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We have just booked a couple of nights in Munich for Oktoberfest...
- Thread starter judy-mass
- Start date
richard-in-cincy
Well-known member
Info on Munich
Walk through the doors of the Hofbräuhaus, look at all the tourists, then go to a real Bavarian beer hall.
Munich Brewery Gasthofs:
In the Altstadt (Old City Center), minutes from the Marienplatz.
Weisses Bräuhaus (just east of the Marienplatz on Im Tal). This is the Schneider brewery's house with a wonderful kitchen serving very old-time Bavarian cuisine. Best wheat beer in Munich, IMO. One of my favorite places to eat in Munich and I usually have 3-4 of my evening meals here while in Munich. Old time Munich seating--Dive in where you find a place and cozy up to a local.
Augustiner Großgaststätte (In the Neuhauser Straße--pedestrian street between Marienplatz and Karlsplatz)
Hackerhaus (Sendlinger Straße)
Zum Franziskaner (on Residenzstraße near the Opera and the Palace)—nice traditional Munich beerhall, although with its location can get a bit touristy at times.
Outside the Altstadt, few tourists, still reachable via the MVV (Munich Transit). These are all well worth the extra time to visit:
Löwenbräukeller
Augustiner-Keller
Waldwirtschaft
Oktoberfest
This is an amazing experience. Munich is all decked out in its finest bunting, flags, and flowers, and the city is packed and buzzing with excitement for several days before it opens (especially on Friday night, the evening before the official opening). It is very difficult to get into the beer tents (not really tents, but that’s what they call them), especially on weekends, each brewery has its own reservation system. Best bet is get there early during the week, and look at the smaller tents. The reservation system is quite involved, and I think it is that way to discourage out of towners from keeping the Bavarians from getting seats. Most of them require minimum of 10 people, and you have to prepay food and drink to guarantee the reservation. You can only buy beer in the tents. This is a good time to visit the beer halls in the Altstadt.
My favorite part of Oktoberfest, however, are the parades. These are the first two days, The Oktoberfest hosts parade is all the Munich breweries historic beer wagons, teams of horses, Bavarian marching bands (which have such a unique sound), marching through Munich to the Oktoberfest Meadow to open the fest. It is really crowded for the opening day on Saturday—however, I did manage to get into one of the small tents on opening day. The Sunday parade is the Volksparade with all of the Bavarian societies parading in their trachten and traditional costumes. A really amazing experience. We have a small pension off the Sankt Jakob Platz that we like to stay at and the Saturday morning opening parade forms around the corner from here. I will never forget waking up to the sounds of all the thousands of jingling bells from all the bands and horse harnesses as they made their way to the assembly area. Absolute Magic. For me it was like waking up as a small child on Christmas morning.
Food Pilgrimages:
Dallmayr—Munich’s gourmet emporium, former purveyor of victuals to the Bavarian Court.
Viktualienmarkt—Munich’s open air market. Just south of Marienplatz.
Also, do try the Enzianschnapps (gentian) and Bärwurz (a plant from the Bavarian Forest). Might be a cultivated taste, but I absolutely love these two and always pack my suitcase for the trip home with bottles from the Kaufhof. Very hard to find Enzian in the US and Bärwurz is not exported so it is a rare treat to have a bottle of it in the US. The Bavarians have a lot of really fun and unusual schnapps. Don't waste your US customs liquor allotment on beer and wine which you can find here, bring back the schnapps that you can't find here.
Another thing you want to try are the Brätzelknödel'n that appear at Oktoberfest time. These meat gravy soppers are made out of the large Oktoberfest Brätzel'n (soft pretzels).
Beer--if you order "Ein Bier" you'll get a liter at most places. If you don't want that much, ask for a half liter.
Sightseeing:
Rathaus—You already know this, gather in the Marienplatz to watch the Glockenspiel (I believe it plays at 11 and 5), but do go into the Rathaus, most just pass it by. Huge biergarten in the center courtyard, but the Ratskeller is definitely a must see, even if you just go wandering through. Beautiful traditional Bavarian ratskeller. The view from the tower is also a wonderful view over the Altstadt. As you pass through the main doors (note the plaques of Munich’s sister cities on the wall where you will find a plaque for Cincinnati), check to see if access to the upper floors is open. It usually is, you can just wander up the staircases and view this beautiful neo-gothic building with all the stone tracery, stained glass windows, etc.
Your guide books will tell you all about the big museums, but one of my favorites is the City of Munich Museum (Münchner Stadtmuseum) just south of Marienplatz in Sankt Jakob Platz. Usually virtually deserted with fun exhibits on the history of Munich and a huge Oktoberfest memorabilia section.
