Germany, Austria and Switzerland, 2015
Tour Day 7: Munich
Return to Germany
We packed up in Murren and headed to the gondola station, looking back to wish Murren one last fond farewell through a picturesque looking window in the station. We had fallen in love with this place in just three short days! But we know we will be back!
This bus ride would be our longest of the trip - 7 hours from Switzerland to Munich. It came at the perfect time, as I think we could all use a rest. We enjoyed our time on the bus watching the scenery pass us by, napping and learning more about language and culture from Hans.
Liechtenstein and Lindau
Hans sweet-talked the bus driver into taking a different route so we could drive through Liechtenstein. Usually we have a rule that we can only add a place to our travel list if we have done something there, but since Liechtenstein is so tiny and we drove through almost all of it just by traveling the main road, I'm going to count it!
We had our lunch stop in the beautiful seaside city of Lindau. We had plenty of time to enjoy the water views, wander the town center, and have some lunch. We loved the unique tile roofs we found on many of the buildings and the quaint cobblestone lanes that meandered through the town. David and I found a place to eat and enjoyed more spaetzle. It is like super deluxe macaroni and cheese - the perfect comfort food!
The capital of Bavaria
We finished our drive and landed in the bustling city of Munich. I don't know what we were expecting, but for some reason we were caught by surprise by Munich. I think that you hear that Munich is the capital of Bavaria and you have this idea of Bavaria as being quaint little towns with cobble-stoned streets and lederhosen, so we didn't picture Munich as being such a large city. Sometimes I think that we overplan for our trips, so we love being surprised when our expectations don't match reality, and Munich did that for us! Our hotel was situated in a location where we had to walk though the square containing a large market (Viktualienmarkt) each time we ventured out. What a pleasant place to stroll! We loved wandering through the stands with fresh flowers, veggies and cheeses and looking at all the craft items available. We got some of our favorite gifts for family members here.
After wandering through the market on our own, we caught a glimpse of the neighboring beer garten. We later learned from Hans that this was a space for both purchasing meals and bringing picnics out to eat socially. The picnic tables with table cloths were expected to be saved for customers who were buying food and drink, while everyone else could bring a dinner with them and sit at a plain picnic table and just order beer. So glad to have a guide to explain the social intricacies to us! We eventually found our way to Marienplatz for a look around and took a walk though St. Peter's church to view the lovely interior before heading back to our hotel to meet up with the group for dinner.
On our way to dinner, we took an orientation walk through town with Hans. We ate at this charming little place right in the center of town. We were guided through the crowded restaurant to a room set up for our group in a manner that is exactly what you think of when you think of Bavaria! Red and white checkered tablecloths, baskets of pretzels with mustard on the side and waitresses wearing traditional dirndls. One of the best parts of traveling with Rick Steves' is that you get to eat at real restaurants where locals are eating rather than large, sterile banquet halls and other places that can accommodate larger tour group sizes.
After dinner we joined Hans on an optional stroll through the basement of the Town Hall (rathaus) to see the enormous restaurant that lives under the government building. He also walked us through the famous Hofbrauhaus so we could catch a glimpse of the excitement in store for us - it was packed and there was traditional music playing lightly and waitstaff carrying 10 gigantic steins of beer to their customers who were all lined up at communal picnic tables. We couldn't wait to go back and join in for a meal! After our stroll, we headed home for the night, ready to tackle Munich in the morning.