Nürnberg Christkindlmarkt

Day 5 of the advent calendar meant a short trip to Nürnberg to check out one of the most famous Christmas Markets.

There were plenty of bratwürsts, lebkuchen, and glühweins consumed. The variety of glühwein was immense and included blueberry, elderberry, and white wine. The consensus was elderberry was the best, because it wasn't so sweet.

We brought back some of the 'bruch' (broken) lebkuchen, which actually aren't broken at all, but the package presentation isn't as nice as those that are giftable. We also picked up some white glühwein that was named after Albrecht Dürer - the famed printmaker and painter from Nürnberg.

I love the markets, however there are a few things I would improve upon - adding a soup stand for a food option and those outdoor restaurant heaters or fire pits. Spending a few hours outside in the snow means even with several layers the elements begin to really take their toll. We were all frozen to the bone as we ventured back to the train station.

The Christmas season always passes too quickly, but I'm looking forward to visiting more christmas markets before we have to miss them for another year. I'll post photos soon!

Singapore

(This post is a follow up from our trip around the world. I will be writing a recap for each place we visited during our 4 month trip. Prior to Singapore we also visited India, Nepal, Thailand and Malaysia).

- As I mentioned before even traveling 'first class' from Kuala Lumpur was not exactly a smooth journey. Our cabin had a shower, but no functioning toilet. When Stefan asked one of the conductors he laughed and told us none of the toilets worked. The bunks were set up so we couldn't even sit in them. We had to constantly lay on the beds, which would have been nice if we could have slept. There was also a television that didn't work that was knocking around while the trash can was falling out. It was a long night. On the bright side it really makes me appreciate how great the trains are here in Germany.

- Our arrival was really strange. I kept questioning if we were really in Singapore, because there were Malaysian flags and nothing mentioning Singapore (it's technically on Malaysian land). As we left the train station there were no waiting taxis or clear directions to the subway. Before even finding a subway or taxi for that matter we would have to get some Singapore Dollars anyway. It's probably best to fly into Singapore - especially since their airport is continually rated as one of the best in the world.

- Early morning the streets were filled with men and women wearing suits. We asked several how to get to a subway station, which required walking several blocks. Even early in the morning it was sweltering and very humid. Once again we quickly learned people don't often spend time outside.

- While Singapore is rather small there is plenty to see and do. Food and taxis are very inexpensive, which make being a tourist pretty effortless. Clarke Quay seems to be the center of night life, although it wasn't difficult to find something going on. More than once I had to remind myself I was in Asia, because there were always various languages being spoken and especially English with various accents from all around the world. I would have loved to have stayed at least a few days longer to really explore those little culture pockets and neighborhoods.

-The restaurants there are fascinating and many have themes. One was even The Clinic and people would sit in wheelchairs while enjoying their drinks out of IV drips. We didn't stop there, but we did have dinner in a former church outside near the Botanical Gardens at a place called the White Rabbit. Singapore will always be synonymous with food to me. Their famed dish is the chili crab, but I really think it's difficult to find bad food there. With so many restaurants there's a lot of competition and they all seem to always be crowded. We visited one aptly called Brotzeit that even featured Paulaner beer straight from Munich. It was a nice little touch of home.

- Another food area that was fun was called Food Republic in VivoCity (we later saw this in Beijing, too). Stefan and I shared a portion of fried hokkien prawn noodles in an opeh leaf. Then he wanted to make a dessert competition using SG$5 (about 2.50€). Just to give you an idea of how inexpensive things are - I left and came back with 4 keha tutu coconut cakes and a mango pomello shaved ice with 50 cents to spare. He picked dim sum and went over his SG$5 limit (but only by 20 cents).

- As we explored this diverse and wealthy city-state it felt more and more like an adult playground. Fantastic and inexpensive restaurants were everywhere and there were a large array of activities to spend money on. We always enjoy meeting friends or even friends of friends when traveling. We were able to do so in Singapore and quickly learned the food halls / hawker stalls are plentiful with high quality food and were told that Singaporeans really love to gamble. We were even told that on lunch breaks co-workers would gamble on virtually anything. Not exactly what I expected.

- We joined the river cruise to check out the Central Business District and Merlion from the water. It certainly made me feel small with those towering skyscrapers. I think the funniest part was when a man tossed some old flowers into the river and the guide said, "I probably should have called the police."

