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The staff at Otels hope you enjoy the following Travel Ideas
from travel writer (and enthusiastic naturalist) Mark Kolakowski
Best wishes on your next trip!
Come Discover
Munich
By Mark
Kolakowski
Copyright © 2005 by the author
Munich is a very orderly, safe and clean city. While reserved
in nature, the locals nonetheless are generally helpful to strangers,
especially those who appear visibly lost or confused. English is
widely spoken and understood. Moreover, signage is very good around
the city, using international symbols that are easy to interpret.
These same comments apply in equal measure to the state of Bavaria as
a whole.
Munich is a popular venue for business conferences in continental
Europe, given its central location and the attractiveness of the city.
The largest proportion of non-German-speaking European visitors
appears to come from Italy, the northern border of which is a
reasonable drive away. Accordingly, apart from English, Italian is the
most frequently found language on multilingual menus and brochures.
Excellent
Public Transit
Munich has an extensive system of buses, trams (i.e., trolleys or
streetcars) and subways (called the “U-Bahn,” for underground rail).
Public transit is clean, safe, fast and efficient. Get a detailed
street map of the city that includes the transit lines and buy your
tickets from one of the vending machines in the U-Bahn or at major
tram stops. Better yet, go for a daily pass, known as a “Tageskarte.”
It’s a great deal, and vastly simplifies matters.
Payment is on an honor system, whereby you must validate your ticket
in a machine on the bus, tram or in the U-Bahn station when starting
your ride. A plainclothes inspector may challenge you for a valid
ticket, and failure to produce one results in a fine of 40 Euros
(nearly $50 as of this writing).
With the Tageskarte, you validate it at the start of your first ride.
A 3-day pass costs 11 Euros, versus 2.10 Euros for most 1-way trips. A
“Partner” pass allows 2 adults and up to 3 children to ride together.
It only costs 18.50 Euros for 3 days. Single day and weekly passes are
also available.
Signage at all transit stops is excellent, with route maps and
timetables. Better yet, all U-Bahn stations, most tram stops and the
major bus stops have electronic information boards that show the next
few departures by route number, destination and departure time. These
boards are updated in real time, and are accurate to the minute.
Most transit lines have very frequent service, about once every 10
minutes between 7 AM and 9 PM, including weekends and holidays.
When entering or exiting U-Bahn trains, you must pull the door handle
in the direction indicated by an arrow. Similar to the Paris Metro,
doors do not open automatically, as they do in U.S. subway systems.
Likewise, on trams you must push a button near the door that
illuminates when the tram is stopped and entry or exit is permitted.
Buses have small red buttons mounted on posts alongside the aisle to
signal the driver to make the next stop. Trams make all stops.
Armed with a good map and guidebook, riding buses and trams are a
great way to see the city.
Train
Travel to Nearby Cities
Munich is a major rail hub, with the Hauptbahnhof (literally,
"main rail yard") in the city center as its principal rail station.
After exploring Munich itself, you can use the city as a very handy
base from which to explore other locales in Bavaria and nearby
sections of Austria.
For example, Salzburg, Austria is only 90 minutes away by
express train, and just 2 hours by local train. Salzburg is a gem of
city in a breathtaking setting at the foot of Alps. It celebrated native son Mozart’s 250th birthday in 2006.
A worthwhile stop roughly halfway between Munich and Salzburg is the
Chiemsee, the largest lake in Bavaria and a major holiday
destination. Chiemsee is also the site of one of King Ludwig II’s
grand palaces, this one being his own version of Versailles.
Another easy daytrip out of Munich by rail is to the stunning medieval
towns of Regensburg (90 minutes away) and Landshut (45
minutes, on the same line).
A great deal for travel within Bavaria is the
Bayern (Bavaria) Ticket. It allows
unlimited rail travel within Bavaria for a single day, good for all
trains departing from 9 AM into the early morning hours of the next
day. As added bonus, holders of this pass are entitled to unlimited
travel on all public transit lines (bus, tram, U-Bahn subway and
suburban rail) serving both Munich and Nurnberg).
When purchased from a vending machine (in Munich, the same vending
machines for local public transit), the cost of a Bayern Ticket is
only 17 Euros for a single rider, or 24 Euros for a partner ticket
that covers 2 adults and up to 3 children. There is a 2 Euro surcharge
if you buy it from a ticket agent in the station.
