Munich with TEN-Agers
“The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.”-
Saint Augustine, and so we moved on to the next page of our travel book; The
Magnificent Munich. This Bavarian capital lies on the bank of river Isar, apart
from being acclaimed for its Oktoberfest, Christmas Markets and numerous Beer
Gartens, it has tons of attractions for children too. My son was super excited to put his foot on
the Munich land… Wonder how Neil Armstrong felt when he first stepped on Moon?
Yes! My son was all gung ho about our Munich intenary as he had prioritized it
himself. Result of a few symptoms of Pre-teenism, burgeoning decision makers
craving for acceptance.
Before we planned on
what to do in Munich, I had researched a bit and had shared some historical
flashbacks about Munich with my son:
1) The birthplace
of the eccentric King Ludwig II, also known as “Swan King”, the “Fairy Tale
King” or the “Mad King Ludwig”.
2) The infamous
Nazi ruler Adolph Hitler and his association with the city.
3) The city’s
eclectic mix of fascinating history and modernity.
Day1:
Before we could think about touring the city, our not so little buddy wanted
answers to the zillion questions that emerged in his head linked with King
Ludwig II’s various titles. So, we decided that our first destination had to be
the enchanted Newschwanstein
Castle and The Hohenschwangau Castle near Fussen.
Address: Neuschwansteinstraße 20, 87645 Schwangau,
Germany
Hours: Open from April to 15 October 9am to 6pm
from 16 October to March 9am to 4pm
Closed on Jan 1, Dec 24, 25 and 31
Prices: For various ticket and guided tour
options confirm on
Tickets
are also available at the ticket center in the Hohenschwangau village in case
you decide on a last minute visit. However Newschwantein Castle being the most
popular tourist destination; the tickets get sold out pretty quickly, it is
advisable to reserve your tickets online atleast 4 weeks prior to your visit.
Also the ticket center shuts a couple of hours early.
How to get there:
In Munich we booked our stay in a
hotel that was just a block away from the Munchen Hbf Station. Yes! In cities
it is extremely convenient to live around the nearest central station. Our
Bayern ticket cost us approximately 33 EUR return, for 2 adults and 1 child
under 10 years. This ticket included the 2:12h journey from Munchen Hbf station to Fussen,
and also the bus ride (Bus No 78) that took us to the ticket center in the Hohenschwangau
village.
Barely 10 minutes into
the village and there it was, the majestic Bavarian wonder perched atop the
indomitable mountains, eagerly waiting for its new glaze of tourists to arrive.
Seeing the never ending queue outside the ticket center, we breathed a sigh of relief;
thank god we bought our tickets online or else would have never got to go
inside the castles. We decided to visit the Hohenschwangau castle first
as it was walking distance from the village, and then took a bus from
Hohenschwangau castle to the Disney favorite Newschwantein Castle (this castle
is the inspiration behind the magnificent castle shown in the movie “Sleeping
beauty”).
The village dwells many
restaurants, but families with children are highly advised to carry enough
trail mixes, treats and fluids to stay hydrated along. Don’t forget to pack your
sunglasses, hats and sunblock cream, as it can turn into quite a sunny long
day. After spending a long satisfying day at the most beautiful castles in
Germany we headed back for Munich as we didn’t want to miss our last train back
to the city.
Day 2
Finally it was the day,
the day my son had been patiently waiting for. If you have boys you can never
ever go wrong with cars and sports. You got it right! Our first stop was The BMW Welt and
Museum.
Address:
Am Olympiapark 1, 80809 München, Germany
Hours:
Welt: Mon thru Sat 7.30am to Midnight
Sun 9am to Midnight
Museum: Tue thru Sun, public holidays 10am to 6pm
Mondays Closed
Last entry 30 minutes before closing time.
Prices:
The visit to the BMW Welt is free of charge.
For the Museum click on
the site below to choose the various options for tickets http://www.bmw-welt.com/en/visitor_information/entry_prices.html
How To Get There:
One can either opt for The Hop-on-Hop Off, or take public
transportation.
1) The Hop-On-Hop Off takes the visitors on a guided tour on a double
decker bus. It has daily tours covering all the major destinations and sights
of Munich.
To get more information on the Munich Hop-On-Hop Off, visit
2) If taking the tram, you catch tram #27 from Karlsplatz, get off at
Petuelring, BMW welt is a 10 minute walk from there.
3) We chose to travel by metro since the metro station was very close to
our hotel. From the HBF station we took U2 to Scheidplatz and then took the U3
to Olympiazentrum. The Welt is a 3 minute walk once you get out of the station.
The BMW Museum exhibited a beautiful collection of BMW vintage cars and
also narrated the history of the famous German car maker, showing the complete
evolution of how they started their journey as engine manufactures and evolved
into making world class automobiles and aircraft engines.
A pedestrian bridge connects the museum to the welt, making it easy to
visit. As soon as we entered the welt; my husband and my son transformed into
kids entering a huge toy mall. This modern museum is a glorious haven for cars and
bikes. Each one was a beauty. Along with the fascinating cars and bikes they
also had racing games for kids, a small coffee shop to refuel our energy and
lockers to keep our backpacks. Do not miss the “Next 100 years” exhibit, it was
truly captivating to see whats gonna hit the roads in the next few years. The Bavarian Motor Works (BMW) is a must,
must, must visit for everyone.