If this is your first visit, definitely go into the palaces, both the downtown Residenz and Schloß Nymphenburg northwest of downtown. Allow extra times for the huge Versailles like grounds. Accessible via MVV streetcar lines.
Kaufhof—The big Munich department store right off the Marienplatz is a fun place to shop. They have departments for Trachten, Bavarian kitchenware, etc. The food halls are also a must visit: basement for the grocery where you can find Bavarian ingredients, wines, beer, schnapps, chocolates, etc. at about the best prices you’ll pay in the center. And up stairs to the roof for the restaurant which is a wintergarden with views over the old city for cheap good eats.
Window shopping in the pedestrian zone: All of the window displays in the downtown shops and stores are decorated to the nth degree for Oktoberfest. Stroll, look, and do go in to the stores that strike your fancy.
Sitting and resting: When you're tired of walking and shopping, don't forget the Munich Konditorei (pastry shops). You can go in and sit, have a wonderful strong coffee and mineral water, a pastry if you like, and they're everywhere. The one across Residenzstrasse from the Opera and Palace is very fine. The Florentines are excellent in Munich.
Dachau—The former German concentration camp is reachable with the MVV. Sobering experience.
Deutsches Museum—This is a huge museum dedicated to the history of German technology. Very interesting, but it’s vastness makes it hard to see everything, so pick your favorites, and it can be really crowded. I usually skip it.
Olympic Village—I’ve been here once and don’t need to go back. I don’t think it’s worth the time it takes to get there with so much else to do in the city center.
If you have any questions about food, etc. let me know and I'd be happy to help.
Walk through the doors of the Hofbräuhaus, look at all the tourists, then go to a real Bavarian beer hall.
Munich Brewery Gasthofs:
In the Altstadt (Old City Center), minutes from the Marienplatz.
Weisses Bräuhaus (just east of the Marienplatz on Im Tal). This is the Schneider brewery's house with a wonderful kitchen serving very old-time Bavarian cuisine. Best wheat beer in Munich, IMO. One of my favorite places to eat in Munich and I usually have 3-4 of my evening meals here while in Munich. Old time Munich seating--Dive in where you find a place and cozy up to a local.
Augustiner Großgaststätte (In the Neuhauser Straße--pedestrian street between Marienplatz and Karlsplatz)
Hackerhaus (Sendlinger Straße)
Zum Franziskaner (on Residenzstraße near the Opera and the Palace)—nice traditional Munich beerhall, although with its location can get a bit touristy at times.
Outside the Altstadt, few tourists, still reachable via the MVV (Munich Transit). These are all well worth the extra time to visit:
Löwenbräukeller
Augustiner-Keller
Waldwirtschaft
Oktoberfest
This is an amazing experience. Munich is all decked out in its finest bunting, flags, and flowers, and the city is packed and buzzing with excitement for several days before it opens (especially on Friday night, the evening before the official opening). It is very difficult to get into the beer tents (not really tents, but that’s what they call them), especially on weekends, each brewery has its own reservation system. Best bet is get there early during the week, and look at the smaller tents. The reservation system is quite involved, and I think it is that way to discourage out of towners from keeping the Bavarians from getting seats. Most of them require minimum of 10 people, and you have to prepay food and drink to guarantee the reservation. You can only buy beer in the tents. This is a good time to visit the beer halls in the Altstadt.
My favorite part of Oktoberfest, however, are the parades. These are the first two days, The Oktoberfest hosts parade is all the Munich breweries historic beer wagons, teams of horses, Bavarian marching bands (which have such a unique sound), marching through Munich to the Oktoberfest Meadow to open the fest. It is really crowded for the opening day on Saturday—however, I did manage to get into one of the small tents on opening day. The Sunday parade is the Volksparade with all of the Bavarian societies parading in their trachten and traditional costumes. A really amazing experience. We have a small pension off the Sankt Jakob Platz that we like to stay at and the Saturday morning opening parade forms around the corner from here. I will never forget waking up to the sounds of all the thousands of jingling bells from all the bands and horse harnesses as they made their way to the assembly area. Absolute Magic. For me it was like waking up as a small child on Christmas morning.
Food Pilgrimages:
Dallmayr—Munich’s gourmet emporium, former purveyor of victuals to the Bavarian Court.
Viktualienmarkt—Munich’s open air market. Just south of Marienplatz.
