Munich: Beer and Currywurst

Last weekend I went on a short trip to Munich! It was my first time going to Germany, and I was freaking out a little about the language barrier and all that. It ended up fine though, most people know at least a little English, so with my few phrases that I learned from a YouTube video before flying out I made it along just fine!

I got to Munich late on Friday, and then on Saturday had a full day of touristy things planned. First I went to the Frauenkirche, Munich’s most iconic church. I quite liked the outside, with the towers in front. The inside was mostly meh though. To contrast, there’s the Asamkirche, right down the road from the Marienplatz, or the center of town. It looks like it’s just part of the road, but when you enter there are intricate statues and marble everywhere! It’s a gorgeous church, and I like it much more than the Frauenkirche. After that I went back to the Marienplatz to see the glockenspiel go off around midday. I went up to the top of the bookstore across the street, which gave me a really nice view. The glockenspiel mimes two stories from Germany’s history, the first one is where this couple are getting married, and involves two knights jousting (the Bavarian one wins of course). The second is based on a story how way back in the day during the plague men would dance down the street to cheer up the locals. It’s reenacted every seven years or so (I think the next one is in 2019). That was crowded, but well worth it since the glockenspiel was pretty cool to watch!

After that I headed down the road to the Viktualienmarkt, the local food market. People said that it was pricey, but I shopped around a little and managed to find some cheap eats. I would definitely recommend grabbing some currywurst (basically a hot dog with sauce and fries), a bretzel (German pretzel), and a beer in the biergarten. Once I finished lunch, I walked down to see the Munich Residentz, the royal palace. It costs money to enter, so I didn’t, but the garden behind it is very nice and the building is pretty impressive. After that I went to the Alte Pinakothek, an art museum. When I went half of it was being renovated, which was a bit of a letdown, but the ticket was cheaper so that’s nice. It has mostly works by old European masters, which was interesting but not really my style so much. Still, it’s a nice museum.

Then I walked through the English garden. It’s a gorgeous place, and enormous! There’s also people surfing at this permanent wave formed by a bridge in Eingang, very neat to watch. Then I crossed the River Isar to see the Angle of Peace, a stunning statue. I had heard that there was another food market at Wienerplatz, but it was a bit of a disappointment because only one shop was open. Maybe I went on a slow day or something, but don’t expect anything like the Viktualienmarkt. I headed back to the hostel after that, stopping for some schnitzel (basically a chicken cutlet) and a doner kebap (a sandwich with Middle Eastern influences). Both were delicious, I was very happy!

I then had to leave the next morning, which was sad as I didn’t get the chance to see the Dauchau concentration camp just outside of town. But Munich was lovely, the streets are all quaint and gorgeous, and just being in Germany listening to people speak a language I didn’t understand was incredible! I am very glad that I went.