Your Travel Expert On: Munich

By MAUREEN JONES (Star Patcher)

I was fortunate to go to Munich every year when I lived in Europe since we stopped there on our way to ski in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and know it well. It’s the third largest city in Germany, and the most profitable due to the car companies headquarters such as Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Volkswagen, Porsche. Bavaria as the region is known, is full of tradition, interesting costumes or National dress, music and bands, great food and wine.

There are six breweries in town, with forty different types of beer. The town has just over a million residents yet when it is Oktoberfest time, the end of September, they get seven million visitors who drink 7.5 million liters of beer. I found I was out of practice at drinking a beer out of a 12” tall glass. A must for visitors to do is to go to Hofbrauhaus, which opened in 1589, and have a beer, sausages, giant pretzels, and listen to the band. No matter what time of day you go there, it is always full of 200 people all having a good time.

The best way to get to Munich is on Lufthansa. What a pleasure to fly on. Great service, outstanding meals, and clean bathrooms. No matter where you go in Europe, flying on Lufthansa should be considered since they are so reliable. We recommend them highly to both our business and leisure clients.

I always get a car and driver to meet me at the airport no matter where I am in the world. On the hour’s drive into town, I noted we were doing 120 mph and when a Porsche passed us, the driver commented, he was going at 200 mph. There is no speed limit on the autobahn, and every resident seems to own a fast car and enjoys driving them. Many of my clients go specifically to buy a car, drive it around while in Europe, then have it shipped home at a great savings. A visit to one of the car factories or a car museum is a very popular thing to do.

My two favorite hotels are the Kempinski and the Charles both in good locations, and they give our clients lots of extras like free breakfast, dining credit, early check in, late check out and a room upgrade.

Munich is a good place for sightseeing. There is lots to see within the town such as the Marienplatz to see the Rathaus Glockenspiel clock which has 43 bells and goes wild at 11.am. each day. The Residenz Palace, the English Gardens, several museums, and great shopping. The Dachau Concentration Camp is ten miles north west of the city and a surprising number of visitors want to go there. The two Royal castles of King Ludwig is an all day bus tour.

Neuschwenstein and Linderhof. I was in Germany for a meeting, and a travel colleague who had never been to Munich before wanted to see the two castles so I went with her to keep her company. It has been many years since I had been, and I had forgotten how difficult it was. There are some 700 steps and 5 miles of walking on the tour. It is definitely not a tour I would recommend for someone not fit, children, or someone who is elderly and not used to walking fast up steep mountains. You are on a tight timetable, and must keep on the move. The whole tour was very rushed, and it’s an effort to get back to the bus before it leaves.

Salzburg is an easy train ride away, over an hour, and I will be writing an article on that later.
A very good tour is on a bus to the Austrian Lake District. It is the law that all stores must be closed on Sundays, and the little villages we went thru were deserted. It was very cold, and we even had snow and heavy rain. It is a pretty drive, around 35 lakes, and I went in every little village church on route.

I always go to a restaurant which is well known for Wiener Schitzel, and of course, apple strudel.
My favourites are the Spatenhaus, and the Ratskeller. Both in a good location and a reservation is a must.
A fun destination, any time of year.

Maureen Jones

Maureen Jones is president of All Horizons Travel at 160 Main Street, Los Altos. Members of her staff are experts in business travel, cruises, and all types of leisure.

Previous columns by Maureen:

• Your Travel Specialist On: London, England
• Your Travel Specialist On: Elite Entree in Spain
• Your Travel Specialist On: Alberta- A Wonderful Province in Canada
• Abu Dhabi- A destination apart
• Mougins, Cote De A’zur, France
• HIGH FIVE: What Tops Your List in South Africa?
• Lima, Peru’s Crossroads of Past and Present
• Why Use A Travel Agent?
• The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
• Scotland, The British Open 2015.
• Delectable Dining - Hawaii’s Farm Fresh Table Temptation.
• Themed River Cruises.