The centre point of Munich is the historic inner city square called the Marienplatz, where visitors and locals meet to enjoy this amazing city. It was the central point for this adventure and felt like the hub.
Munich in December was beautiful and a great place for a Christmas market break. Munich is possibly more popular in October for the beer festival but the city has a lot more to offer than beer and pretzels ( although the pretzels are pretty epic from nearly every bakery!).
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We stayed at the K+K hotel in Harras which was an easy commute from the airport and within walking distance of the city centre or a short U-Bahn ride. The walk was really nice and gave you a good feel of the city and would often walk into Marienplatz where Christmas markets, shops and a good selection of bars and restaurants.
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Some of the beautiful architecture here includes Frauenkirche, The Rathaus-Glockenspiel of Munich and the New town hall. With it being Christmas a large tree and carol singers that added to the festive atmosphere. There are large markets as well as smaller markets set up throughout Munich so your never too far from a mulled wine and a chocolate treat to keep you going.
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After a Beautiful morning walk through the Olympic park in Munich, We decided to take advantage and enjoy Views of the park from the viewing platform of the Olympic TV tower for only €7 for panoramic views of the city. Whilst in the area we decided to check out a quirky U Bahn (subway/tube station) that had been recommended As an alternative thing to see in Munich.
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Munich has an extensive public transportation system. It consists of a network of underground (U-Bahn), suburban trains (S-Bahn), Subway stations are marked with signs showing a white "U" on a blue background. There are many subways across Munich which wouldn’t look out of place on Pinterest or Instagram!
Westfriedhof station is a mix of light installation and u-bahn station worth a visit just to capture a few pictures showing that everyday transport links don’t have to look uniformed.
Westfriedhof is an U-Bahn station in Munich on the U1 line of the Munich U-Bahn system, it opened on 24 May 1998 with blue yellow and red lights fitted along the station concourse.
Munich is a fantastic place for a city break and this is one of the many quirky photo opportunities to take up.
more to follow shortly......
So whilst in Munich we decided to visit the Zugspitze and also the Eibsee and we're very glad we did. The views were stunning and really recommend the Zugspitze and Eibsee as a day trip for anyone visiting Munich.
The great thing about travelling in Germany by train is that it's cheap. Upto 5 people can travel on a group ticket which makes a trip to the Zugspitze just under 6 Euros each if 5 of you travel which is great value. The journey to the Zugspitze started at Munich Haupt Bahnhof, to get there you first need to get a train to Garmisch Parten KIrchen. The journey itself lasts around an hour and ten minutes and there is a direct train and every hour with an additional train each hour however you will need to change.
Once you've arrived in Garmisch follow the sign from the station to the Zugspitze Bahn which is through an underpass. The ticket to go the top is just under 50 Euros each so not cheap but well worth the journey. This includes the cog wheel train and once at the Zugspitz Platz there is a cable car to the summit, but more about that later.
Once on the train take in the beautiful views as you pass through numerous small villages and open snow filled fields. The train will stop at Grainau where you change trains to get on the cog wheel train, don't worry this train terminates here anyway so everyone has to change. Once on the cog wheel train this will take you to the Zugspitz Platz. The train passed through the hills with snow covered trees on either side of you. The final part of the journey is through a tunnel which lasts around 30 minutes. Once you're through the tunnel you'll arrive at the Zugspitz Platz. For me the view was breathtaking, as you walk out onto the snow filled mountains overlooking the clouds and valleys the view is truly amazing. There is a small coffee shop here and somewhere to stop for lunch. Personally we went to the summit and stopped for lunch at Panorama 2962, will come onto that later.
After we had walked around the ski area we caught the cable car to the summit, it leaves envy 15 minutes and tales around 5 minutes to reach the summit. Once at the top the views are breathtaking, see a pattern here? You can walk around the viewing platform at the highest point in Germany at just under 3000 meters. You can even cross over to Austria so get to visit two countries in one!
Now back to where to eat, I really recommend the Panorama 2962 restaurant, the food is really reasonable and was like eating in a great restaurant. The views are amazing too, check out my photos below!
https://zugspitze.de/en/winter/mountain/zugspitze/gastronomie/panorama2962
We went in the winter and my advice would be make sure you get up there early so can take your time at the top, and also make sure you can get down before all the skiers return as well. On the way down stop at the Eibsee and walk the short walk to the lake. The views are stunning and the lake itself is so peaceful and serene. The trees were covered in snow and there were plenty of photo opportunities along the way. I'd recommend spending about an hour to an hour and half here, although if you're feeling really energetic and have the time then you can walk around the whole lake. Once you've finished head back to the Eibsee station and catch the train back to Garmisch before going back to Munich. Would love to hear if you've done this visit before, or if you have done after reading my blog. Please drop me a message and let me know!