December vacation in Munich

[rdawson808]

The missus and I are taking my mother to Munich in December for a little vacation. We'll be there about 12 days. Any recommendations? Some things we are already planning to do

Museums, etc.
Dachau
Nuremberg overnight to visit the Christmas market
Day trip to Salzburg
Neueschwanstein
BMW factory tour (where the hell is this, anyway?)
And maybe a side trip for the day to visit a friend near Frankfurt. But probably not.

Any reommendations for a rental apt? We'd prefer that and are looking at some places (primarily through HomeAway) but the choices seem limited.

thanks,
b

 

[P-K-L]

Originally Posted by rdawson808

The missus and I are taking my mother to Munich in December for a little vacation. We'll be there about 12 days. Any recommendations? Some things we are already planning to do

Museums, etc.
Dachau
Nuremberg overnight to visit the Christmas market
Day trip to Salzburg
Neueschwanstein
BMW factory tour (where the hell is this, anyway?)And maybe a side trip for the day to visit a friend near Frankfurt. But probably not.

Any reommendations for a rental apt? We'd prefer that and are looking at some places (primarily through HomeAway) but the choices seem limited.

thanks,
b

Petuelring 130 - and the BMW Welt is right next to it.

Make sure to eat weisswurst and drink some proper beer. If you want a fancy restaurant experience look into Tantris.

In case you decide to stay in a hotel, I recommend you not to go into the Renaissance. H'otello and Anna Hotel are quite nice in case you do not want to spend too much. As well, taking a rental car and going to the Starnberger See might be interesting for you.

When going to Neuschwanstein, also have a look at Hohenschwangau Castle which is right next to it

 

[P-K-L]

Also, in case you want prostitutes, do not go to the Leierkasten - it is mostly rip-off...

 

[globetrotter]

1. do the christmas markets, even though you will do the nurnburb ones. you can't get enough. by the way, I am not sure that you have to go overnight to Nurenberg. that said, see the city and the Nazi rally site
2. the clasical art museums in Munish are world class
3. have a beer at the hofbruehouse. preferebly when they have live music playing
4. go to the train station and eat sausages and street food. in my opinion, there is a place in the munic central station that has the best sausages in the world.
5. walk around town as much as you can, there are some great shops. there are places that have loden fabric coats and hats that are great
6. viktual market - the open air food market, is great
7. going to frankfurt is not a major trip, its 2.5-3 hours by train, very easy. I would travel by train as much as possible, the trains are fun. plan on having one meal on the train, in the first class. coming from the states its a cool experience. gulash soup and shnitzel are good options
8. stuttgart is right in the middle, and they have one of the best modern art museums in the world, in my opinion.
9. driving through bavaria is pretty cool - you could also rent a car for one day to go to frankfurt and stop in stuttgart, and possibly go to hiedleburg, which is also very very cool

have fun

if you have any specific quesitons, feel free to PM

 

[legorogel]

pascha is the place to go for prostitutes, but be carful there is a club called pacha aswell, most people from munich dont know the difference in pronouncation, so they get it mixed up occasionaly.

 

[Siggy]

I doubt looking for prostitutes is high on the list when on a trip with wife and mom...

Sounds like your list is pretty good for the tourist things. You don't need to go overnight for the Nurnberg Christmas market. You can go there and back by train easy on the same day. For Salzburg I would stay overnight though. All of the museums in Munich are great. The shopping is pretty good too. Definately stop by Ed Maier, the oldest shoe shop in Germany (founded in 1596 or something). They also have some nice accessories and traditional Bavarian clothes upstairs. Lodenfrey is one of the best stores in Munich, pretty much across the street from the Bayerischer Hof hotel. Lodenfrey has excellent traditional Bavarian clothes for men and women, as well as modern stuff such as Zegna, Brioni, and Caruso (though unfortunately they are phasing that last brand out).

