Germany (Munich) – One Week in Bavaria
Detailed Itinerary/Sights
DAY 1-2: FLIGHT TO GERMANY
As usual when flying to Europe, it was an overnight flight from the U.S. I had a layover in Paris and was supposed to arrive in Frankfurt in the early afternoon. However, there were airline worker strikes, so my flight was delayed about 4 hours.
I spent the night in Frankfurt with a friend I met at an AFS (an international youth exchange organization) conference in Latvia a few summers prior.
DAY 3: TRAIN TO MUNICH
My friend brought me back to the Frankfurt airport in the morning so that I could meet my friend to take the train to Munich. Once her flight landed, we headed to the train station (Frankfurt am Main Flughafen Fernbahnhof) connected to the airport. We bought tickets and took the 12:53 train to Munich. The ride took slightly less than 4 hours, arriving in Munich at 4:30 PM. Our hostel was a quick 6 minute walk from the train station. We checked in and relaxed while we waited for our other friend to arrive.
Welcome Beer/Pretzel at Zum Augustiner
Around 7:30/8, we walked 15 minutes to the center of Munich for dinner and our first taste of Munich beer. After walking down the main street, we passed by Zum Augustiner and figured we would give it a try. Only later did we realize it was one of the big six Munich breweries that is allowed to serve at Oktoberfest. We had a delightful meal of cheese, sausage, pretzels and beer.
Beer and Pretzels at Zum Augustiner
We then decided that we wanted to try each of the big six Munich breweries during our week in Germany.
DAY 4: EXPLORING MUNICH
City Tour of Munich
After grabbing a quick breakfast on the walk to the center, we met at 10:45 for the Wombat’s free walking tour of the city. On our two-hour walking tour we hit up many of old Munich’s main sites, including Marienplatz, Platzl, Hofbräuhaus and Hofgarten. The latter of which was a garden where a musician was playing classical music in the gazebo.
Exploring Munich
Once the tour ended, we had lunch of schnitzel, roast and beer at the nearby Schneider Bräuhaus.
Residence Museum and Treasury
Following lunch, we headed to the Residence Museum and Treasury. It was once the winter palace of Bavaria’s monarchy. Today it is a museum and treasury. After spending some time walking around the museum, we explored more of Munich’s center.
For dinner, we went to Andechser am Dom, a restaurant that serves beer from Andechs Monastery. We sat outside and watched the world cup over beer and food.
DAY 5: DAY TRIP TO NEUSCHWANSTEIN CASTLE
Trek to Neuschwanstein Castle and Lake Alpsee
It was beautiful weather when we woke up, so we decided it would be the perfect day to head to Neuschwanstein Castle. We were originally going to go on the day trip offered by our hostel. However, the trip was cancelled that day, so we opted to go on our own.
Neuschwanstein Castle
We walked to the train station to first get the train to Füssen. Once there we had to get the bus to Hohenschwangau, a small town right below Neuschwanstein. We grabbed a bite to eat and then walked 30 minutes up to the castle. There was a long line to buy tickets to enter the castle, so we opted to just walk around outside. There were beautiful views of the surrounding countryside. Unfortunately, the bridge with the famous view of the castle was under construction so we were not able to walk to it. Instead we walked down to Lake Alpsee, which was a beautiful lake with clear, blue water.
Views from near Neuschwanstein Castle
Dinner at Paulaner Bräuhaus
After walking part way around the lake, we returned to Munich. At 6:30/7, we walked a little ways from the center of Munich to get dinner at Paulaner Bräuhaus (another of the big six breweries). We had beer and food in their outdoor beer garden while watching another world cup game.
Note: If traveling around Bavaria (and a few other towns close by, such as, Salzburg), you can get a Bayern-Ticket, which allows unlimited travel for a day on regional trains in Bavaria for up to 5 people traveling together. However, it is important to note a few things:
- You have to add all traveler names to the pass
- You can only travel on weekdays from 9 AM to 3 AM (the following day) or weekends from midnight to 3 AM (the following day)
- You are only allowed on certain train lines
DAY 6: DAY TRIP TO KÖNIGSSEE/OBERSEE
Hike to Obersee
Adventure is the best way to describe our day trip to Obersee, a lake in the Bavarian mountains. Since it takes a few hours to get from Munich to Obersee, we decided to take the 6:45 train out of the city to Berchtesgaden. After a few stops the conductor came through and said we had to get off at the next stop because our local train pass wasn’t valid on trains before 9 AM. Therefore, we got off at the next stop and grabbed coffee and pastries while we waited for a later train.
At 8:54 we hopped on another train. However, this one was not one of the lines accepted with our local pass, so once again we had to get off at the following stop. We waited there for 40 minutes until the next train (at 9:51) came. When we finally made it to Berchtesgaden, we had to wait for the 12:30 bus to Königssee, the lake close to Obersee. Once there we bought boat tickets to cross Königssee in order to get to Obersee (at the other end of the lake). Taking the boat was the only way to get there. Königssee was a beautiful lake with sheer cliffs surrounding it.