The Olympia Park
Address: Spiridon-Louis-Ring
21, 80809 Munich,
Bavaria, Germany
Prices: The entry to the park is free.
For special excursions, adventure activities and guided tours. Check out http://www.olympiapark.de/de/touren-und-sightseeing/
How To Get There: The same way we get to the BMW Welt.
The Olympia
Park was by default our next destination as the BMW Welt is located right at
the entrance of the park. This beautiful landscaped and well preserved park was
constructed for the 1972 Summer Olympics. This park contains the Olympiaberg
Hill, Olympiasee Lake, An Olympic Stadium, Olympic Hall, Aquatic center, ice
sports center, tennis facility, golfing area, an open air theater, The Olympic
Tower, Carillon, Munich Olympics walk of stars, a swimming pool (it is open to
public, if you wanna carry your swimwear and relax in the pool).
However
we couldn’t visit all of it as we had to reach our next destination way before
it shut, but we did manage to go up the tower and capture the glorious view of
the Olympic area and the city. We decided if we get time we will come back to
it later, honestly that never happened so if you wish to see the Olympic Area
thoroughly, then be prepared to spend your entire day there.
Alliance Arena (The F.C.Bayern Statium)
Address: Werner-Heisenberg-Allee
25, 80939 Munich, Bavaria, Germany
Hours: Open 10am – 5pm
Prices: For tours and tickets check out their homepage https://allianz-arena.com/de/touren-und-fcb-erlebniswelt
How To Get There: From the Olympiazentrum station we
took the U3 train to Odeonsplatz, from Odeonsplatz we took the U6 train going
towards Garching, and got off at Frottmaning.
Make sure you have put
on a comfy pair of sneakers as the stadium is a 1.2 km walk once you get out of
the Frottmaning station( Nope no other way to get there unless you are driving,
we had to walk up there)
Every step towards the
stadium was building up my offspring’s enthusiasm; this was the first football
stadium he was visiting. As promised we first took him to the stadium shop,
after wandering around the entire shop for an hour he finally chose “The
Football” he wanted. No football fan should ever leave the stadium without
doing the arena tour. The arena tour cost 10 euro for adults and 6.50 euros for
kids aged 6-13, and 9euros for (senior citizens, trainees, students and for
people with disabilities)
The arena tour was one
of the best experiences, would highly recommend it to every visitor. They took
us to the stadium and briefed us about how FC Bayern acquired the stadium. The
guide explained us what technology was used to get the best surround sounds and
echoes. We were escorted to the player’s dressing room, the therapy room, the
kitchen and finally we walked down the tunnel (just like how the players walked
down during a match…with music and all) into the pitch. They explained us about
the underground temperature controlled heating system that took care of the
grass all year round, especially in winters.
With
the amazing experience at the arena, we brought an end to our Day 2. After
being totally drained out from this educative day all we could think of was
heading back to the hotel and enjoying a scrumptious meal.
Day 3
Scheissheim is a suburb
of Munich, there are three palaces and an aviation museum. After
visiting two magnificient castles the previous day, we decided to give the Schleissheim palaces a miss, but we were extremely
keen to visit the Deutshes Museum dedicated to aviation. This museum is an
extention of the castle.
Flugwerft Schleissheim
Address: Ferdinand-Schulz-Allee
(for navigation systems) 85764 Oberschleissheim Germany
Hours: Open daily from 9am to 5pm
Prices: Adults 6 euros, children/students 3 euros
How To Get There: We took the S Bahn train to
Oberschleibheim and then cabbed it to the Schlossanlage schleibheim
The aviation museum is
built on Germany’s oldest airfield. They have some beautiful modern and
historical WWII airplanes, gliders and helicopters. An interesting extension of
aviation for airplane lovers.
Marienplatz and the City Centre
Finally we were in the mood to relax, unwind and shop, after the aviation we decided to go to the city center and just strolled around. We walked around the Marienplatz (the heart of Munich), the shopping street and also visited its Glockenspiel. If in the mood for some luxury shopping; do not miss the famous Maximilian Strasse. When we reached the Marienplatz Square, there was a muster of tourists; all looking up towards the sky. All eyes were glued at the Glockenspiel waiting for the hour to strike. We spent the rest of the evening sauntering around the city followed by a delicious dinner. We then headed back to our hotel room to pack our bags for the next morning check out.
We had 3 days in Munich,
but in case you decide stay for longer try squeezing in:
1)
Palace of Nymphenburg
2) The Segway Tour ( not for children below 13 yrs)
3)
Schwabing/ Siegestor
The art district of Munich with numerous eateries and
openair cafes, click a few pictures with a gigantic sculpture called the “walking
man” and do not forget to check out the “English garten’’.
It’s time to say chao to the “Magnificient Munich” until next
time.
KidsBeanstalk will keep posting such wonderful experiences from around
the world.
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