- Evidently there are $1,000 SG (500€) fines for spitting, picking flowers, wasting water, littering, and I'm sure a multitude of other crimes. That definitely put things into perspective on how much order and rule following were taken seriously. There were constantly groundskeepers taking care of the walk ways and making sure to even pick up detritus and leaf litter that is simply part of nature. I've since had a lot of the Singapore Airlines flight crew on tours, because there is a new direct flight between Munich and Singapore. I always tease them about enjoying the chewing gum while they are here. I always love asking them about flying and the people they encounter.

- It is one of the wealthiest and most densely populated countries in the world. After visiting the Embassy area we could certainly believe it. I've never seen larger homes in my life. Amazingly we were told to buy a car there is a 100% import tax and people must bid for a license that allows them 10 years to buy one, which can cost $30,000 or more before even purchasing the car. I didn't really get any photos of the homes or the Orchard Avenue area, but there are definitely places to drop buckets of cash. There was one great boutique called L'zzie - I could have done some damage there if I had more baggage space, but I did buy a few things there. It was so nice to feel feminine again.

- Going to Sentosa (the southernmost point of continental Asia according to the sign) is an easy and inexpensive way to visit beaches - and of course more attractions.

- Sentosa intends to become Asia's premier adventure and amusement area, which again doesn't surprise me since Singapore really seems to thrive in that department even if a lot of it feels contrived.

- There is a distinct contrast from the city with a lot of nature, including peacocks in the trees and I saw some kind of giant lizard wandering about.

- Somehow I had forgotten that I read about pink dolphins that they have and was excited when we learned we could see them and even pet one! Evidently they older they get the more they have a pink hue (ours was 30).

- The aquarium had jelly fish, a manatee cousin, and an enormous tank of sting rays. It was quite different from the one we saw in KL.

- The aquarium also had this small opening in one of the tanks where I assume people could feed the fish, but kids could put their hands in. It was somewhat strange, but the fish were beautiful.

- I'd be very intrigued to visit again and especially when the Sentosa amusement area and casinos are finished being built. It was a lot of fun to visit the small beach and see another aspect of what makes Singapore such a popular place.

- I get the feeling living in Singapore could feel a bit like college, because there is a young international crowd and going out is easy and inexpensive.

- The Changi Airport really is fantastic. We should have probably skipped on staying in our hotel and waking up before 5am on that last night. People were sleeping everywhere, but they also had free internet and other luxuries.

Next stop - Siem Reap, Cambodia!

Kuala Lumpur

(This post is a follow up from our trip around the world. I will be writing a recap for each place we visited during our 4 month trip. Prior to Malaysia we also visited India, Nepal, and Thailand).

When we initially talked to friends about places we would be going on our trip we were sometimes met with surprise. Malaysia was one of those countries that some told us to forgo. Instead, we thought it would be nice to take the train through Thailand all the way down to Kuala Lumpur and then make our way to Singapore.

If we were to go back to Malaysia I think I would do things a little bit differently, but our visit worked for us at the time. The difficult aspect of planning an extended trip is that it's not easy to figure out the details of every city, let alone country, especially since our time was limited.

Truthfully I didn't have many expectations for it Kuala Lumpur. I knew it would be tropical temperatures and an Islamic city / country, so the less skin the better. Looking back at my before we left travel journal I wrote, 'I didn't have a lot of expectations, because I can't think of a specific tourist site or anything particular that I look forward to.'

What really surprised me was the American feeling I got from the city, which was nice on some levels. It has a lot of greenery, many beautiful landscaped plants, plenty of skyscrapers and many familiar restaurants and stores (California Pizza Kitchen, Ohio's own Wendy's, Papa Johns, the Gap). It is slightly different from America in that it has lots of smoking and great public transportation that is easy to navigate. It also surprised us how inexpensive things seemed. Slowly the façade was waning.

One of our first stops was the Petronas Towers and Suria Mall. If you happen to visit KL definitely try to visit the Petronas Towers bridge. Each day they give away a certain number of free tickets, which requires standing in line, but it's worth the visit.

I don't get the feeling that people spend much time outside, which can make being a tourist rather difficult. We decided to do the 'hop on hop off' bus to see some of the city while remaining slightly cooler in the air conditioning. Definitely not how I like to experience a city, but we simply had to in order to be somewhat comfortable.

We ended up visiting the aquarium, which was really nice. The fish and marine life seemed well cared for and the tanks were impressive.

Out of all of the attractions the the aquarium was definitely our favorite.

There weren't many visitors so it was easy to walk through as opposed to being herded through on their conveyor belt style floor.