Also, do try the Enzianschnapps (gentian) and Bärwurz (a plant from the Bavarian Forest). Might be a cultivated taste, but I absolutely love these two and always pack my suitcase for the trip home with bottles from the Kaufhof. Very hard to find Enzian in the US and Bärwurz is not exported so it is a rare treat to have a bottle of it in the US. The Bavarians have a lot of really fun and unusual schnapps. Don't waste your US customs liquor allotment on beer and wine which you can find here, bring back the schnapps that you can't find here.
Another thing you want to try are the Brätzelknödel'n that appear at Oktoberfest time. These meat gravy soppers are made out of the large Oktoberfest Brätzel'n (soft pretzels).
Beer--if you order "Ein Bier" you'll get a liter at most places. If you don't want that much, ask for a half liter.
Sightseeing:
Rathaus—You already know this, gather in the Marienplatz to watch the Glockenspiel (I believe it plays at 11 and 5), but do go into the Rathaus, most just pass it by. Huge biergarten in the center courtyard, but the Ratskeller is definitely a must see, even if you just go wandering through. Beautiful traditional Bavarian ratskeller. The view from the tower is also a wonderful view over the Altstadt. As you pass through the main doors (note the plaques of Munich’s sister cities on the wall where you will find a plaque for Cincinnati), check to see if access to the upper floors is open. It usually is, you can just wander up the staircases and view this beautiful neo-gothic building with all the stone tracery, stained glass windows, etc.
Your guide books will tell you all about the big museums, but one of my favorites is the City of Munich Museum (Münchner Stadtmuseum) just south of Marienplatz in Sankt Jakob Platz. Usually virtually deserted with fun exhibits on the history of Munich and a huge Oktoberfest memorabilia section.
If this is your first visit, definitely go into the palaces, both the downtown Residenz and Schloß Nymphenburg northwest of downtown. Allow extra times for the huge Versailles like grounds. Accessible via MVV streetcar lines.
Kaufhof—The big Munich department store right off the Marienplatz is a fun place to shop. They have departments for Trachten, Bavarian kitchenware, etc. The food halls are also a must visit: basement for the grocery where you can find Bavarian ingredients, wines, beer, schnapps, chocolates, etc. at about the best prices you’ll pay in the center. And up stairs to the roof for the restaurant which is a wintergarden with views over the old city for cheap good eats.
Window shopping in the pedestrian zone: All of the window displays in the downtown shops and stores are decorated to the nth degree for Oktoberfest. Stroll, look, and do go in to the stores that strike your fancy.
Sitting and resting: When you're tired of walking and shopping, don't forget the Munich Konditorei (pastry shops). You can go in and sit, have a wonderful strong coffee and mineral water, a pastry if you like, and they're everywhere. The one across Residenzstrasse from the Opera and Palace is very fine. The Florentines are excellent in Munich.
Dachau—The former German concentration camp is reachable with the MVV. Sobering experience.
Deutsches Museum—This is a huge museum dedicated to the history of German technology. Very interesting, but it’s vastness makes it hard to see everything, so pick your favorites, and it can be really crowded. I usually skip it.
Olympic Village—I’ve been here once and don’t need to go back. I don’t think it’s worth the time it takes to get there with so much else to do in the city center.
If you have any questions about food, etc. let me know and I'd be happy to help.
fabulous! I was last in Munich for the Olympics and sadly don't remember a whole lot of the city
but I do remember shopping the food section of the Kaufhaus----saved me. We were students staying in schools on air mattresses and ate at the Red Cross tents.(my Uncle got me into their sports group from Achim) lots of huge dumplings, but not in a good way! I wish I could take my 17 year old self back and go to more of the museums etc.
but I do remember shopping the food section of the Kaufhaus----saved me. We were students staying in schools on air mattresses and ate at the Red Cross tents.(my Uncle got me into their sports group from Achim) lots of huge dumplings, but not in a good way! I wish I could take my 17 year old self back and go to more of the museums etc.
richard-in-cincy
Well-known member
Marg I remember you mentioning the glass you encountered...
I just wanted to add that of all the trips I've made to Munich, I've never encountered anything like that.
I just wanted to add that of all the trips I've made to Munich, I've never encountered anything like that.
Thank you very much!
I'll print this out, cross reference with a city map and I'm sure I'll have a few (or lots of) questions.
This will be our first trip to Munich. The only other time we've touched toe to German soil was on a Baltic cruise,so it was the other end of the country.
Unfortunately, we will be there toward the end of Oktoberfest, not the beginning.
I'll print this out, cross reference with a city map and I'm sure I'll have a few (or lots of) questions.
This will be our first trip to Munich. The only other time we've touched toe to German soil was on a Baltic cruise,so it was the other end of the country.
Unfortunately, we will be there toward the end of Oktoberfest, not the beginning.