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Published: October 27th 2014
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Katie and I woke up early and caught a train at about 7 or 8am. The ride from Zurich was about 3 hours, but it offered a ton of beautiful views. Personally, I think it went by pretty quickly. Luckily, our Hotel was right next to the Munchen Hopbahnoff. It was literally a 5 minute walk from the Hopbanhoff to our hotel. That may not sound that amazing, but when you're lugging around some luggage (Katie…. ahem), it's a godsend. We checked in, freshened up, and I double checked the game plan. The last time I was in Munich, I remembered taking an awesome walking tour. Katie didn't really do that last time, so I decided that we'd do that so she'd get a better look at the city. She said last time she just went to Fussen to see the Neuschwanstein Castle and went to the airplane museum, which se said was fun. She also mentioned she went to the Hofbrahaus. We'll do that last one, but I wanted her to get a little bit better context of the city and history of Munich (aka Munchen). I did some quick online research and found a great walking tour.
We
arrived at Marienplatz at about 1:50pm or so as the tour started at 2pm. If you're ever in Munich and want to do a 3 hour tour (save your Gilligan Island jokes for some other time), then I'd highly recommend doing one of them. We opted for the free Sandemann Walking tour. There's no fee, but you tip the guide. They make their living off these tours, so don't be a cheapskate. Our guide was very personable and knowledgeable. Her name was Michelle and she was from Detroit. She only moved to Munich about 2 or 3 years ago, but gives a great tour. Lots of history, context, and funny jokes. Anyways, on the tour we covered
The FeldherrnhalleKristallnacht (Night of the Broken Glass)Frauenkirche (Church of our Lady)<li style="margin: 0.55em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;
background-color: transparent;">ViktualienmarktThe National Theater & Opera HouseMarienplazt (Mary´s Square)Origins of OktoberfestHitler´s Beer Hall PutschThe HofbräuhausOdeonsplatzTheatinerkircheMary´s ColumnThe Royal ResidenceChurch of St. PeterMaximilianstraßeThe Glockespiele
We also got some great perspective on Munich's history. Unfortunately, it started to rain while we were on
the walking tour, so it put a little damper on it. Our guide, Michelle, did a great job of taking us covered areas to shelter us from the rain. However, I could tell she shortened the tour a little bit to ensure she got as many people to stay until the end as possible, as that's where she would get her tips. Regardless, Katie and I both thought the tour was very enjoyable.
Once the tour was over, Katie and I decided to check out one of the local restaurants/beer halls. It was fairly early, so it wasn't very packed. The front portion of the beer hall was pretty full, but the back portion had plenty of room. Of course, I opted for the schnitzel. It was delicious. Still not as good as my Aunt Glady's millinesa though! I had a liter Weissbier as well. It as great. I also love how beer is so cheap here. A 1/2 liter runs you about 4 euro and a full liter runs you roughly 8 euro, depending on where you're drinking. However, if you're on a budget, I saw Franziskaner tall can's for less than 2 euro. Katie wanted to shop
for some souvenirs, so we grabbed some on the way back. She got me an AWESOME stein! You'll know which one it is when you see the pic. It has the Deutschland eagle. Thanks babe!
Once we finished shopping for souvenirs, we headed back to the hotel for some R&R. We then headed over to the Hofbrahaus which Katie really wanted to go to again. I read that the Paulaner/Augustiner beer halls are better, but the Hofbrauhaus is world famous. Either way, Katie wanted to go there, so I acquiesced. I knew I wouldn't have a bad time at a beer hall, so it's all the same to me. I had a couple delicious liters of Weissbier. Much to my surprise, Katie finished a liter. Good job babe! She normally doesn't drink beer, so it was a little surprising. We soaked in the ambience, had a pretzel, and chatted for a while.
Once midnight hit, Katie was getting a little tired. We're waking up early tomorrow to see the Neuschwanstein Castle, so we decided to head back to the room. Katie went to bed and I decided to stream some good ol' football and hockey. We've only been
in Munich for 1/2 a day, but it felt pretty action packed. A much different pace from Switzerland. Don't get me wrong, Switzerland was great, but Germany is much more my style. Luckily, we have another day in Munich. Katie is really excited to see the castle again, and to be honest, I'm pretty pumped too. I've seen pictures of it and it looks absolutely amazing. I guess I'll see if it lives up to the hype tomorrow!
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