"MUNICH" a Munich Travel Page by longsanborn

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Marienplatz & the New Town Hall

A Truly Bavarian City

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I was in Munich again from 15-16 December 2007, this time with my sister (it's her first time there). We took the morning train from Vienna Austria and the journey took around 4 hours. We reached the Munich main train station after 12 noon.

We found the tourist information at the train station to be really good. After talking with someone there, we bought a Partners Day Ticket (Euro 9) whereby the ticket is valid for 24 hours for up to 5 persons. This was great bargain as it saves us both a lot of money. The underground train from the main station to our hotel was easy to use and they were good as well as efficient.

We had an enjoyable - albeit freezing cold - stay in Munich city. We enjoyed it so much we plan to return again, maybe in Summer.

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Postcards of Munich

One of the Popular Tourist Destinations

Munich is the capital of Germany's state of Bavaria and Germany's third largest city as well as one of Europe's most prosperous and expensive. The city is located on the River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is considered to be a popular tourist destination and has been described as Germany's "secret capital". When I was in Munich city the first time in year 2002/2003, I managed to briefly see the Marienplatz, English Garden and the Hofgarten.

At the city centre is the Marienplatz where you can see the the Old and New Town Hall with a Marien Column (column with golden statue of Virgin Mary) in the centre of the square. The Marien tower contains the Rathaus-Glockenspiel, an ornate clock with almost life-sized moving figures that show scenes from a medieval jousting tournament as well as a performance of the famous "Schäfflertanz" (translated "Barrel-makers' dance"). Whenever the clock strikes 11.00 am and 12.00 noon daily, you can see these moving figures come "alive", going in and around the tower. Quite a tourist attraction, apparently.

The English Garden ("Englischer Garten"), close to the city centre, is one of the world's largest urban public parks, and contains a nudist area, jogging tracks and bridle-paths. The city's oldest park is the Hofgarten, near the Residenz, and dating back to the 16th century.

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Best Beer in the world comes from Germany!

The Famous Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest is a two-week festival held each year in Munich during late September and early October. It is one of the most famous events in the city and the world's largest fair, with some six million people attending every year. Other cities across the world also hold fairs, modeled after the Munich event, also called Oktoberfest.

The festival is held on an area named the Theresienwiese (Field of Therese). Beer plays a central role in the fair, with every festival beginning with a keg of beer tapped by the Mayor of Munich.

A special Oktoberfest beer is brewed for the occasion, which is slightly darker and stronger, in both taste and alcohol. It is served in a one-liter-tankard called Mass. The first mass is served to the Bavarian Minister-President. Only local Munich breweries are allowed to serve this beer in a Bierzelt, a beer tent which is large enough for thousands.

Visitors also consume large quantities of food, most of it traditional hearty fare such as sausage, hendl (chicken), käsespätzle (cheese noodles), and sauerkraut, along with such Bavarian delicacies as roast ox tails.

Oktoberfest is a gluttony event of mass beer-drinking and meat-eating. It is heaven for the absolute beer-drinkers.