Category Archives: Germany

My 4 favourite places in Munich – Locals edition

Some of you might know that I live “in the best city of the world”.
Yeah, I know everybody claims that of the place they call home. 😉

I live in München, Deutschland (“Munich, Germany” for the english speaking part of world).
Today I thought I should share my 4 favourite places with you.  Why? Because many travellers to Europe, who go to Germany, seem to skip Munich for Berlin or Stuttgart. The Munich metropolitan area is more than just Oktoberfest and Lederhosen.

In Munich’s metropolitan area you can find Museums, lakes, castles, mountains,… There’s so much to see and do.

In this article I will showcast some places where locals go.

Müller’sche Volksbad

Müller'sches Volksbad
Müller’sches Volksbad

This is a public swimming hall. Equipped with two pools, saunas and steam baths. It was opened in the year 1901 and offers locals and visitors a like a great place to relax.
As time of writing the standard admission fee is EUR 4.80

It’s conveniently located in the city centre and reachable by public transport:
– S-Bahn (“Isartor” station) plus a couple minutes walking
– Tram (“Deutsches Museum” station)

It’s publicly owned and managed by our local utilities company SWM.

Enjoying a beer at the “Isar”

The Isar
The Isar

The “Isar” is the long river stretching throughout the city.
On mild spring, summer and autumn nights thousands of locals go here to enjoy a beer after work. In the summer this is also a prefered place to do a little BBQ with friends on the weekend.
If you go here by U-Bahn (subway station “Frauenhoferstraße”) you’ll find a little store (“Kiosk”) selling hundreds of different types of local and international drinks and snacks. They even take credit card.

Olympiadorf

The Olympic village (or “Oly-Dorf” how locals call it) exists since the early 70s. Back in 1972, when the Olympic summer games took place in Munich, the city had to build accomodation for the athletes and nation teams.

Olympiadorf München
Olympiadorf München

They build some tall apartment buildings and a little “village” of bungalows next to the stadions. Because Munich is always in need for apartments, it was decided that the Olympiadorf stays and got enventually converted into a student home. So why feature it here?  Because it is tradition that every new tennant has to paint the outside wall of his new home. Thanks o this tradition this village is now an everchanging art gallery. Hundreds of artistic impressions feature the landscape of the village.

It’s worth a visit when you come to Munich!

Want to go there? Use the U3 line of the subway network to “Olympiazentrum” and follow the signs to “Olympiadorf”.

“Cinema München”

Yes, there’s a movie threatre which calls itself just “Cinema”.

Why do I want to feature it here? Rainy day or night in the city? You have seen all the museums? Why not go watch a movie?

Cinema München
Cinema München

The Cinema München in the Nymphenburgerstr. (between subway stations “Stiglmaierplatz and “Mailingerstraße”) is well known with expats and movie lovers. It’s a one of those small, old, privately owned little movie threatres with just one screening room. Eventhough they’re none of those big multiplex places, they still have the latest technologies like 4K HDR, 3D and immersive surround sound.
They show EVERY movie in original language (English in most cases), while most of Munich’s movie threatres show the majority of movies in a German dubbed version.
If you want to save some money:
Screenings on Monday and Tuesdays are cheaper.

This movie threatre also made history many many years ago by being the first place in Germany to sell popcorn at the movies.
(source: I read an interview of the owner a couple years ago)

Lufthansa Senator Lounge (international) – Munich Airport

Welcome to my review of the Lufthansa Senator Lounge in the non-schengen transit area at Munich Airport. It is a Star Alliance Gold lounge near gate H22. Unfortunately I can’t provide any photo, because the lounge was too crowded to take photos.

Upon entering and presenting your boarding pass you’ll find yourself in the dining section of the lounge. You can find here a great buffet selection with cold and hot delights like German meatloaf, pretzels, hot tomatoes and bacon, cheese and a selection of non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks.

Lufthansa Senator Lounge (international) - Munich Airport
Lufthansa Senator Lounge (international) – Munich Airport

There’s also a coffee machine which makes espresso, cappuccino, latte macchiatto and other.

When you go further you’ll find a huge bar including bartender who can mix you almost any drink I know.

There are two more sections. The first is a relaxing areas with leather chairs, a selection of newspapers and a TV set. The second is a work area with sockets and desks. The lounge offers free Wi-Fi.

 

Overall this lounge is a good place to spend some time before your next international flight.

 

NZ 2012 Day 1 – Munich – Singapore Changi Airport

It’s January 10th. It’s time for another trip around the world. A few month back I decided to book a trip to New Zealand.

Frankfurt Airport Center January 2012
Frankfurt Airport Center January 2012

I’m looking forward to 21 days of exploring awesome places and meeting amazing people.

Before heading to the land of Kiwi’s I have to fly from Munich to Frankfurt via Singapore and then straight to Auckland, northern Island of New Zealand.

5:30am. A very loud alarm sound wakes me up. I  verified my packing list. Time to board the next train to Munich Airport International.

I arrived at around lunch time at Frankfurt International Airport. Unfortunately boarding starts as early as 3 hours before departure. Which means, I can check-in at around 7 pm.
Yeah! 6 hours of waiting, eating, checking e-mails and looking at the check-in counter. I even talked with my boss, to ask if something important is to do. (Technically I only need a computer and internet access to fix something urgent)

The check-in queue at the Economy class counter for my flight was empty, but have a look at the counter next to mine.

Singapore Airlines Economy Check-in - Frankfurt Airport
Singapore Airlines Economy Check-in - Frankfurt Airport

It took me about 20 minutes to go through the customs and border counters, because many international flights departed from the same terminal satellite. That means over 200 people processed by 2 customs & border officers. Anyway, I expected the typical Frankfurt delays and went to the gate early.

Boarding for SQ328 from Frankfurt to Singapore Changi Airport started almost on time. Our flight departed around 15 minutes after schedule.

I saw a big Thai Airways long-haul aircraft next to ours, while we waited for the remaining passengers to board. I had my first meal on Singapore Airlines short after midnight. Stay tuned for next part of my trip report.