After our amazing trip to Salzburg, we continued our journey back to Munich, Germany. Munich aka München is the capital and city of Bavaria, the second most populous German Federal State and the third largest city in Germany.
Munich
also plays a huge role during WW2. Almost 80% of Munich’s building is
destroyed and everything had to be rebuilt. Munich is also the place where
Adolf Hilter and his supporter gathered. The place where he rises and fall. On
top of spending 2 full days in Munich, we took a day trip to Neuschwanstein
Castle.
Summary
Day1: Victuals Market- Cafe Frischhut- Marienplatz
- Munich Residenz- Treasury of Munich Residence – Lunch at Hofbräuhaus München – Explore Old
Town - Dinner at VI VADI Cucina Italiana
Day 2: Deutsches Museum – English Garden - Mustafa's Gemüse Kebap – NS-Dokumentationszentrum Munchen - Dinner at Augustinian Brew
Day
3: Day Trip to Neuschwanstein
Castle
Day
4: Munich – Paris
Victuals Market
First
order of business in Munich is to visit Victuals Market, a food market in the centre of Munich.
From locally produced to street food, you can find everything you need to prepare
a sumptuous meal. However, I noticed that there are not many locals in this
market. I’m guessing that this is more for the tourist than local. Nonetheless,
it is still a nice place to start your day.
Cafe Frischhut
Instead of
having our breakfast at the market, we visited Cafe
Frischhut for Schmalznudel that is a few streets away. The café is an old
school café and I love the simple yet cosy design. They have newspaper hanged
just like the old school style.
Schmalznudel is a
traditional German Pastry that is made of dough and tops off with sugar. We had
one each and it was not enough. We went back the next day. Coffee is mediocre
but we love the atmosphere and setting of the café.
When we were
there, the owner was seen chatting with their customer. Although I don’t
understand German, I could feel that that they maintain a really good
relationship with their old and loyal customer.
Note: Takeaway
is cheaper than having it in the restaurant.
Address: Prälat-Zistl-Straße 8, 80331 München, Germany
Opening hours: 8am - 6pm, Daily except for Sunday
Opening hours: 8am - 6pm, Daily except for Sunday
Marienplatz
Then, we visited Marienplatz also known as Mary’s
square. It has been Munich’s main city since 1158. This place is used by the
city as offices as well as the city council. We were just in time for the first
bell at 11am where the Rathaus-Glockenspiel chimes and renact the stories from the
16th century.
Tip:
There is a clock show at 11am, at 12 pm every day.
Munich Residenz
The
Residenz is the former royal palace of the Wittelsbach monarch of Bavaria. The
palace is also the largest city palace in Germany. Sadly, the room is not in
its original state because it was destroyed during WW2. Nonetheless, spending
almost 2hours in the Residenz did open our eyes to the royal homes.
There
are three parts of the Residenz and a total of 130 rooms. Each room is beautifully
decorated and is very grand. During the early days, the palace isn’t built with
so many rooms. It was then reconstructed to smaller rooms so that everyone had
their private room.
Treasury of Munich Residence
Next
to the Residenz, was the Treasury of Munich Residence. There were 10 parts of
the room and each room houses the unique and beautiful jewellery from the
Whittelbach’s dynasty. There were royal crowns, crystal, ivory piece and etc.
The collection is indeed very impressive.
Address: Residenzstraße 1, 80333 München, Germany
Opening Hour: 9 am - 6 pm, Daily
10 am - 5 pm, Daily
Combined Tickets - Residence Museum + Treasury 11 euros regular · 9 euros reduced
Individual Tickets - 7 euro regular, 6 euro reduced
More information on the Museum here
Hofbräuhaus München
Feeling
hungry after our visit to the Residenz and Treasury, we head over to
Hofbräuhaus for a late lunch. I was very excited about the pork knuckle since I
tried it in Berlin in 2016. Unfortunately, the pork knuckle was a
disappointment.
The
cut of the meat was terrible and only a small piece of crispy skin was served.
Next was suckling pig. We were served with thick fatty meat and the gravy that
came with it was very salty. Seriously?
