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It`s time to take a deep breath in Munich

Friday, October 30th, 2009

The second half of October and the month of November are a time in Munich to take a deep breath.

What to do after the big Beer-festival? The big hype is over now and all of us have to wait one whole year till the next one, hopefully without some crazy Terrorists threatening to blow everything up.

Ok….one whole year minus 2 weeks, but anyway…some time to go. And the Christmas markets haven’t started yet either. But you get the feeling of Christmas already, when strolling through the supermarkets. Mainly next to the cashpoints you can find heaps of biscuits, mountains built of gingerbread, cute little chocolate Santa Clause statues smiling as if Christmas is set to be tomorrow. Great for all the people having little kids….;-)

So what to do in Munich now? For example have a warm and yummy coffee at one of the beautiful little cafes in the centre of Munich and watch the rain beating against the windows, while being happy sitting inside.

Take a walk in the English Garden and enjoy the cold air blowing around your nose, while being wrapped in 5 layers of clothes.

Visit the thousands of museum we’ve got here in Munich and decide if you prefer the Old, the New or the Modern Pinakothek. Once a year in October there is the “Long Nights of the Museums”, (http://www.muenchner.de/museumsnacht/) when all the museums, galleries, even some special cafes and restaurants participating are open till 2 a.m. That’s something you really shouldn’t miss.

Also some city tours, as the ones organised by the “Weißer Stadtvogel”, (http://www.weisser-stadtvogel.de/) which is for example the night watchman tour, are more exciting and realistic, when the weather is not a hundred percent perfect. And a nice medieval dinner tastes even better afterwards.

Or make a beautiful souvenir, by painting pottery by yourself at the “Froh und Bunter” store close to the Viktualienmarkt. (http://www.froh-und-bunter.de/)

As you see, Munich offers a lot. And to have a lie-in or a big, rich, yummy breakfast in the morning, to feel as if you are at home, go to the Hotel Monaco. It lies very central and offers you cosy rooms and a very warm welcome.

Yours Franziska ;-)

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Munich city tour

Friday, September 4th, 2009

Today my wife and I decided to attend one of the informal Munich city tours that originate each morning in front of the New Town Hall beside Mary’s Column.  These begin between 10 and 11 each morning, so after another splendid breakfast bouffet at the Hotel Monaco we walked to Marienplatz and selected the free tour (in English) which was hosted by a young man named Mark.  Mark comes from Essex in England, and though his thick rural British accent took a little getting used to, his enthusiasm for and knowledge of the city and its history were very impressive.  Over the course of about 3 hours he brought us to and into the Frauenkirche, the original Hofbrauhaus, past the new Jewish syngogue (and all that its presence in Munich represented as a triumph over this city’s Nazi past), into Maximilianplatz and over to the Residenzmuseum.  He concluded the tour on the site where Hitler staged his abortive beer hall putsch in November 1923.  Of course, being a young man, his emphasis on Munich’s history and its contemporary economy centered on one word, which he urged us to repeat over and over at the top of our lungs — BEER!  Once his tour had ended (he works only for well-deserved tips), we found ourselves next to the large complex that is the Residenzmuseum.  Being interested in art and history, we purchased tickets for the combination program for €8 each — the treasury (featuring an impressive and often jaw-dropping collection of crowns, jewels, religious artifacts in gold and silver, etc.), and the actual royal residence rooms and furnishings, remarkably restored (in many cases) from damage sustained at the end of World War II, of seven hundred yers of Wittelsbach ruling families.  Many of the jewels are enormous rubies, emeralds and other precious gems.  We wandered through enormous halls with spectacularly painted and sculpted ceilings, lavish and often gaudy rooms for studying, greeting guests, and sleeping, and even a reliquary within a vault. This latter room is filled with the bones (and sometimes other body parts) of variious saints and holy men, generally presented within crystal and silver display frames.  Overall, this is really a must-see museum, though it was surprisingly sparsely attended on this Saturday afternoon.

Robert Apfelzweig
Foster City, California, USA

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Holiday in Munich with the whole family

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

My family and I have been travelling together, starting our trip in Munich.  We have been to the castles and toured the city.  We found the City of Fussen to be esspecially inviting.  After touring the castles we wandered through town, had dinner and found a wonderful place to enjoy desert.  I would like to spend more time in Fussen. We plan on visiting Dacheau today and renting bikes to ride through the city until we get lost and then find our way back.  I also hope to see the carriage collection at the palace.  We have enjoyed the city very much and wish we could stay longer.  We are off to Florence tonight after celebrating my wifes birthday today.  We have loved staying at the Hotel Monaco in Munich,  The staff have been very accomodating, the hotel rooms comfortable and the breakfast spread wonderful.  We thought we were going to have to move hotels, but they were able to accomodate us. We definately would stay again. 

