HANNAH SHARES

Let’s go to Munich! Michael’s parents visited us in the beginning of November and we planned a trip to Munich over Veterans’ Day weekend. We took a train on Thursday morning from Vicenza (we can walk to the train station from our apartment – super convenient).

The train ride was beautiful! The route goes straight North through the mountains. We passed through Innsbruck, Austria and got a quick glimpse of all the colorful buildings. We arrived in Munich around 2:30pm and our hotel was just a few steps outside of the Central Station. After settling in, we walked down to the Marienplatz, the city center. The city was getting set up for the annual Christkindlmarkt, which was set to start the following weekend, but ended up being cancelled. We ate dinner at a traditional Bavarian restaurant, Bratwurstherzl. We shared grilled sausages, potato salad and pretzels. It was delicious, especially after a day of travel. The restaurant is located near Victuals Market, a large outdoor food market definitely worth exploring. We grabbed a glühwein, a traditional hot mulled wine, on the way back to the hotel to warm up on our walk.

On Friday we explored more of the city center with no real plan. Our walk to the city center took us through the Stachus Passagen, an underground shopping, dining and transportation center. The entire transportation system in Munich is one of the best I’ve ever seen. It’s very clean and reliable. We had lunch at the world-famous Hofbräuhaus and visited St. Peter’s Church, the oldest recorded Catholic Church in Munich, which dates back to the 12th century. The Church was destroyed by a fire in the 14th century and heavily damaged in WWII, but has been fully restored over the years. Saturday morning we took a train to the BMW Museum. It rained most of the day, so it was perfect to have something to do indoors. We learned about the history of the Company and saw hundreds of vehicle models, engines, turbines, motorcycles, and even aircraft over the past 100 years.

We attended mass Sunday evening at St. Michael’s Church. The interior of the Church is stunning, and the exterior dons a massive bronze statue of the Archangel Michael. After mass Michael and I went to dinner and Grandma and Grandpa stayed back at the hotel with Lucy. We went to another famous beer hall, Augustiner Stammhaus. It was packed but we were able to get a table right away. Like a traditional beer hall, we shared a table with two other girls. We had a great meal and enjoyed people watching. There was a table near us of about 10 older gentlemen. They were clearly regulars and looked like they had been coming for years to enjoy each others’ company. Their steins were refilled too many times to count while we ate. They were having a great time!

We headed back to Vicenza on Sunday morning, taking in the views again. It had snowed in the mountains over the weekend, making it even more beautiful. Lucy did great on the train rides. We travel with the Doona stroller (which is a 2-in-1 stroller/car seat combo) and it makes it very easy to tote her around! She took her naps in the stroller between the seats and enjoyed looking out the window along the way.

MUNICH GUIDE

DINING

Bratwurstherzl, Hofbräuhaus, and Augustiner Stammhaus are all great options for traditional German food. Bratwurstherzl is a good option for a more local feel. Hofbräuhaus and Augustiner Stammhaus are definitely more popular, touristy spots, but still a lot of fun to visit. Make sure to try schnitzel, spätzle, a Bavarian pretzel and a dunkel beer.

THINGS TO DO

Marienplatz, Glockenspiel
Victuals Market
Stachus Passagen
St. Peter’s Church, St. Michael’s Church, Frauenkirche, Asamkirche (we didn’t make it here, but looks incredible)
BMW Museum in Olympiapark (neat to see the old park constructed for the 1972 Summer Olympics)
Munich Residenz
Feldherrnhalle

HOTEL

Aloft Munich – convenient location for access to the train and walking distance to the city center, also has a good breakfast