Bus Tours to Castles in the Countryside
Major tourist destinations to the southwest of Munich are King
Ludwig II’s castles at Neuschwanstein (the model for the
Disneyland castle) and Linderhof, as well as the surrounding
countryside of picturesque mountain towns. Unfortunately, this area is
not well served by rail, leaving you with 2 options: you can either
rent a car, or you can take a bus tour. The local Gray Line franchisee
leaves from near the central rail station in Munich.
Surf's Up
For a dose of the unexpected, go to the northwest corner of
Prinzregent Strasse and Lerchenfeld Strasse. Then march about 50 yards
along Prinzregent Strasse towards the city center. You can get here by
tram line 17 (National Museum stop) or bus 53. In a fast-running
narrow, artificial stream is a bump that creates a wave. This wave, in
turn, is a favorite spot for the surfer set of Munich to don their wet
suits and practice. It’s a most incongruous sight that’s a lot of fun
to watch.
Museums
Munich has a marvelous array of museums to suit every interest and
taste: art, science, local history, etc. Many are free or at nominal
cost on Sundays. [There
are several problems, though, with the local museum culture:
There normally is no warning posted at the admissions desk that
certain permanent exhibits are closed. Hours on public holidays are
often a mystery. Some museums do not adhere to their official holiday
hours. Often the directory of attractions used by local concierges is
not fully accurate (or up-to-date) regarding hours and prices.]
Check Opening Hours Listed in Tour Books
Likewise, we consulted several tour books, all 2005 editions. All
these books, in their discussions of holidays, failed to mention that
attractions and restaurants in Bavaria and nearby Austria may close
for much of November. This was especially problematic in Salzburg,
where I made a long trek to a recommended eatery and a recommended
site, only to learn that both were closed for extended vacations.
In Munich, one beer garden was closed (with no posted notification)
when a guidebook said that it would be open. In Regensburg, another
guidebook touted a restaurant for a unique menu item, but failed to
advise the reader that it is not available at lunch. Once again, the
unfortunate conclusion is that you must take the accuracy of these
guidebooks with a fairly large dose of salt, lest you be seriously
disappointed. Again, call ahead if you absolutely must do something or
see something.
Beer Halls and Beer Gardens
A large part of the local culture in Munich and Bavaria is the
brewing and drinking of beer. Better yet, outdoor beer gardens and
indoor beer halls are convivial places that also offer some of the
best meal bargains. Even in Munich itself, you can get an ample, tasty
meal for well under 10 Euros per person in most of these
establishments, including beer. Even if you dislike beer or shun
alcoholic beverages, these are great places to eat and meet the locals
(seating often is at long, communal tables that fill up in the
evenings). Do not feel out of place if you do not drink; many locals
drop in for just a snack or a dessert, without any alcoholic
accompaniment.
With beer gardens, beer halls and pure restaurants, the typical
establishment in Munich and elsewhere in Bavaria (whether or not it is
actually owned by a brewery) will serve the products of just one
brewery. Accordingly, if you are a beer fan who wants to sample the
wares of different producers, you’ll have to move around.
The numbers are instructive. British “Beer Hunter” Michael Jackson
(unrelated to the pop star) counts about 3,000 breweries worldwide.
Roughly 1,200 are in Germany and, of these, 800 or so (27% of the
world’s total) are in Bavaria. These 800-odd Bavarian breweries
produce about 5,000 distinct beers. The vast majority of these
breweries are very small, serving local markets. Indeed, Germany is
still a land of local beers, without anything like the national brands
and homogenized tastes that characterize the U.S. and Canadian beer
markets.
Among the most enjoyable beer gardens and halls in Munich are:
• The world-famous Hofbräuhaus, founded in 1589, in the city center behind Marienplatz.
• Hirschgarten, in a park of the same name just southeast of
Nymphenburg Castle. A herd of small deer roams a nearby enclosure,
delighting children of all ages. Augustiner and Kaltenburg beers are
served here.
• Taxisgarten, in a park of the name just beyond the eastern
terminus of the long pool radiating from Nymphenburg Castle. It serves
Spaten/Franziskaner beers.
