In most cases, if people are playing tourist for a three straight weekends, they’d probably take a break on the fourth weekend. I’m not most people though, because the next city I went to was Munich, Germany (or München, Deutschland). This trip was the longest trip I have taken so far, and also the roughest. The train we booked was at 6:09am, and I wanted to leave my dorm room by 5:15, but I ended up waking up at 5:15 instead and had to rush last-minute packing, which meant forgetting some things (my pants belt). Despite the setbacks and the seven hour train/bus ride, Munich was a really fun city and is probably the city I’ve enjoyed the most.
Our cutesy Airbnb
In previous blogs, I tend to never bring up the Airbnb’s my partner Kae and I stay in, and that’s mainly because they’re fairly basic. This time around though, I really wanna talk about the Airbnb, because it is probably the cutest one I’ll ever stay in.
The Airbnb we stayed in was about a 30 minute public transportation ride to the main city and was hosted in a retired couple’s home, specifically the bedroom of their daughter. In all honesty, I was kind of worried that I wouldn’t like staying there as much because I’d be sharing the house with this couple and a few other tenants they rent rooms out to, but the experience was amazing. The house was set up really nicely and with beautiful, eye-catching decor from the kitchen to the common area and all the way to our bedroom. Truthfully, if I ever go back to Munich, I will try to stay in that home again, because it was amazing, and the hospitality was brilliant.
Sightseeing in Munich
As per usual, sightseeing is a requirement for Kae and I. Since we usually travel in the daytime and arrive to our location in the middle of the day, our first night is dedicated entirely to sightseeing, and continued sightseeing as we walked around the city the next day. Here are some fun places and monuments that we ended up seeing!
Marienplatz, the city center
Marienplatz is the Munich city center, and out of all the cities I’ve been to so far, I think this city center is my favorite. The location is bustling and had some amazing views and beautiful vibes. The main things to note are the buildings on the square itself, including the Marienplatz building itself, which trumped everything else on the square, St Peters church, and the good food, but we’ll get to that later.
Nymphenburg Palace
The Nymphenburg Palace was something I wanted to see as I wanted to compare it to the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, and it did not disappoint. Around the palace were little ponds, gardens, and other mini palaces as I call them, though I’m not exactly sure what they are. It felt very different to the rest of the city in my opinion, as this felt like a more calm place to be compared to the bustling city just a few blocks away. We were able to enter the palace, or one section at least, and view the rooms within, and I was taken aback by what I was seeing.
Museums in Munich
Museums are fun! That’s why we always go to them in every city we visit. Here are the ones we visited and what we saw in each!
Jewish Museum Munich
The first museum we visited was the Jewish Museum. Typically, it has three floors, but only one was open unfortunately, but I can’t really complain considering it was two euros to visit. The museum showed some very deep history about Judaism not only in Germany but globally, and it was a very interesting exhibit to look into.
Haus der Kunst
The Haus der Kunst was the next museum, and the better museum, that we visited (sorry Jewish Museum). This museum had very interesting art galleries from different artists. We had seen three exhibits: the first was called Voices and had very eccentric pieces to very normal pieces of art, which was kind of uncomfortable (in a good way, weirdly enough); the second was called KI$$ (Kiss Kiss Kill Kill) and was just as eccentric as it played with the concepts of natural and artificial intelligence, as well as showed negative environmental impacts in a unique way; and the third is one that I won’t get into due to the nature of the exhibit, but it was really interesting to see from a different perspective how things are viewed.
Munchin’ in München (Food in Munich)
I typically don’t bring up the food that we eat on these trips, and that’s mainly because Kae and I somehow gravitate towards McDonalds because it’s one of the more cheaper options, but this time around, we went out and tried some local spots around Munich, so I want to talk about what all we munched while in München (clever right?)
Ruff’s Burger
When in Germany, you have to eat a burger right? Well the burger we decided on eating was at a place called Ruff’s Burger. The burger and fries we had were pretty solid and didn’t disappoint, besides the bun that was massive and overpowered some of my bites. Besides that, I enjoyed my burger and housed it down after a long day of not eating anything because I forgot to (oops). I’d give Ruff’s an 8/10 and would definitely go again!
Korean Food
Kae and I haven’t really had Korean food, so when we saw there was a Korean restaurant near Marienplatz, we decided to make a visit. While I personally thought the food was good and would definitely get it again if I had the opportunity to, Kae wasn’t the biggest fan, which disappointed her because she thought it looked better than what it actually was, but that’s okay. We ended up eating McDonalds afterwards (we’re American, can’t you tell).
Where to next?
After Munich, we’re planning a fun little excursion to Budapest (stay tuned for that), and we’re still thinking of heading to places like Athens, Greece sometime and maybe one other place for my birthday (May 4th, please send birthday wishes).
I’ve also been to Prague, Vienna, and Bratislava, so check out those blogs if you haven’t already. See you soon!