We also tried out the garra rufa fish pedicure, which is the rage throughout Asia - or at least they market it that way. It's a very strange sensation to have these small fish feasting on our dead skin, but it was an experience.

We tried to brave the temperatures and humidity by visiting the orchid garden and butterfly park. The butterfly park especially was stifling. Some of the butterflies resembled birds, because they were so enormous.

The nearby orchid garden was pretty, but not what we expected.

Unfortunately there weren't too many orchids blooming, but the ones that were around were definitely beautiful.

The path ways were scattered with plumeria blossoms that had fallen from the trees. Tropical flowers everywhere are one of the benefits for the tropical temperatures.

Some of that American feeling in the city can also be related to people using shopping as a hobby. It was about that point that I decided I should buy some new clothes. It turns out this is both the perfect and most imperfect place to do just that. Things weren't horribly expensive, but that didn't mean they were always accessible.

After days in Kuala Lumpur we began to feel it's a very 'look, but don't touch' culture. Books at the book store - shrink wrapped, clothes at the mall had signs saying 'no trying'. When I finally found a shop that would allow me to try a shirt on I quickly also learned that Asian sizes run very small. I'm not one to care what size the tag says provided the clothing fits, however it was even a struggle to find anything that didn't make me feel like an ogre. The arms would be too tight or the buttons wouldn't come close to closing. Fortunately we found some cool watches for about 2€ each.

Everything seems to be indoors in KL - including an enormous roller coaster inside one of the malls. It was definitely a unique city.

If and when I make it back to Malaysia I would like to see some of the tea plantations and the Kuala Selangor firefly forrest. Although I'm glad that I went I'd most likely forgo visiting their capital city again.

Train to Malaysia

(This post is a follow up from our trip around the world. I will be writing a recap for each place we visited during our 4 month trip. Prior to Malaysia we also visited India, Nepal, and Thailand).

The train from Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur is a seriously long journey. Thankfully we had a sleeper train and packed plenty of food, although I don't know that I'd do that route again.

Our romantic notions of watching the country side pass by as a more scenic way to travel quickly ended. The first train wasn't so bad, but the luxury cars that we pre-booked for the other two journeys turned out to be not so luxurious - as in one didn't even have a functioning toilet! We are definitely spoiled by our fantastic transport system here in Germany.

Thankfully there was a stop in the middle. Going through Malaysian customs was painless compared to what we went through in Kathmandu.

We had to change trains in Penang / Butterworth, Malaysia, so we opted to store our bags for the day and take the ferry to Georgetown on Penang island.

The ferry ride to the city was nice - it looked rather impressive with a hill backdrop and many skyscrapers. We didn’t realize until we arrived that it’s a UNESCO world heritage site… and we passed many of their big landmarks along the way as we searched for a warm meal.

The 'Little India' area of the island is cute with good, yet inexpensive food. We both ordered a main dish, nan, water, and dessert for Stefan all for the low price of $5. That’s something we could get used to!

It was a brief introduction to Malaysia, which was very different from what we experienced in Kuala Lumpur.

Chunnel

Our getaway began early last Wednesday and we got back late last night.

Nearly everything went perfectly.

About that nearly part... well, we got stuck on the Eurostar Chunnel train for over 3 hours. Evidently something was wrong with the CO2 levels and our 1.5 hour trip turned into 6 hours. I over planned and we had to save a few things for our next visit, which we hopefully won't have to wait too long for - especially since we have a free ticket waiting for us due to the hassle.

The good news was that we had booked the earliest train around 7am, so we didn't completely lose out on our short getaway to London.

The bad news was after 6 hours on the train, without a book or magazine, things can get pretty boring, especially after the pastries are gone. It also didn't help that across the aisle was a woman whose mannerisms were annoying me to no end. I've never seen someone so fidgety and abrupt.

Five days away, in 2 of Europe's large metropolitan cities, makes Munich feel very villagey. My feet are still aching from miles and miles of walking. I really should get a pedometer, because I can't imagine how much ground we covered.

I will have plenty to write about in the coming days (as well as tons of photos).

And before I forget, we visited the new Lufthansa biergarten lounge at the Munich airport. The woman checking our tickets asked if we were sure we wanted to go to that lounge, because the other one we have access to is also brand new and more exclusive.

I took photos of two of the three. The biergarten is nice enough, but I'm not convinced it lives up to the hype. In Munich, all of the lounges have beer and pretzels. Not many people were even using the tables and benches. Perhaps that's because it was an early morning on a weekday.