No
doubt the service was good but the quality of food is bad. Probably worse than
the ones I had in Singapore. Was it our luck or the standard has always been
like that? Feeling disappointed with the Pork knuckle, we left hoping to find
a better pork knuckle the next day.
Explore Munich Old Town
Afterwards,
we visited Munich Old Town. There were many international brands in the Old
Town. From luxury brand to high street fashion, there is something for
everyone. Even though it was spring, the weather was cold. We had to grab a few
thick jackets for the rest of the trip.
VI VADI Cucina Italiana
Feeling
disappointed with the pork knuckle, we decide to have Italian food for dinner.
The restaurant is located in the hotel and was recommended to us by the
reception. Plus, looking at the high review on google, we decide to give it a
try. To be honest, it’s not the best pizza we had but it was good! Margherita Pizza
going for 7.90 euro and Mushroom Risotto for 13.90 euro. It was worth it.
Found
the online menu here.
Address: Marsstraße 6-10, 80335 München, Germany
Opening Hours: 1130 am - 11pm , Daily except Sunday
Address: Marsstraße 6-10, 80335 München, Germany
Opening Hours: 1130 am - 11pm , Daily except Sunday
Day
2 : Deutsches Museum – English Garden - Mustafa's Gemüse Kebap –
NS-Dokumentationszentrum Munchen - Dinner at Augustinian Brew
Deutsches Museum
After
grabbing the Schmalznudel from Cafe Frischhut, we visited the biggest science museum in Europe - Deutsches
Museum. The museum is home of many artefacts. From ship to the submarine, it is
very impressive. I like the exhibit on mining but there is limited information
in English. Sadly, most of the text is in German and there isn’t any audio
guide for rent. We didn’t spend a long time in the museum because it’s mainly
in German and we are not the science kind of people. Nonetheless, this place is
definitely for the science geek or children!
Address: Museumsinsel 1, 80538 München, Germany
Opening
Hours: 9am – 5pm
Englischer Garten aka English
Garden
Located
near the museum is the English garden. The garden is the largest garden in the
world. From Japanese Tea House to the beer garden, it is huge! You can even find a surf spot and it’s free! We pop by to see if anyone was surfing and was lucky
to see some!
Lunch at Gemüse Kebap
After the long morning, we stop by Gemüse Kebap for
Doners
& Kebap! Many reviews said that they serve the best in
Munich so we had to give it a try. Before we got ours, we were already very
excited because it looks so yummy! After queuing for 20 minutes, it’s finally
our turn. The Doner is HUGE with filling and sauce overflowing. It’s so good!
Delicious but tricky to eat! If you want something less messy, order the Kebap!
It’s equally good and easy to eat! Love it!
Address: 21-24 Stachus, 80335 München,
Germany
Opening Hour: 11pm – 10pm (Monday –
Thursday) , 11am – 2am ( Friday – Sunday)
NS-Dokumentationszentrum
Munchen
Afterwards, we visited NS-Dokumentationszentrum Munchen because
it’s one of the museums that closes late. The three-level museum is very
informative, especially with an audio guide. It focuses a lot on the history and
timeline of the Nazi Regime as well as the key player. There were stories shared by
different individuals, pictures and videos. You need at least 3 hours to
complete the museum.
Address: Max-Mannheimer-Platz 1, 80333 München,
Germany
Opening Hour:10am – 7pm, Daily
Single ticket: 5 Euro (for a
single visit)/ Free entrance till September 2019
Augustiner-Keller
After
the disappointing meal at Hofbräuhaus, we decide to visit Augustinian hoping
for a better meal. The beer garden is huge and very pack when we arrived.
Thankfully we got our seats! Beer was great! We ordered a little of everything to
try and thankfully it was good! The pork knuckle is crispy and the meat was very
flavourful. Suckling pig was not too fatty and the meat was tender. Overall, we had
a great time there!
