I highly, highly recommend putting Munich on your to-see list. It wasn’t on mine, but two of our besties live in Munich so we thought “what the hey.” Now I’m a big fan. Here’s why:
• Everyone is uber friendly (and speaks English far more fluently than me — darn these multi-lingual Europeans!)
• It’s the cleanest city I’ve ever been in
• The public transportation is dreamy! It goes everywhere, isn’t massively expensive and is also uber clean
• The bakeries. The. Bakeries. So delicious. I think I much prefer them to any french bakeries I tried in Paris last year. My new favorite? The pretzel croissant: a bit of the heft and salt of a pretzel mixed with the lighter fluff (but not too much butter) of a croissant
• Roughly a million art museums
• If you are a beer fan, it’s just as cheap as drinking bottled water
• Beautiful architecture that looks strangely much more Italian (baroque) than stereotypical Bavarian — and all these buildings are awash in subtle pastels: minty green, blushing pink, buttercup yellow.
Let us know if you have been, lovely readers! And what do you like (or dislike) about Munich. How does it compare to Berlin? I’ve always fancied a trip there too.
——
Dear Cath,
Seriously, your kind of city: clean, orderly, amazing public transport, beautiful and noooo cockroaches! What more could you ask for? We should brush up on our German — not because we would need it there, but to feel better about ourselves whenever you run into a German who speaks English, French and Mandarin fluently (fist shake).
If I could, I would air mail you a pretzel croissant in an instant! So many reasons why we really need a teleportation device. Argh.
Miss you oooooodles!
Glad you loved Munich! It is insane gorgeous, right? I’m a fellow Agnes Scott grad (2011) living in Berlin and hope that you make it to the city soon.
Compared to Munich, Berlin is much grittier and hipper, but is home to tons of friendly English speakers and incredible bakeries like Munich (and Hamburg.and Dresden). I’m head over heels for Berlin and would be happy to give you suggestions if you make it this way!
Great post. 🙂
Hi Lesley!
I’ve always wanted to go to Berlin (Munich was never on the list) — and I would love to go even more now that I’ve been to Germany! When I get the chance to go, I will be picking your brain.
xLar
omg that looks amazing!!! i know my husband has some relatives in germany.but i think they are in hamburg. i think i’d gain about 20 pounds if i went there though! geesh all that food looks delicious.
for the next few trips my husband and i are planning on taking we are looking towards the pacific coast (where i have never gone).san francisco (which will probably be our next trip), seattle, and cabo. god i need a vacation!!!
Ooo I hope you get a vacay soooon, Diane! I loved San Francisco — you totally will too!
xoxox,
Lar
I’ve not been to Munich but have visited Cologne and Hamburg – the beer is awesome-fantastic and the pretzels and sausages! Oh my!
I’m jealous that it is so easy to get around from country-to-country in Europe!
Yesss, pretzels. so good, Lisa!
Dearest Lar,
Munich looks magical! I never thought I would say those words – not because I’ve heard bad things, but because I’ve never heard much about the city. Now I’ll have to add it to my incredibly long list of places I want to visit someday when I have money!
I love those dresses in that shop window! Did you even walk into that store? I could totally see you in that raspberry colored dress.
Is Munich laid out as a grid? It seems like Germans would be practical enough to do something like that, but Munich is probably too old for that kind of city planning – at least in the city center. But in all seriousness, any place that organizes its recycling so well is a place for me.
Miss you sooooo much!
love, cath
Oh I did NOT walk in that store, but don’t you love that dress?! That’s exactly the one I was eying.
Surprisingly Munich is not laid out like a grid — isn’t that shocking?! So after WWII they rebuilt the city based on its 19th century configuration — so there are streets that run a bit grid-y, but it sprawls and swerves and round-abouts like any other good European city.
We will go together next time, okay? We have to share a bretzel croissant before we become gluten-intolerant.
xoxoxox,
Lar
Be a tourist! Perfect.
It’s so very true, P.C.! I used to try to fight the tourist thing — discreetly snapping photos and trying to blend in — but it’s so much more enjoyable when you just give in and drink your beer stein like you don’t know what you’re doing (two-handed!).
Love all the pics, but especially the last one 🙂
Thanks, CL! It’s my fav too!
Hey Lar!
Happy to hear you liked Germany so far! Munich is not my favorite city here (that’s Hamburg) but I get what you like about it.
There’s just no way of comparing Munich to Berlin though. Berlin is much rougher, not as beautiful and calm as Munich – and not nearly as posh. Berlin is German hipster-town to the core whilst Munich is rather the uptown, snobby sister from the countryside. Or at least that’s the cliche – which I find quite true 😉
Lisa, so good to hear! I’ve always had Berlin on my list, but never anywhere else in Germany. Now after my Munich trip, I wish I could explore the whole country soon — and because of you, Hamburg is on my list too!
Thanks for reading!
xxLar
Well Lar, you’ve convinced me. I’ve added Munich to my travel bucket list. ha ha!
Woohoo! So glad, Dana!
FYI.last night we went out to dinner and i instantly thought of this post because when they brought us a bread basket they threw in a few mini soft pretzels in with the other regular rolls. as you might imagine, i grabbed the soft pretzel first!
OMG, sounds deeelicious, Diane! So glad you got the pretzel(s) – nommm I want one so badly right now!
You are so worldly!! Munich looks so great and it looks like you had a great time.
Thanks, Olivia! I do not feel worldly, but it has been fun getting to travel a bit more now that we live on this side of the Atlantic. xx L
the food look so yummy! Great pics of Munich!
Thanks, S. Singh!
Hi Lar! I have been to Munich a handful of times (it was a 2-hour drive from where we lived in Switzerland, so it was our go-to getaway) and I always enjoyed each visit. My favorite thing to do was ride a bike through the city. Great bike paths and I love the English Garden!!
Lar, it looks like you thoroughly enjoyed yourself! Pretzel croissants sound like a dream I am imagining having one right now. yum. AND everything looks super gigantic! That stein is bigger than your head!
Really nice pics of MunichI really like it.
Nice Photos of Munich. It was really a great and wonderful time when i was in Munich last month. Really very nice place to see.