Germany-Munich and Bavaria

Europe 2005

Italy, Austria, Germany, & Hungary

March 7th-18th, 2005

Germany - Munich and Bavaria

Our next destination was Munich, Germany. While stateside we purchased the Eurailpass Saver, which allowed us to travel in any first class car, in any seat, at any time, to any destination within our predetermined range of countries. This is without a doubt the best way to travel Europe! Don’t hesitate to pay the expense of this pass, it is worth every cent! Once we determined the track and departure time for Munich we simply boarded the train, picked out our seats, and enjoyed the ride. The journey to Munich from Innsbruck was a scene out of a winter wonderland. It was snowing so hard that white-out conditions occurred several times, this had us a little disheartened as our next excursion was to the castles of the Bavarian Alps, and we were worried that the gray skies would not make for the best photographs, only time would tell what the next day had in store for us. We arrived in Munich at about 7:00 p.m., exited the train in the underground station, picturing in our imaginations how the winter storm had blanketed the city. We climbed the station stairs to step out onto the city sidewalks of Munich, only to see a beautiful blanket of white snow covering the sights. The snow had stopped falling, and a peaceful glowing calm now enveloped this sprawling metropolis. Along the sidewalks there were rows upon rows of bicycle racks, each one chock full of snow-covered bikes, all of them shimmering in the orange glow of the street lights. It was one of those scenes that will stay in your memory forever.

Home for our two nights in Munich was the InterCity Hotel, a wonderful hotel chain with great rooms and reasonable prices. The cost for the Munich stay was 77 EURO per night.

Craving some authentic German food, we set out in search of the famous Nurnberger Bratwurst Glockl am Dom. We studied our map and discovered it was within walking distance, of course we think everything is within walking distance, from our hotel. We managed to locate the restaurant with little difficulty, even at night, and we were eager to sample the menu. Munich's most original beer tavern is dedicated to a specialty from a rival city, Nuremberg, whose delicious Nurnberger Bratwurst (little link sausages) form the staple dish of the menu. They're served by a busy team of friendly waitresses dressed in Bavarian dirndls, who flit between the crowded tables with remarkable agility. The menu was a little difficult to navigate, even with the “English version”, needless to say much was lost in translation, but the waitresses were very accommodating and patient, doing their best, sometimes even with a group effort, to help us place our order with our limited German vocabulary. Thanks to their efforts we ended up with one of the best meals of the entire trip. Our dinner consisted of stadtwurst, potato salad, kraut, noodles, and Augustiner beer. Yum!

The next morning we awoke to a perfect day. The skies were blue, and the previous night’s snow was still covering the ground in a blanket of white. We couldn’t have asked for a better day for our excursion to Bavaria. Our destination was the town of Fussen, Germany, the perfect base for exploring Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau Castle. We left on a train bound for Fussen at 8:51 a.m., we settled in to enjoy the two hour train ride through spectacular winter scenery. Our trek was complete with snow covered mountains, and the occasional fox foraging on the hillsides along the train tracks. Once in Fussen we took a bus to the ticket office for castle tours, the line was pretty long so we decided we didn’t care to see the inside of the castles. We skipped the tour and began hiking up the road towards the snowy trails that lead to Marienbrucke, or Mary’s Bridge. This bridge, spanning Pollat Gorge, offers the most spectacular view of Neuschwanstein Castle. The view is a like a scene out of a fairytale, in fact it really is, Neuschwanstein was Walt Disney’s inspiration for Cinderella’s Castle.

We spent the day touring the two castles and enjoying the Bavarian atmosphere, and then it was back to Munich for dinner at Der Kleine Chinese, yet another excellent meal.

After a morning of sleeping late for a change, we set out to sight-see in the capital of Bavaria. Central Munich is compact and easy to explore on foot. Marienplatz, the square in the heart of the city, is a good place to get your bearings and begin your walking tour. This is also where you can watch the mechanical characters of the Glockenspiel, possibly the world’s most famous clock--besides Big Ben, act out a scene from Munich’s history. The 43 bell clock, which springs to life everyday at 11 a.m. (also at noon and 5 p.m. from March to October), is located on the New Town Hall, or Neues Rathaus. The Neues Rathaus building, which is a forest of neo-Gothic towers and gargoyles, is an incredible sight in itself, so be sure to explore its entire exterior and inner courtyard. To pass time while waiting for the clock to toll we began searching for the famous Hofbrauhaus, it was 10:30 a.m. when we finally found the beer hall. At first we thought maybe that was a little too early for a beer, but then we decided we might only be here once, so why not! We ordered a liter of beer, which comes in a monstrous glass that just about covers your head when you lift it to drink, and chugged it down. The beer was delicious, and it made the Glockenspiel even more entertaining than one would have expected!

On to Austria Part II

Click here for info on purchasing photos