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Crazy surfers in Munich

Monday, July 25th, 2011

The Monopterus in the English Garden

Munich Blog from Cat and Danny from Manchester.

We had a brilliant time watching the surfers of Munich by the southern tip of the park up in the English Garden just south of the ‘Monopteros‘.
We got there on our bikes that we hired from ‘Mikes Bike tours’ for a competitive price of 15 euros each for the day. They gave us a free large map and some bike routes. From the bike shop we took a right, then a left and rode down the ‘Tal’ road, over ‘Ludwigs Bridge’ took a left through the park and crossed back over the river a couple of bridges later at ‘Luitpold Bridge’. We then followed the river all the way up to the ‘Hirshau Beer Garden’ and made our way along bike path via the ‘Munich Hilton’ to the ‘Chinesischer Turm‘ – The Chinese Gardens.

The Chinese Tower with the nice beergarden.

We choose to picnic shortly after this by a bridge in the park where three river ways met, it was a very pretty spot. We then set out to find the surfing area. When we found it down by the ‘Prinzregentenstrasse‘ and we were absolutely fascinated! We sat for a good 40 minutes with a beer amazed by the powerful current of the river and the bravery of the crazy surfers that kept on going back for more and more surf! Incredible to watch! And apparently whether its rain or shine these guys and girls are on it having a great time on the Isar Wave !!!!

Thanks Christine, keep in touch. xxx
–
Catherine Taylor Dawson

www.catherinetaylordawson.moonfruit.com
www.myspace.com/catherinetaylordawson
www.soundcloud.com/cattd.

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A garden in Munich of 78 kilometers!

Friday, June 24th, 2011

Not only we residents of Munich desire once in a while a really relaxing day – I´m sure, even you tourists, often travelling through all Europe sometimes just want to relax and enjoy yourself.

As nice as it is to visit churches and museums and so much more, on some sunny days there is nothing better to do than just hanging around.

In summertime there´s no better place to do so than going to our beautiful English Garden.

The Monopterus in the English Garden

„Garden“ actually is a very confusing name. We are talking of one of the world largest parks! 78 km of trails are expecting you here, much more as you could explore in one day.

It´s beautifully arranged and perfectly located, just in the city center.

The easiest way to get there is by subway number 5, starting from the main station. Get off at the 2nd stop which is „Odeonsplatz“

Otherwise you can even rent a bike for your „garden day“, there are several bike rental places next to our hotel.

Starting from the impressive Odeonsplatz you should walk through the Hofgarten. Signs will lead you into the English Garden. No chance to get lost here

If you really want to realx properly why not renting a horse drawn carriage and feel like a princess some hundred years ago?
Being now in the southern part of the park you´ll find a lot of impromptu entertainment.

Bands singing their latest songs, drummers giving of their best, cricket players playing off.

What else do you need on a sunny day?

Fresh icecream is sold everywhere, families settle down for a picknick, couples enjoy themselves, Lots of beergardens invite you for a snack and drink.

The most famous one is certainly the one at the Chinese Tower. Here hundreds of tourists listen to traditional bavarian music.

The Chinese Tower with the nice beergarden.

All those we only have thanks to Mr Rumford, the primarly minister of war, more than 200 years ago.

He constructed that park for his soldiers in order to instruct them on agricultural knowledge.
But those times luckily are over since a long time.

So we continue our walk to the little lake, where you can rent boats or feed the ducks.

Behind that lake, in the northern part of the park you will meet much less people. Here you can really lay down and relax.

Little kiosks sell drinks and snacks and you will meet a lot of funny Munich

Little kiosks in the Garden for a short break.

people here – there´s more variety than you might expect.
On your way back you should definitely stop at the japanes teahouse. This japanese garden has been built by occasion of the olympic games in 1972.

Once in a while traditional japanese teaceremonies are celebrated here.

Our friendly staff will be happy to tell you when exactly!

So enjoy your day. Yours Sandra

Hotel Monaco.

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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

Tags:city tour, munich
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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

Tags:hotel, munich, sightseeing
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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

Tags:Glockenspiel, Marienplatz, München, 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.

Tags:Nymphenburger Palace
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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

Tags:Alter Peter, hotel, München
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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”.

Tags:bike tour, hotel, munich, spring
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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

Tags:beer, Hotel Monaco, sightseeing
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