Long Term / Extended Travel Checklist

I'm not sure if anyone else that reads this will be planning a long term trip, but I figured I could at least share the information that I've gathered along the way so it's not as daunting.

Feel free to add anything I may have forgotten!

(click the image to see it larger)

Visitor's Guide to Munich

I have previously written about my favorite things in Munich, which you can get to by clicking the link. Other posts about Munich can be found here.

If you're visiting Munich on a budget, you can see my favorite things to do while spending only 30€ a day here.

...and if you are looking for information about Oktoberfest click here.

If you are an expat or new to Munich also check out Internations, which is a networking resource to get out and meet other expats in your new city.

Obviously the list will continue to grow and I will do my best to update it when I stumble upon great things.

These are some of the restaurants + stores that I enjoy and hopefully some helpful info for tourists. Please let me know if you have questions or are planning a trip by commenting on any post. I'll do what I can to help!

Some of my favorite restaurants - addresses and locations can be found on the respective websites. I've marked my favorites with a star.★

Inexpensive

• Vapiano - open kitchen Italian. German chain that is opening in the US.
• Gast - open kitchen pizzas, pastas, salads, + rice dishes
• Ocui - open kitchen pizzas, pastas, salads, + rice dishes [review]
• Kaimug - Thai
• ★ Taco Libre - Chipotle-esque tacos, quesadillas, and burritos [review]
• Dean + David - fresh salads, wraps, and specialty dishes
• Schnelle Liebe - pastas, salads, + focaccias
• ★ Stachaus Passagen - lots of inexpensive food options in a beautiful space
• ★ Le Buffet - top floor of Oberpollinger department store (right near Karlsplatz). Upscale cafeteria with great food, a beautiful roof top dining area, and huge portions. The stir fry is my favorite.
• Pasta e Basta - Italian. I've never been, but I always hear it's very inexpensive with large portions. Many dishes are less than 6€.
• If you are looking for a grocery in the city, they are located in the basement of many of the department stores.

Beer gardens + Bavarian food

• You may want to sample various beers from different companies, or if you are partial to one you can visit their specific biergarten.
• A word to the wise - if you go to Hofbräuhaus you will be amongst tourists. You can walk through without eating there. The food is better elsewhere.
• Stammtisch - this is the table designated for the regulars, it typically has a table cloth and sign. Don't sit there.
• You can bring your own food into the biergartens, although not the outdoor restaurant area that is served. Bringing your own beer is 'verboten'.
• Michaelibad - a bit off the beaten track, located in the multi cultural Ostpark. Scenic with a nice pond.
• ★ Paulaner am Nockherberg- sit down restaurant + beer garden. My favorite place for Bavarian food. Mostly locals.
• ★ Wirtshaus in der Au - knödel dumplings and great Bavarian food in a quiet neighborhood. 
• Hofbräukeller + Biergarten at Wienerplatz - a nice neighborhood biergarten in Haidhausen with many trees. [it's beautiful, but a bit trendy and can be difficult to find a place to sit]
• ★ Augustiner Keller - Home to Munich's beloved beer with a great beer hall atmosphere and affordable food.
• Hirschgarten - large park + biergarten complete with 'hirsch' (deer).
• ★ Chinesischer Turm - Chinese tower located in the Englischer Garten. Live music and a mix of tourists and locals.

Nicer dinners

• Tramin - reputed to be the best restaurant in the city with an inventive menu
• Cocoon - mixed menu with interesting combinations
• ★ zum Goldenen Kalb - the best steak house in the city
• Brenner Grill - pastas and Italian foods
• Hippocampus - mixed menu with a large variety of fish - beautiful courtyard