Hofbrauhaus is often filled with tourists, so if you want a Munich beerhall experience and want to avoid the tourist crowds, try Augustinerbrau or the Hacker Pschorr beerhall (both are not too far from Marienplatz in the center of town).

 

[Quatsch]

I would say go for a drink at the Hofbrauhaus - its a good experience to have. Its *the* place.

But yeah, Augustiner & Hacker Pschorr have fewer people and better beer. My favorite is Schneider Weissbierhaus or "Weisses Brauhaus" on Tal (means "valley" but here its a street name) across from Paulaner im Tal. Best German Wheat beer (of several varieties) I've ever had and the food is very good. I give Hacker Pschorr second place for beer. Augustiner might get second place (to HBhaus) for Atmosphäre.


Also, I'm not sure getting to Frankfurt (or Hessen period) and back in one day is logistically feasible unless there is a really good ICE route.

 

[StephenHero]

Sounds fun. Take photos.

 

[Douglas]

Pack warm clothes. You won't believe how cold it is.

 

[rdawson808]

Thanks for the replies guys. Except for the ones about the prostitutes. Really?

We're staying in Nuremberg overnight because my wife particularly wants to go to the market at night. So we'll head up in the late afternoon, check in, see the market, spend the night, take the next day to do a few other things (try to track down my wife's great-grand father's old shop), and then head back to Munich. Hence the overnight trip.


Any advice on a vacation rental apartment? The supply seems really limited. HomeAway has only maybe a half dozen with two bedrooms. And those places are the same ones listed elsewhere.

b

 

[LucasCLarson]

I've never been, but it sounds like it's going to be an awesome trip. I do know, however, that traveling by train is the most fun, convenient, and is pretty inexpensive. So, I would definitely suggest that as your main mode of transportation.

You might as well try and check out the Porsche museum in Stuttgart.

 

[Siggy]

No clue about vacation rental apartments. As for traveling by train, it is recommended but it is not cheap. Most people that travel by train in Germany have a yearly rail card that gives them 25 or 50 percent off normal price. Without the rail card it is expensive, but there are usually deals for traveling by rail to other countries that are even cheaper than with the rail card. For instance, there is a special price for trips to Austria, so if you book at least 3 days in advance you should be able to get a cheaper ticket for your trip to Salzburg. The ICE trains are the fastest and the most comfortable.

 

[globetrotter]

Originally Posted by rdawson808

Thanks for the replies guys. Except for the ones about the prostitutes. Really?

We're staying in Nuremberg overnight because my wife particularly wants to go to the market at night. So we'll head up in the late afternoon, check in, see the market, spend the night, take the next day to do a few other things (try to track down my wife's great-grand father's old shop), and then head back to Munich. Hence the overnight trip.


Any advice on a vacation rental apartment? The supply seems really limited. HomeAway has only maybe a half dozen with two bedrooms. And those places are the same ones listed elsewhere.

b

see the stadium in nurenberg, too. have fun

 

[aKula]

Originally Posted by Siggy

No clue about vacation rental apartments. As for traveling by train, it is recommended but it is not cheap. Most people that travel by train in Germany have a yearly rail card that gives them 25 or 50 percent off normal price. Without the rail card it is expensive, but there are usually deals for traveling by rail to other countries that are even cheaper than with the rail card. For instance, there is a special price for trips to Austria, so if you book at least 3 days in advance you should be able to get a cheaper ticket for your trip to Salzburg. The ICE trains are the fastest and the most comfortable.
It's cheaper if you buy a eurail pass if you live outside europe.

 

[AgentQ]

I'd highly recommend a trip to the Deutsches Museum. I found it to be a unique experience.

Also, a stroll through the Englischer Garten is amazing in December. I found the combination of brisk weather and austere landscape to be quite inspiring, and I regret not going more often when I was living in Schwabing (which is a great neighborhood and perhaps worth checking out as well; it is 10-15 minutes away from LMU by foot).