A short trip to Munich, Germany

My wife and I decided to do this short trip to Germany for a few reasons: My wife’s brother Matt is studying in nearby Salzburg, Austria and it was his birthday weekend; I had a few vacation days I needed to use; Germany is awesome.

We have been to Europe multiple times before, and it is starting to become apparent to us that the best way to see things is to get a hotel in the middle of the city within walking distance of attractions and transit. We have stayed in hotels that were less expensive but farther outside of the city, and in the end it was very inconvenient to have to take a metro back to the hotel at night, adding a lot of extra time and expense to the trip.

For this trip to Munich, we picked a hotel called “Va Vidi Hotel” that we got for around $90 a night with tax. It was about a 5 minute walk from the Hauptbahnhof or “central station” in Munich. Very convenient.

From the airport we purchased a ticket that would let us get into the city, use any of the trains for 3 days, and get back to the airport again. This cost about 52 euro. It is a good idea because just the tickets to and from the airport are 40 euro, and for the extra 12 euro you can use the trains as much as possible.

We only had a few days because my wife couldn’t take a lot of time off of work, so we tried to do things that we could walk to or were close to the city.

The first night after we got there we went to the Hofbrauhaus, which is a very famous beer hall. The atmosphere here is really unique, very loud and rowdy, lots of yelling and singing, and of course great German food and beer! We also enjoyed walking around in the old town area and seeing some of the large retail areas featured here.

The next day we went to the Dachau concentration camp. This is located in the small town of Dachau, about a 20 minute train ride on the S2 line. Once you get off the train, you can take a bus to the camp, or walk. It is probably a half hour walk one way, but the weather was very pleasant, so we didn’t mind. There is a trail with information about the concentration camp and photos along the way.

You could easily spend 5 hours at Dachau. There is just a lot to see, and a museum with tons of information. We didn’t want to be there all day, so we were only there for maybe 2 hrs. It is a sobering experience, but a must see for any history buff. This is probably the most famous concentration camp, and an extremely important and significant place in the world in the last century.

After we went back to the city, we walked around the Viktualien Markt area for a while. This is a large market with lots of fresh food and restaurants. We ate at a small restaurant in that area for dinner.

The next day we went on a walking tour of the city that was pretty informative and gave us a good idea of the old history of the city, as well as some of the significant moments in the Third Reich that happened here. It took about 3 hrs, but was worth it.

We spent the rest of the day wandering around and visiting small cafes, eating pretzels and drinking some beer, checking out a local St. Patrick’s day festival, and eating dinner at another restaurant.

In conclusion, we had a great time in Munich even though it was only for a few days. This was my second time going to Germany, and I can heartily recommend it as a great destination. The cities are very clean, organized and efficient. The people are friendly and helpful. The food is fantastic and the beer is legendary. Germany is a must visit for anyone interested in a European vacation.