Pre-Tour
We decided to add Munich, Germany as well as one night in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany to our trip.
We arrived Saturday June 17, 2023, 5 days prior to the start of the RS tour. This gave us the chance to battle jet leg and also include more city life prior to progressively heading into the alps. Below you will find all the things we saw in Munich during this couple of days, both agreeing that we would love to come back to this city and keep exploring!
We arrived Saturday June 17, 2023, 5 days prior to the start of the RS tour. This gave us the chance to battle jet leg and also include more city life prior to progressively heading into the alps. Below you will find all the things we saw in Munich during this couple of days, both agreeing that we would love to come back to this city and keep exploring!
We departed MSP to our layover in KEF to final destination MUC
MINNEAPOLIS/ST.PAULPatiently waiting for our flight for a long-awaited alpine adventure!
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KEFLAVIK ICELANDOn this day, June 17, Iceland celebrates its national day to commemorate the establishment of the republic of Iceland in 1944.
IcelandAir gave us a piece of cake to celebrate! |
MUNICH, GERMANYFirst sights of Germany -
"Guten Tag, Deutschland!" |
Our Hotel
Ashli found this newly renovated hotel while searching online and was lured in by its quaint cozy vibe. Marias Platzl is located in the heart of the old Munich district of Au-Haidhausen near the Deutsches Museum and the Isar River. We were the only Americans staying here! It was in a very quiet area, yet walking into the old city was very accessible.
Not quite yet bedtime, we dropped our luggage and headed out to explore Munich. The best advice for fighting jetlag is to get out into nature and into the sunshine and stay awake until local bedtime.
Happy Birthday Munich! - "Herzlichen Glückwunsch, München!
On the weekend of our arrival (June 17 and 18, 2023) the city of Munich turned 865! Parts of Munich's old town had flower displays, music, vendors, and what, else, plenty of beer! We actually came back here the next evening too, to be a part of the celebrations and live in the moment.
Inside the courtyard of the New Town Hall -"Rathaus"
Completed in 1905, there is quite a bit of detail to look at here, from the State Courtyard to the library inside. We explored only the inside of the courtyard and admired all the details including the dragon climbing up the wall.
Views around Cathedral Church of Our Lady - "Frauenkirche"
Since 2004, no buildings constructed in Munich can be taller than the 2 towers of Frauenkirche; north tower is about 323 feet high and the south tower is 322 feet high, making it a very much a recognizable sight in the Munich Skyline. It is a late Gothic church dating from the 15th century.
Hofbräuhaus
A must-do at least once in your life in Munich is visit the Hofbräuhaus! This place was founded in September of 1589, by Bavarian Duke Wilhelm the 5th and was originally established to supply the Bavarian court with beer. Of course the beer is great, but the food was as well!
Troy ate the "Vier stueck schweinswuerstl mit Senf and Sauerkraut"; pork sausages with mustard and sauerkraut, while Ashli had a seasonal special, the "Buntes Spargel-Kartoffelgroestl mit Sauce Hollandaise", colorful asparagus, potato hash with hollandaise sauce. And of course, each a liter of local Hofbräuhaus beer! "Prost!"
Troy ate the "Vier stueck schweinswuerstl mit Senf and Sauerkraut"; pork sausages with mustard and sauerkraut, while Ashli had a seasonal special, the "Buntes Spargel-Kartoffelgroestl mit Sauce Hollandaise", colorful asparagus, potato hash with hollandaise sauce. And of course, each a liter of local Hofbräuhaus beer! "Prost!"
A "Then & Now" Moment
That's Ashli (left) in 2002 with her wonderful friend Gwen at the Hofbräuhaus and Ashli now in 2023 in almost the same spot. Time sure does fly!
Dachau Concentration Camp Visit
In order to understand ourselves, we must learn about our history. Since we had just a few days in Munich, we maximized what we could see by setting up two tours through Radius Tours for a guide to help us learn about Munich and its WWII history in the late 1930s to mid-1940s. This was the first tour we did with them: Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site Tour. The entrance to Dachau is free, however, a guide is not. We found a guide helpful in further understanding the atrocities that occurred here. The tour leaves from Munich city center, taking the train and also a bus to Dachau as a group, circling back to Munich.
Visiting a concentration camp is difficult, but imperative to never forget, and as the memorial below indicates, "To honor the dead and warn the living".
Visiting a concentration camp is difficult, but imperative to never forget, and as the memorial below indicates, "To honor the dead and warn the living".
Third Reich Tour in Munich
Another tour we did within Munich with Radius Tours was the Third Reich Tour around Munich. Our guide took us around and explained notable places in Munich during the time when the Third Reich was rising and eventually ruling in Munich. We had walked past some of the places prior but did not know what history had occurred there. I find this often when touring around Europe or anywhere for that matter, that you may be walking by major historical moments without knowing. Another tip would be to download the Rick Steves Audio Europe app on your phone, plug in an ear bud and have Rick give you a personal guide; something we will do next time we visit Munich!
More Views Around Munich
German Hunting and Fishing Museum -"Deutsches Jagd Und Fischerei Museum"
Troy is an avid hunter at home in Minnesota so Ashli surprised him with a visit to the German Hunting and Fishing Museum located just steps away from the Frauenkirche. On display here is the history of hunting & fishing culture in Germany, showcasing taxidermy, weapons & prints; below is the skeleton of a Megaceros, a European Giant Deer that went extinct about 10,000 years ago; the largest deer species the earth oh inhabited though typical mammal of the Ice Age. An added bonus, the building is beautiful, as it was a former Augustinian Church.