• The Augustiner Keller, just west of the Hauptbahnhof on tram
line 17. It serves Augustiner beers in a combination beer garden and
beer hall. The Wienerschnitzel (breaded veal cutlet) and sausage
platters are excellent.
• The Augustiner Braustuben, just west of the Hauptbahnhof on
tram lines 18 and 19. A rollicking pub with filling meals on the
grounds of the brewery of the same name. (One sour note. I purchased
souvenir beer glasses here, which the manager retrieved in a back room
and presented to me wrapped in newspaper. I should have checked them
before leaving. One of them had an obvious crack, chipping of the gold
rim and an uneven, lopsided shape.)
• The Augustiner Grossgastatten, on Neuhauser Street, a major
shopping area in the pedestrian zone of the city center. Large,
vintage hall with hunting décor and a replica of the famed seashell
fountain in the Residenzmuseum, a former home of Bavarian kings. The
boiled weisswurst (white veal sausages) are to die for. The lentil
soup is marvelous.
• The Chinese Tower beer garden, in (don’t get too confused)
the English Garden, the main city park that is in the northeast sector
of town, just west of the Isar River. It serves Hofbräuhaus beer, and
has an oompah band in traditional costume playing away. Go for the big
pretzels that are just slightly smaller than the tires on a VW.
• The Kaltenburg brewery mentioned above is in the town of the
same name. Its proprietor is a direct descendant of the last king of
Bavaria, Ludwig III. The Bavarian monarchy, itself subservient to the
Kaiser in Berlin since the 1860s, fell after World War I. Kaltenburg
beers are named in honor of the 3 kings named Ludwig and also Prince
Luitpold. Luitpold governed as regent in the late 19th and early 20th
centuries, after his nephew, castle-building King Ludwig II, died
without heirs and Ludwig’s brother Otto was judged mentally
incompetent. Luitpold became enormously popular, and his many ventures
included founding this brewery, which is renowned for its quality.
Tipping
One of the unresolved mysteries from my recent journey is the matter
of tipping in restaurants, bars, beer halls, etc. All the guidebooks
that I read said essentially the same: whereas a service charge is
embedded in the bill, Germans customarily leave a tip of up to 10%.
Dutifully, I did so. However, in each and every establishment, my
sharp eyes could uncover no one else doing so. That is, the Germans
around me invariably left nothing on the table. In one beer hall, a
man sitting next to me at the long table looked quizzically at me as I
got up to leave, and pointed down at the 1 Euro coin that had I left
at my place, with an expression that needed no translation: “What’s
this--did you forget something?” The fellow German sitting next to
him, who was part of a different group, told him something with great
vigor, perhaps that I was a tourist who knew no better.
One possibility occurring to me after my return home is that the
others passed their tips directly to the waiter (waitress) when he
(she) was making change, rather than leaving it on the table, as I
did, following American custom. I cannot be sure.
If there is a service charge in the check, it must be baked into the
menu prices of the individual items, because I never saw a separate
line item for it. To add to the confusion, at another beer hall, the
waitress gave me a spirited reminder as I paid the bill that “service
is not included in Germany.” A mystery wrapped in a riddle wrapped in
an enigma, as Churchill once described Soviet Russia.
Bread & Water
Unlike restaurants in the U.S., German and Austrian eateries do not
dispense free tap water on demand, despite having safe, potable water
virtually everywhere. Instead, if you ask for water, you will get
bottled mineral water, for which you naturally will be charged.
Likewise, if you see bread or pretzels (the large, soft, baked variety
are a beer hall and beer garden staple, called “Brez’n”) on the table,
expect to pay per piece for whatever you consume.
Money Matters
Munich and Bavaria are very much cash-oriented economies. Many
establishments do not accept credit cards, or discourage their use. If
you try to pay for certain outside services at your hotel (e.g.,
tours, rental cars) and have them added to your bill, expect to pay a
commission of 5% for the privilege of charging it. Accordingly, carry
enough cash with you for the day’s needs. The best way to change money
is to make an ATM withdrawal, but be mindful of fees that your home
bank may assess for currency conversion and ATM usage. Nonetheless,
ATMs still should give you a better exchange rate than currency
exchange bureaus or bank teller windows.
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for Munich and other cities in Germany, please
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