12/7 Our Morning train from Nuremburg to Munchen / Munich. We rushed to find ourselves an hour early for the train, so we waited with coffee at a Dunkin Donuts in Nurnburg near the train station. We seem to have lost the ability to keep track of what day of the week it is, or what time it is.
We had three days in Munich. On 12/7 and 12/9 we spent our days exploring around Munich itself, enjoying the sights, the variety of Christmas Markets available, and the culture of Munich around Christmas time. We spent 12/8 mostly on a tour bus making stops in the Bavarian mountains at Linderhoff, Neuschwanstein and Oberammergau.
Our time in Munich: Our hotel room on the 4th floor looks out on a huge St Paul church/cathedral, now scaffolded for some repairs. We found and took another Hop-On-Hop-Off bus ride around town to get a sense of the city and where we might want to visit on foot later.
Since it was Saturday, everything was very crowded, especially the main Christmas Market areas. We dined at the Staatliches Hofbräuhaus in München, the Royal Brewery in Munich. It’s a huge restaurant and centuries old brewery that can seat hundreds at a time. It was hard to find a seat, but the tables were long, and you just grab a seat alongside others when available. We sat by a younger English couple and visited with them. They were both teachers in Abu Dhabi– and made the decision to quit their jobs and travel with the final goal of landing in England where her family lives. We enjoyed the conversation, some fine sauerbraten (the national dish of Germany) and a great Weissbier, the best Evan has tasted yet.
Munich is a beautiful and very clean city, much larger with lots to see and do, but it’s easily navigated with lots of public transportation, and bicycle lanes along most roads. We were warned to beware of the distinction between walkways and bicycle paths. Although bicycles were not as prominent here as in Cambridge, they were still everywhere, and these bikers would run you down if you were in their spaces. On our days in Munich, we really enjoyed our walks, about 8-9+ miles each day. There are many museums featuring art and history, but we skipped them, preferring to walk, see the sights, and enjoy the street culture and the Christmas markets. The city is quite clean with beautiful parks, and it’s not overly congested – except for those nights when the tourists are filling the Christmas markets.
Our roaming around Munich included enjoying coffee at what claimed to be the oldest continuous cafe in Munich. We also enjoyed lots of buskers playing music along the way, especially the trio near the coffee shop who played “Jingle Bells” and the “Game of Thrones Theme.”
The many Munich Christmas Markets: Our host at the hotel said there were 30 or more Christmas markets in Munich. We visited at least five, and these will give you some idea of the variety.
Marienplatz: This was the largest at the very center of Munich, quite traditional and very crowded. It’s a large market square open for many blocks, but on Saturday night, it was still so crowded that you could hardly move through. Our video of the choir is from Marienplatz.
Tollwood: This was the most unusual Christmas Market, and quite near to our Hotel. It was called “The Market of Ideas,” and much of it seemed more like a modern carnival than a Christmas Market. It included the usual food drinks we found elsewhere, but also much more. A food court with Mexican, Indian and other foods not traditional in Europe. It attracted a younger crowd, in part because the other markets closed earlier while this one was open until 11:00 and beyond, with plenty of drink and entertainment. Only here would you find displays of technology and sales of modern gadgets.
The Pink Garden: This was quite a small market found in the LGBTQ section of town. The area is called “Pink” and the lighting on this small market was pink as well. It was pleasant and crowded, again with a younger crowd, and you could see the LGBTQ focus in the items on display. The stage also offered entertainment with a LGBTQ vibe.
At the Chinese Tower in the English Garden: The English Garden is a huge park within the city of Munich. It features a Chinese Tower near a 5 Star restaurant. This hosted a good size Christmas market that was fairly traditional, like others we had seen. It wasn’t English or Chinese in any other sense.
The Medieval Christmas Market: This one was hard to find but one of our favorites once we did. Everything at this market had to be hand made and presented as it would have been in medieval times. It was like a marketplace in a Medieval or Renaissance Fair with the vendors all in costume. Here we enjoyed the flaming punch, “Feurzangenbowle.” At 16 € it seemed expensive, but that included a 10 € deposit on the chalice. Sara found new gloves and a warmer hat here, as well as small hand-made leather purses for Christmas gifts.