Address: Arnulfstraße
52, 80335 München, Germany
Opening
hour: 11:30 am – 12mn, Daily
Day 3: Day Trip to Neuschwanstein Castle
On
our third day in Munich, we took a day trip to Neuschwanstein Castle. We were a little hesitant for the
day trip because the journey there is 3 hours per way and we didn’t book our
castle tour ticket in advance. & the only way to tour the inside of the
castle is with their official tour. In the end, we still went ahead because the
castle is a little hard for a peasant like us to resist. After all, this is the
castle that inspires Disney on the castle that Sleeping Beauty lives in.
Fortunately, when we arrive in the
afternoon, there are still tickets for sale! Instead of visiting all 3
attractions, we visited 2 - Neuschwanstein Castle & Museum.
Highly recommend anyone visiting the
castle to visit the museum first! The museum is very informative and you can
understand the background and history of the royal family before visiting. Even
if you are not visiting the museum, do head over to the lake! It’s beautiful
there!
Then, we head over to
Neuschwanstein Castle. Even though the tour is 20 minutes, it was amazing!
Although some part of the castle is still under restoration, we still get to
see the original setting of the rooms in the palace.
In
the late afternoon, we left and catch the bus back to Munich City. When we
arrived, it was close to 9pm. We have Currywurst for dinner and head back to
rest.
Other places to visit in Munich
Dachau Concentration Camp is the first concentration camp that was created during WW2.
A trip to the camp will allow one to learn more about the history and the things
prisoners had to go through. With an interactive exhibition and biographies, I
believe it will be a very informative one.
We were
deciding between the concentration camp memorial site or a day trip to
Neuschwanstein Castle. We ended up visiting the second one. Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site will be on our
list if we were to visit Munich next time!
Nymphenburg Palace
 |
| Image source: Wikimedia |
Nymphenburg
Palace came up to our list when we were researching our trip to Neuschwanstein Castle. Some even
suggesting that the palace is better and more worth it than the trip to
Neuschwanstein Castle (only 20-minute tour)
We were very curious about what this
palace offers so we dig a little and found out that it was used as a summer
residence the heir, Max Emanuel. With a main museum and stable, the palace is
huge. One could probably spend at least half of your day there Unfortunately,
time isn’t on our side and we had to give it a miss.
Olympia Park
 |
| Image source: Wikimedia |
Olympiapark
is the home to summer Olympics in 1972. The park is huge and there is even a
huge observation deck that oversees the panoramic view of the city. Also, facilities
in the Olympia park is open to the public and one can book the hall for personal training
You can find out more information on Munich Olympia Park here
Anyone
who is a huge fan of BMW will not miss this museum while in Munich. This museum
was built in 1973 with the Summer Olympics. The museum showcases the product
and history of BMW vehicles. Plus, there is even a factory tour to show you how
the automobile is built. Definitely, a must go for any car enthusiast.
Address: Am Olympiapark 2, 80809 München, Germany
Opening
Hour: 10am – 6pm, Daily except for Monday
Ticket prices:
Individual: 13.00 EUR / discounted* 10.00 EUR
Group: 190.00 EUR / discounted* 150.00 EUR
Family: 29.00 EUR (for parents with their own children)
Cooperation partner: 11.00 EUR
Individual: 13.00 EUR / discounted* 10.00 EUR
Group: 190.00 EUR / discounted* 150.00 EUR
Family: 29.00 EUR (for parents with their own children)
Cooperation partner: 11.00 EUR
You can find out more information on BMW museum here
Although we didn't spend a lot of time in Munich, H & I didn't regret coming here. We may not have tried the best pork knuckle but we did learn a lot more on history. Plus, there are so many places that we didn't visit. After our visit to Salzburg & Munich, we continued our trip to Paris! It seems like 2 weeks in Europe isn't enough!
Hope this helps! Any question? Feel free to ask at the comment below! Like this post? Feel free to share it with your family and friends!
Saw your link for trip report on TripAdvisor. Thank you for your write up and we will bypass Haufbrau for the Pork Knuckle. One of my reasons to go to Munich was to sample the beer and food.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome! We love the beer at Haufbrau but the Pork Knuckle was a disappointment! Maybe we are out of luck! :( Oh do not forget to try Gemüse Kebap for Doners & Kebap and Schmalznudel at Cafe Frischhut! These 2 are our fav when we visited Munich!
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