"weekends in München" Munich by brendareed

We recently went to Munich for the second time. The first time was just for a night, more of a stopover, but our second trip was for a weekend and time for some serious exploring. What I remembered about my first visit – Munich is big and Munich is crowded – I thought was simply because we were there in the middle of August and everyone was here on vacation. Well, my second visit was in early April and it was still very crowded and very big! But we made the most of it, saw lots of things, ate some good food, and walked everywhere we could. Obviously, we did not see it all and plan to return to Munich in the future. It is a city that is full of activity and history.

On this trip, our primary focus was art and architecture (if you’ve read many of my tips, you’ll know that is what I am interested in), but we also focused on Hubby’s interests which is breweries and beer (and if you’ve read many of his tips, you’ll definitely know that’s what he likes). We work well together – he willingly follows me into churches and museums and then I willingly follow him into restaurants and breweries for a meal! Everyone stays happy that way!

just one thing Munich is famous for

There is so much to see simply in the city center and, for the most part, near the pedestrian zone in the old part of the city. We did a walking tour of the many churches and buildings, the gates, listened to the wonderful buskers play some incredible music on the sidewalks, watched the Glockenspiel on the New Rathaus (Town Hall), and spent an afternoon at the Alte Pinocotek (one of several art museums in Munich). Because the weather wasn’t that great and it was still very early in the spring, we decided not to go into the gardens and planned to return a little later when the gardens would all be blooming and the sun would hopefully be shining.

Outside the city center, there is still a lot to see. On my previous visit, we visited Dachau, the first concentration camp which is located north of Munich – a very sobering experience. As for the other sites, BMW World, Olympic Park (from the 1972 Olympics), Schloss Nymphenburg, and other places will have to wait for my next visit to Munich.

Munich is an interesting city – full of life and colorful people walking around the town. But it is fun for my style of travel – short weekend trips to see the city little by little without getting overwhelmed by it all. I hope you enjoy virtually touring Munich with me!

• Pros:lots of history, great art museums, good food
• Cons:very crowded city
• In a nutshell:much more than Oktoberfest!