The Nelsons

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Glockenspiel at the Marienplatz

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

Every day at 11 and 12 o’clock (between March and October also at 17 o’clock) the “Glockenspiel” takes place. During this time the Marienplatz is so crowed that you hardly get from one side to the other. The Marienplatz is only just about 10 walking minutes from the Hotel Monaco. The jutty in which you can find the attraction is attached to the tower of the main hall. From there the “Schäffler” are looking down on the crowds and are wondering why there are still so interesting after having danced for already 100 years. But something still fascinates people about this historic attraction.
On the lower part the “Schäffler” are dancing the “Schäfflerdance”, which was developed during the time of the Black Death in the 14th century. On the upper part you can see the reconstruction of the wedding of the duke Wilhelm V with Renata from Lothringen 1568, which took place on the Marienplatz. There they are still celebrating their “happily ever after”. J Actually, those who think it’s playing the same melody the whole year is deadly wrong.  There is a programme. At the moment it’s playing “Jetzt gang i an’s Brünnele” (Now, I’m going to the fountain),  “Wohlauf Kameraden auf’s Pferd, auf’s Pferd” (Let’s go for a ride my friends),  “Schäfflerdance 2nd part” and “The last rose”.
After almost 100 years of attracting people, the 43 bells were completely cleaned and reconstructed in 2007. So you are lucky to be in Munich now, because the ringing is more beautiful than ever. What I found out as well, when I wrote this Blog, was that the Glockenspiel is completely moved with solar energy, which I think is great.
Best wishes.
Yours Franziska from the Hotel Monaco, Munich

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Munich and the Nymphenburger Palace

Wednesday, April 15th, 2009

Today i decided to visit nymphenburg palace, birthplace and home of one of munichs most inreresting and influential characters, king ludwig 11.  the palace can be easily reached by taking tram 17 from the munich train station on arnulfstrasse, not far away from my Hotel Monaco.  after a fifteen minute rede alight at stop nymphenburg and follow signs a short distance to one of the most beautiful palaces in germany arrive as i did, early in the morning when the serious walkers and hikers come out in order to beat the tour busses and crouds.  munich is close to the alps and so the weather can be unperdictable.  the last six days dave been sunny and warm, perfect for a morning  in this baroque palace with hugh outdoor pavilions and an extensive park modeled after versailles.
on third day i followed christines advice advocating a visit to botanical garden near the entrance. price 2.50 euros for this senior.  even in spring the gardens provide relaxation and wonder. a photographers paradise with beautiful shots from all angles.  i would first walk in the park, then visit the botanial garden for a peacefull rest.

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Munich and Alter Peter

Monday, April 13th, 2009

While forcing myself up the 306 stairs leading to the top of the „Old Peter“, I kept asking myself “Why the hell are you doing this?”.
I mean, I’m not unathletic, but 306 stairs…that’s quite a lot.

The “Old peter”, or more formal: the parish church Saint Peter, is the oldest mentioned church in town and and it probably fixed the beginning of Munich. It is really close to the Marienplatz and the Viktualienmarkt and when you are up the top you can even sometimes see the Alps. The Hotel Monaco is just a 10 minutes walk away and the nice staff will love to give you information how to get there.

When you are starting to go up you always have to pay attention if someone is coming down and blocking the lower part, because the corridor is so narrow. It is impossible to squeeze two people through it.  On the way up you pass the bells of the church. They are really worth looking at.
But the best thing is the view. As I said before you can see the Alps from there and they appear so close that you think they are just a 20 minutes drive away. But that happens just during “Föhn”, which is a special type of wind.  The viewing platform is 56 m over the ground the tower has a total height of 91 m.
Every visitor to Munich has to climb up there because you get a really good overview of the city centre so that you won’t need a map again. ;-) It is also nice to relax up there and to take in a huge amount of Bavarian sunlight.

Yours Franziska

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The spring is in Munich

Monday, April 6th, 2009

The Hotel Monaco recommends you to move your body by bike. Munich with its many sights in and around the city is a biker´s paradise. Some 18 routes radiate like spokes on a wheel from the city center in all directions. Route planning maps can be obtained fromt the tourist information office close to our Hotel Monaco.

Daily 4 hour entertaining and social sightseeing bike tours, bike rental by “Mike´s Bike Tours”.

