on the other side of the bridge, where you can hike higher up the mountain for even more spectacular views.  They were straight out of a fairy tale and the pictures just don’t do it justice.  This has to be one of the most beautiful and picturesque places I’ve ever visited, and I highly recommend it to anyone staying in the Munich or Salzburg area.

 

3 – Walking through the Old City

Spend a portion of a day wandering the streets and getting lost in the old city.  It’s beautiful and there are lots of shops, as well as outdoor cafes to stop along the way for a coffee or a cocktail.  Stop and explore the main square, Marienplatz and climb the 299 steps to the top of the tower in St. Peter’s Church.  It costs €3 to enter, but worth it for the beautiful views of the city below.

 

4 – Explore the city parks

Munich is full of parks.  We were able to spend time in the botanical gardens and the main city park, the English Gardens. They are beautiful and a nice way to escape the city. The Alter Botanischer Garten has a fountain, surrounded by beautiful flowers, that allows you to soak your feet and relax, which is a great way to cool off on a hot day.  From there, you can walk over to the Park Café biergarten for a cocktail, which of course, is the best way to spend a day in the warm German sun.

 

Aside from the previously mentioned, awesome, Chinese Beer Garden in the English Gardens, the other highlight for me was watching the river surfers.  Apparently people started surfing on the river years ago and now it’s a thing.  You have to be super skilled and have a permit to do it, but it’s so cool to see all the talented surfers hop in one after another and ride the waves.

 

5 – Viktualienmarkt

Viktualienmarkt is the city’s largest outdoor market.  It’s open daily to sell all kinds of food, drinks, flowers and souvenirs.  It’s also home to the city’s Maypole.  It’s fun to wander and see the local selection of fresh foods and produce.  And if you’re lucky you may also get some free samples.

 

Honorable Mention

Nymphenberg Palace

I’m putting Nymphenberg Palace in the Honorable Mention category, because we only were able to see it from the outside as we passed by on the hop on hop off bus.  The palace is huge and the castle grounds were beautiful.  From what we read and what we saw, it it an amazing place and you can easily spend half a day exploring.

I imagine Oktoberfest to be an exciting time to be in Munich, but exploring the city in the off season, minus the drunken crowds, was more the vibe we were looking for on our trip.  And it worked because we had a great time.  The weather was perfect, the booze was plentiful and the city was beautiful.  I’m so happy we decided to visit Germany and get a taste of Bavaria.  It was the perfect addition to my bucket list trip to Prague.