3 Days in Munich | Cëe the World

Happy weekend folks! This post is way overdue, but given that I have some spare time now, I'll share a little bit more of my recent trip to Europe. This will be part 1 of 4, as I went to 4 different cities (Munich, Amsterdam, Paris and London). 

What sparked this trip was a conversation with a friend about visiting Amsterdam, and if you were already going to Europe, destinations like Paris and London are a must. So with a rough idea of where we wanted to visit, we started to research on air ticket prices - all while I was still in US back in March for a 2 week trip. This year is definitely the year for impromptu trips, and I'm not complaining. As soon as I touched down back in Singapore we picked random dates in September and booked our tickets.

FLIGHT INFORMATION

Singapore Airlines had a promotion then, so we got our multi city tickets at S$1,100 but our flight to Munich was operated by Lufthansa. After a comfortable 12-hour flight, we landed in Munich International Airport at around 5.30am. Initially I was worried that we would have a hard time getting to our accommodation at such early timing on a weekend, but it all worked out just fine.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

The transport system in Munich was such a breeze, it didn't take long for us to grasp how it runs. I've been to cities where their trains and buses are so hard to understand. Anyway, we got a Group Day Ticket, which allowed us to travel in a group of up to 5 adults for an unlimited amount of trips (buses and trains included), though there were only 4 of us on this trip, it was still worth it. I don't remember the exact cost of the ticket, but what I was able to find online says that it costs €24.30.

What I really love about their transports are the punctuality. If the train says that it'll arrive at 8:28am, it WILL DEFINITELY arrive at 8:28am on the dot. Not to say that the trains in Singapore aren't punctual, but I don't know, the punctuality made me very happy!

ACCOMMODATION FOR 2 NIGHTS 

The accommodation for our stay in Munich was at Gambino Hotel Cincinnati, right off the Fasangarten train station. Literally, right beside the train station. There's also a supermarket right beside the hotel. You can see how close the tracks were in the lobby photo by the right, above the steps. With the convenient location and comfortable-ish* room, I honestly do recommend it! My room was on the 3rd floor, facing the train station, but I couldn't hear the trains passing by and could sleep with no noise disruption.

From Fasangarten (our station) to a few city centre stations (Marienplatz/Karlsplatz/Hauptbahnhof) only took around 15-20 minutes on the S3 bahn. 

*The shower area didn't have any door, but thankfully it was at a blind spot so you couldn't really look into it if you were in the main space of the room. But it might be awkward, especially if you were travelling with your family or friends.

DAY 1

As we arrived in the morning, we were worried that we might not be allowed an early check-in, but the staff were really nice about it and got us checked into our rooms very quickly. After freshening up, we headed out for breakfast.

BREAKFAST

Trachtenvogl – Reichenbachstraße 47, 80469 München

From the breakfast spot, it was a short walk to Viktualienmarkt, a bustling food market where they sold various food, produces and flowers.

We continued walking down to Marienplatz, where a couple of churches like St. Peter's Church were, as well as the Rathaus-Glockenspiel. If you're around the area, at 11am, the clock's bells and rotating statues will make an appearance. Be sure to be right in front of the square when it happens!

In the afternoon we spent some time at Munich Residenz, formerly the royal palace, now a museum open to public. Tickets price range from €3.50 – €13.

For dinner, we headed to the beer garden right under the Chinese Tower (what a name) within Englischer Garten, that was a mouthful! The garden while beautiful, is HUGE, so be prepared for the walk. When we finally arrived at the beer garden, there were tons of people (and bees), I suppose it was because of the perfect weather we had. Got to try the pork knuckle, sauerkraut and the largest pretzel of my life.

DAY 2

We booked a trip via Klook to visit Dachau Memorial site, where the concentration camp used to be. We gathered for the bus near the main train station, Hauptbahnhof, and the journey there took less than 40 minutes. Visiting the camp was an eye opening experience of what happened in a not so distant history, where the prisoners were held etc. Our guide was very knowledgeable, and provided us with a lot of unbiased information. Oh, how much everything has changed 60 years after. Our last stop before returning to the city was to visit the former SS shooting range, which wasn't too far from the camp site.

DAY 3

For our last day in Munich, we headed out to visit Linderhof palace and Neuschwanstein castle (both for King Ludwig II), and the city of Oberammergau. This was another day tour that we booked via Klook. By the time we were done with our tour, we headed back to Munich, grabbed dinner and freshened up at the hotel before heading to Hauptbahnof station for our train to Amsterdam.

The views from Neuschwanstein castle was absolutely stunning! If you're planning to head to the castle, definitely wear hiking appropriate shoes. From the base, it's a 30-40 minutes hike uphill to the castle. There's also the option of horse carriages, but we rather walk than put the horses through that.

Within both the Linderhof palace and Neuschwanstein castle, there were guided tours and photography isn't allowed. The tour of Linderhof lasted around 15-20 minutes, while the latter took around an hour - it's a big space!

Plan your trip to the castle ahead of your ticket timing, so you can roam around the compound. To get a full view of the castle, follow the path leading to the back of the castle, and hike upwards (again) till you see a bridge (or signs leading you to the bridge). 2 things to note: if you have a fear of heights, don't go. second, the bridge is very crowded, because everyone wants the same view.

If you're a thrill-seeker/daredevil, go to the other end of the bridge and follow the 'beaten path', it should take you somewhere with a better view. We just didn't dare to do so, because there were no ropes or railing and it would be a pretty steep fall. So, do at your own risk!

Alright, that marks the end of my 3 days in Munich. A city with beautiful architecture, so SO SO much history, and good food. Personally, I think September's the perfect time as the Sun still sets late and the temperature is still within a good 18 - 26 degrees.

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In the next post:

For the second leg of our trip, we headed to Amsterdam via an overnight train. We were supposed to transfer trains at Frankfurt but our connecting train broke down, so we were told to alight at Cologne and take the next train out. It was a blessing in disguise, I suppose, as we got to see a little bit of Cologne. Remember when I mentioned impromptu trips? I'm going to count this as one.

Stay gold, xx