We had to wait to take the 1:35 PM boat. It was then a 30-40 minute trip across the lake. There was a guide who talked about the history of the lake and was apparently very funny. However, we did not get any of his jokes since none of us speak German.
Once we arrived at the far side of the lake, we had to walk 10 minutes to get to Obersee, which was a picturesque lake surrounded by mountains. It’s one of the prettiest places I’ve ever been. The trek to get there was 100% worth it. We took the walking path around Obersee to the other side of the lake. We could have walked farther to a waterfall. However, since it was getting late, we headed back since we didn’t want to miss the last boat back to Königssee. We finally returned to Munich around 10 PM.
Obersee
Evening Beer at Löwenbräukeller
Despite an exhausting day, we were determined to hit up another one of the big six Munich breweries. We walked 15 minutes from our hostel to Löwenbräukeller brewery. We grabbed beer and pretzels and sat at their outdoor beer garden for a few minutes before calling it a night.
DAY 7: DAY TRIP TO SALZBURG
Exploring Salzburg’s Old Town
After a relaxing morning, we took the 9:55 train to Salzburg (which was a train that was included on our local pass). We arrived in Salzburg at 12/12:30. We walked 25 minutes from the station to the old part of Salzburg. Along the way we walked through the beautiful Mirabell Gardens. Once in the old part of town, we stopped by the Mozart’s Birthplace. We then walked to see some of the old churches, including Franciscan Church and St. Peter’s Abbey. We also walked to one of the main squares, Residenzplatz.
Lunch near Mozart's Birthplace
We ate lunch at Zum Eulenspiegel, a restaurant across from Mozart’s Birthplace. From there we walked to Festung Hohensalzburg, a fort on a hill above Salzburg. We opted not to pay for entrance and instead walked to the other side of the hill. There we saw a lovely field, where we felt inclined to blast the Sound of Music while skipping through the grass.
Once we were done skipping around, we walked to Schloss Leopoldskron, one of the filming sites of the Sound of Music. We weren’t able to see much so we walked back to Salzburg’s Old Town, passing by the Nonnberg Abbey on our way. We grabbed gelato and then caught the train back to Munich.
Exploring Salzburg
Dinner at Hacker-Pschorr Brewery
We went directly from the train station to Hacker-Pschorr Brewery, another of the big six Munich breweries. We grabbed dinner and beer before heading back to the hostel for the night.
DAY 8: DACHAU AND MUNICH
Tour of Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site
Today we had a packed day. We left at 10:15 to go on a tour of Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site. It was a very interesting, informative and moving tour. Only authorized tour guides are allowed to give tours in Dachau. While walking us around the site, our guide talked about the operations of the camp and the circumstances that brought it about. We returned to Munich at 3 PM.
Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site
Munich’s Cat Cafe
After relaxing for a few minutes to walked 30 minutes to Café Katzentempel, a vegan cat cafe in Munich. We had a light snack while petting the various cats in the cafe.
Bavarian Beer Tour
Following the cat cafe, we walked to the station to meet up for the Bavarian Beer Tour with Radius Tours, which we had reserved earlier. The tour started at 6 where we drank a beer at the station before heading out for the tour. We then walked to the Beer and Oktoberfest Museum. The museum was just ok, but we did get to try three beers there. We then stopped at a beer garden for dinner and beer, before finishing the tour at Hofbräuhaus.
Hofbräuhaus
Night Out in Munich
Once the tour ended, we stuck around Hofbräuhaus for another beer. Around when it closed (at midnight), we met a few Munich college students who invited us to go to an Irish pub with them. When the pub closed, we headed back to the hostel for some much needed sleep.
DAY 9: PARAGLIDING IN TEGERNSEE
Morning Exploring Munich
It was a beautiful day, so we spent the morning exploring Munich. After trying on dirndls and lederhosen, we went to the tower at St. Peter’s Church, which provided beautiful views of the city.
View of Marienplatz from St. Peter's Church
Paragliding in Tegernsee
We then took the train to Tegernsee to go paragliding with Paraworth. Once at the train station, we had to wait an hour for the bus to Wallberg Mountain in Rottach Egern. There we met the paragliding company and took the chair lift up the mountain. Paragliding was an AMAZING experience! We had fantastic views of the mountains, lake and surrounding countryside.
Following paragliding, we got dinner in town with our pilots at Herzogliches Bräustüberl. After dinner we took the train back to Munich.
Dessert and Beer at Spatenhaus
It was our last night in Munich and we had one big six brewery left, Spatenhaus. Once we returned from Tegernsee, we went there for beer and dessert.
