Downtown Munich
Like I mentioned, my main reason for this trip was to visit Dachau Concentration Camp so it was the night before I left Maastricht when I started doing some research on what to do with my time in this city! Nothing like last minute! I was pleasantly surprised with everything Munich has to offer and I got to do a lot of the things I wanted to with my time here.
I decided to try out the well-known German railway company, Deutsche Ban, to get to and from Munich. The trains were quiet and relaxing, although I would not recommend taking the overnight trains. It is so hard to sleep when the train is stopping every 15 or so minutes to let passengers get on and off! On the plus side, traveling overnight does save you lots of time.
My first stop when I got to Munich was a cute little coffee shop as I walked from the train station to the main city square, Marienplatz. This coffee was TINY! It's hard to tell from the picture, but one of my fingers was all that fit in the cup handle. Oh well, it was cute and just enough energy to start out my day.
WOAH. How beautiful is this! Located in the Marienplatz square, you can't miss Munich's New City Hall (Neues Rathaus). I was lucky enough to get there super early in the morning to avoid the tourist crowds! Each detail is so intricate and it stands at an impressive 263 feet! I definitely spent too much time staring at this building (no shame!). Building the New Town Hall started in 1867 and construction was completed in 1874.
The Old Town Hall still stands in Munich, close to this one so of course I had to check that out too! Below is a photo I took of part of the Old Town Hall.
The Fischbrunnen is a fountain that has been a part of Munich since the Middle Ages. It has been changed multiple times, but it will always be known as the Fischbrunnen. It has been in its present form since 1954 when Joseph Henselmann modified it using parts from a fountain destroyed in WWII. It is beautiful and right between the New Town Hall and Old Town Hall, so it's easy to see!
The world's most famous tavern -- the Hofbrauhaus! It was built almost 500 years ago and attracts people from all over the world to try out their famous Bavarian beer and the biggest pretzels ever. There is live music and all of the servers are dressed in dirndls... it doesn't get more German than that!
St. Peter's Church, or Peterskirche, is the oldest church in the Munich district. It is a Roman Catholic church that was built in the 12th century in the Bavarian Romanesque style! The high altar will take your breath away and the ceiling details are astounding. Europe is filled with beautiful, historic churches (There are so many--it's weird if you go a block or two without seeing a church!) but this one might be my new favorite.
For only 3 euros, you can climb up 300 steps to the top of St. Peter's where there is a lookout tower which overlooks the entire city! You can walk all the way around the building to see every side of the city and from the southwest side, you can even see the Swiss Alps in the background. I made the climb just before the sunset -- it was so worth it!
That's all on my trip to Munich! Make sure you read about Dachau Concentration Camp too; the link is back on the "Prost Munchen!" page. If I had one more day to spend in Munich, I would have gone to visit a nearby castle since southern Germany is home to some of the world's best... maybe next time ;)
I'll leave you with one more photo of the New Town Hall (at night!) because if you're anything like me, you can't get enough of it!!