Unique / Specialty

• ★ Nero - exquisite wood fired pizzas with terrific value. One of my favorites.
• Bernard + Bernard - crepes. Located at Innerer-Wiener-Str. 32 (Haidhausen) - small restaurant with delicious variety.
• ★ Ganesha - Indian. My heart swells for this food + it's the best I've found in the city. 
• ★ Pavesi Picnic - modern Indian inspired dishes in a beautiful atmosphere. 
• Welser - Kuche - medieval dinner complete with ancient recipes (located under the Feldhernnhalle at Odeonsplatz)
• ★ The Burger House - the very best burgers in all of Munich, even for an American. 
• Blind Angel - dinner in the dark
• Pommes Boutique - french fries with 20 sauces
• Condesa - Tacos, burritos, and quesadillas 
• ★ Fei Scho - dim sum with Bavarian influences [review]
• Cosmo Grill - gourmet burgers
• ★ LaBaracca - Italian style tapas with a self serve wine bar
• ★ Milagros - charming + authentic Mexican food
• ★ Nomiya - Bavarian meets Japanese 
• ★ Sababa - awesome and inexpensive falafels at Viktualienmarkt 
• Emiko - small portion Japanese inside the Louis Hotel.
• Sasou - quick asian dishes (mainly Japanese) with a beautiful interior
• Sushi + soul - sushi
• Mao - chinese
• ★ Cyclo - vietnamese 
• Schneewittchen - a beautiful little café with coffee + pastries
• Theresa - great atmosphere with a wide array of grilled foods
• UniLounge - lounge bar with a beautiful interior. Many young people + students.
• Lorenzo Corno gelato (Hohenzollernstraße 44) - my favorite taste of Italian gelato in Munich.
• ★ Ballabeni gelato (Theresienstraße 46) - serves the same gelato as Lorenzo Corno's, but closer to the city center. You'll be dreaming of this for a long time!
• Schubeck's ice cream - specialty flavors
• Sarcletti's ice cream - specialty flavors
• Der verrückte eis macher - really off beat ice cream, weißwurst, sweet mustard, Augustiner...
• Gesellschaftsraum - an interesting fusion menu with very unusual parings [review]
• ★ Negroni - the best cocktail bar in the city
• ★ Maelu - incredible pastries 

Shopping

• ★ Stancsics - specialty truffles + chocolates (try the salt chocolate!)
• Stolberg- high end chocolates
• ★ Schrannenhalle - Indoor market with individual stalls. It's lovely. 
• Dallmayr - Munich's high end grocery. You can get lunch to go, or specialty items to take home
• Käfer - another upscale grocery with a large selection
• Tea House - an enormous assortment of loose tea, candy with tea, tea pots... everything tea related
• Angermaier - nice 'tracht' (dirndls + lederhosen)
• Fünf Höfe - architecturally stunning shopping mall in the city center. Great place for inexpensive meals.
• Muji - Japanese 'no brand' store
• Alessi - design store inside Fünf Höfe
• Obacht' - modern Bavarian souvenirs
• ★ servus heimat - another great shop for modern Bavarian / Munich items
• Hugendubel English - Book store with English books + magazines
• Literatur Moths - an interesting book shop with a modern selection - the children's books are particularly nice.
• Kleidermarkt - vintage, thrift, and new clothing... always something new. 
• ★ Bears + Friends - exotic gummy candies - if you like spicy things try the chili peppers. I love them. The tea leaves are delicious, too. 
• ★ COS - collection of style... my favorite clothing store
• ★ Globetrotter - impressive outdoor / travel store with many interesting elements
• ★ Kokolores - a great stationery/curiosities shop in a great neighborhood
• Magazin - design store inside Fünf Höfe with many Scandinavian designers represented
• Kokon - home wares
• Kare - home wares + unique furniture
• Kochgut - anything you'd want for a well designed kitchen
• Butlers - entertaining + kitchen accessories with unique table settings
• Das Depot - modern homewares and inexpensive seasonally themed gifts
• 1260 Grad - handmade dishwear by Petra Fischer
• Janik + Janik - a tiny, but beautiful stationery and gift shop
• Carta Pura - unique and specialty papers
• Semicolon - another paper shop with a decent selection
• Engel + Bengel - design oriented gifts for little ones and moms to be

*my favorite gifts to take home are : exotic honey, jams, teas, chocolates, curry ketchup, gummy candies, creamy balsamics, and mustards. They have an enormous variety for each of these.

There are also a large assortment of Birkenstock sandals, which are one of the few things that seem to be cheaper here than in other countries. (My favorites are the Madrid style).

Tourist information offices

• Pick up brochures and other information about Munich and surrounding cities. Locations at the Hauptbahnhof (near Busbahnhof) and in Marienplatz.
• A helpful pdf file can be downloaded here (in English): Young and about in Munich
• Prepare for your trip while looking at Munich Daily Photo