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Free hotel breakfast

Saturday, April 4th, 2009

Had a great couple of days seeing Munich. Drank plenty of beer and eaten lots of pork! Muncheners all seem really friendly, especially when we’ve been attempting to speak some german. ‘Also, mein deutche ist nicht zehr güt’. ‘Would recommend Munich to anyone as it’s beautiful and the people are friendly. Would recommend taking a bus tour if you have very little time as you get to see the sights quickly. Enjoyed the english garden, but thought the beer was over-priced. Went to the Hofbrau Haus which was cool, but touristy, enjoyed the outdoor market and the pschoor brau haus more.Driving down to Füssen tommorow then back to Hotel Monaco for our last night before going home to ‘magical Seaford’ on the english south coast, near Brighton. Gret idea to have a free breakfast for writing a blog too. Hotel Monaco is very nice,  the rooms are nice and bright and clean and the staff are lovely. Jay and Lucy England and Wales

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A visit to the munich Olympic Center

Sunday, March 22nd, 2009

I visited Munich and I am ipressed about this city. I love German food – bread dumplings are my favourite. And beer – something you can’t skip when you are here. Bierhalles are everywhere in the city.
I went to the Olympic Center with my boyfriend. I would recommend it to people who like sport activities. We went for a swim at the Olympic pool, and we were suprised how unexpensive it was. We also went for a run all around the Olympic Village – that is a great way to see the whole place. It wasn´t busy at all, we met couple more people running.
You can go there by subway. We also had good German sausages there. Just around the corner there is BMW museum, that we saw too. Cars were really great, especially the newest ones. But what we liked the most was the architecture – bulidings had an interesting design.Great place for taking pictures. We enjoyed spending our day there. We plan to go back there some time in the summer.

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Munich museums

Monday, March 9th, 2009

Just 2 weeks ago a really good friend from Hamburg came over to visit me here in Munich. It was great to see her again as we haven’t met for a whole year. She’s been in New Zealand a few months longer than me so it was a great reunion.

But as it was February two weeks ago, the weather was at its best. Arctic wind, rain sometimes a few rays of sunlight, but that was not enough to make us go outside for longer than half an hour.

So the question arose, what to do in Munich when the weather is so uninviting.

During summer time there are so many opportunities, like the English garden, the Hofgarten, going on a guided tour, strolling through Schwabing, having a nice chill out at the Isar and so on.

So we decided to do all the “inside stuff” you normally don’t feel like in summer when the weather is hot.

 

At first we checked out the museums.

The one I personally really like, because I’m a huge art fan, is the “Hypo-Kulturstiftung”. You can find it on your way from the Marienplatz to the Odeonsplatz in the Theatinerstr. 8. The exhibitions there vary a lot. Over a month ago there was one covering the whole life and works of Walt Disney, which was just fantastic. At the moment there is one about the Dutch painter Frans Hals who lived in the 17th century. If you want to check out the homepage, that’s the address: http://www.hypo-kunsthalle.de/

Really worth a visit is the “Villa Stuck” in the Prinzregentenstr 60. This museum is a luxurious production of the artist Franz von Stuck. The whole building resembles his taste and his art and it gorgeously unites private living and the studio of an artist. Even if you are not a fan of Art Nouveau you should really go there. The painting I like the most is “the sin”. It shows a white skinned, dark haired woman totally naked with a huge snake around her neck. It is fantastic. ( http://www.villastuck.de/ )

Also an insider’s tip is the “Metropol Theater” in Freimann. It is a very small theatre with probably…I guess 50 seats. They show productions you don’t see on any other stage and the actors are fabulous. They also run productions for children. At the moment they show “The tree lives of Lucie Cabrol” which we definitely enjoyed. The staff there is so nice. The last time I’ve been there the zipper of my boots broke. I asked the lady at the bar if they’ve got some safety pins because it was impossible to get home like that. She neglected the bar for a few minutes to get me some although it was really crowded. That was so kind. You get there with the underground U6 direction Garching-Forschungszentrum Sadly they just have productions in German. ( http://www.metropoltheater.com/v960/home960.html )

When you feel like a break there are plenty of nice cafes, restaurants and bars in Munich. The “Guglhupf” next to the Kaufhof on the way from the Marienplatz to the Stachus is a beautiful place to relax and inhale a bit of Bavarian culture. The waitresses there wear dirndls, our traditional Bavarian dresses and the furnishing is also more traditional. By the way “Guglhupf” is the Southern German expression for ring cake. The “Ratskeller” directly on the Marienplatz is also well known for its good food. It is in the basement of our town hall and when you enter, you find yourself in a really nice cosy place. There are little niches which give you the feeling of privacy where you can relax and have a good glass of wine.

 

My friend had a really good time here in Munich, despite the bad weather. I hope I gave you a few ideas to enjoy Munich the same as you would during summer time.

 

Lots of greetings and have a nice stay.

Yours Franziska

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