Subways + Public Transport

• Public transport here is safe, affordable, efficient, and widely used.
• Coming from the airport you will need to purchase a ticket. While the transport is based on the honor system, being fined 40€+ per person won't leave you happy. For additional information about traveling to and from the airport click here.
• Group tickets are good for up to 5 people and are good for the entire day.
• Maps and bus plans can be obtained free of charge at tourist information or at the Marienplatz underground MVV office.
• Buying a weekly ticket is sometimes the best option. Depending on how far you want to travel (how many rings). They offer unlimited travel within the number of selected rings. Be aware this will not work to get you to the airport, unless you purchase the more expensive ticket, which defeats the purpose.
• Tickets can be used on straßenbahns, Ubahns, Sbahns, and buses. The same ticket is valid on all modes of public transport.
• Validate your ticket in the blue box - the only needs to be done once at the start of your journey. Weekly tickets do not need to be validated, nor do those with the date pre-stamped.
• Subway doors do not open automatically - you will need to push the button or pull the handle.
• Use the MVV route planner (also in English) - it can tell you the fastest routes and you will see more of the city if you're not always taking the subway.
• Straßenbahn 17 is known as the sightseeing line - take a ride and hop off when you see something interesting.

Best City Views

• Alte Peter - not for the faint of heart. It's a climb, but the views are worth it. My favorite time is at dusk to watch the sunset. I also like having Frauenkirche in the view (I took the above photo there)
• Frauenkirche - elevator ride to see Munich from above. 3€.
• Olympiadorf - this is student housing, however there's a great view on the 15th floor roof terrace. On a good day you can see the Alps.
• Olympia tower - large panorama of the city
• Olympiaberg - for those less inclined to heights, is a large hill made entirely out of trash from WWII that also provides great views of the city + Olympic park
• Olympic tent climbing - walk along the tent tops from the 1972 Olympics

Popular things to do in and around Munich

• Free city tour - This 3 hour walking tour meets daily at 10:45am + 11:45am in Marienplatz in front of Mary's Column (the golden statue). Workers get paid by tips. Very informative and a nice inner city tour.
• If you come with children have them look for the 'Münchener Kind' or lions (the symbols of Munich)... they are everywhere.
• Visit one of the parks - Englischer Garten + Ostpark are large and distinctly different. Munich is very much a city that loves it's 'green lung'.
• Check out the Eisbach surfers - Yes, in the middle of the city.
• Look at Munich Tourist info's suggested itinerary based on the number of days for your visit.
• Nymphenburg Palace + Gardens - Baroque summer palace built in the late 1600s.
• Deutsches Museum - the world's largest technology + science museum.
• Glyptotech - Greek and Roman antiquities
• Alte Pinokothek - Middle age through Rococo European paintings
• Neue Pinokotek - Late 18th to early 20th century art
• Pinokotek der Modern - modern works in various media
• Brandhorst - the city's newest museum featuring an impressive contemporary collection
• Lenbachhaus - 'Blauer Reiter' (blue rider) and 'Munich School' works featuring Klee + Kandinsky
• Haus der Kunst - temporary art exhibits
• Kunst Halle fünf höfe - changing exhibits in a beautiful exhibition space
• Allianz arena tour - English tours of Bayern Munich stadium at 1:30pm daily. Approx. 10€
• Andechs - brewery run by Monks in suburbia Munich.
• Neuschwanstein - King Ludwig II's castle that inspired the Disney castles.
• Dachau - Former concentration camp. Educational and informative, although depressing and prepare for voyeurs. This is a memorial - dress appropriately. Closed Mondays.
• Salzburg - beautiful Baroque city in Austria. 2 hours by train.
• Regensburg - medieval city that survived most WWII damage. Approx. 2 hour train ride.
• Nürnberg - famed for their 'lebkuchen' (christmas cookies) that can be bought year round. Approx. 2 hour train ride.
• Augsburg - once a major trade city during Roman times. Now a college town. The Romantische Straße scenic drive goes through this city.
• Chiemsee - uncompleted replica of Versailles with small islands featuring a nunnery and monastery
• Bier + Oktoberfest Museum - includes the history of beer + purity laws
• Paulaner Brewery Tour - visit one of Munich's beloved breweries for a behind the scenes look + some sampling.
• BMW Welt - where you can watch people pick up their cars direct from the factory. The architecture is worth walking through, which is free.
• Bavaria Film Studios - large film studio where 'The Never Ending Story' was filmed.
• list of more obscure museums (hunting, potatoes, etc.)

If you have a car:

• Hallein Salt mines - learn about the history of salt + visit the mines that made Salzburg wealthy.
• Affenberg Salem - if you want to feed monkeys this is your place.
• Zugspitze - Germany's tallest mountain. The Frillensee at the foothill of the mountain is just spectacular.
• Walchensee - a beautiful lake tucked between the mountains - great for hiking, wind surfing and other outdoor activities. (read about our trip)

[last updated: April 2013]