orzo

I haven't written a trip report in who knows how long, but I thought this time ," why not". Well we traveled to Munich, Germany on Lufthansa airlines in mid jan 2016. We always fly this particular carrier, however, not often enough to accumulate miles for upgrade, its still a nice airline, none the less.
This is not our first trip to munich, it must have been our third, maybe fourth. Its a nice place to go and I don't really tire of it. I often think about how nice of a place germany is throughout the year. I live in the tropics, so a nice cool change in weather in the middle of january is a pleasant relief.Once we arrived in Munich, we gathered our luggage and before going to the hotel we stopped for a bite to eat at the restaurant thats in the terminal upon exiting the baggage claim. Everything tasted fantastic, and I enjoyed the yogurt with granola, both my parents had rolls.We then purchased our tickets at the ticket kiosk in the arrivals terminal to get to the city center. Our hotel we stayed at previously is the Hotel Exquisit. We always choose this hotel because its close to the center, you can walk to the Marienplatz or wander the rest of the city. The hotel has an excellent breakfast, with everything from cold cuts to donuts. During out time in munich, we shopped at the galleria Kaufhof. Since, we had been to munich before, shopping was a top priority. We ate the upstair buffet of the galleria. Its nice, because they have a wide variety. During our trip to munich, we also visited the Asam's church. THis church is on the way to the marienplatz from the hotel. We went around 10:30 am and the church was open but it didn't have the lights on. It was dark, but maybe we should have visited when they put some lights on. Its a beautiful church, and its very intricate. We couldn't get near the alter because it was roped off. I didn't see any place to light a candle either.
I would like to say something about munich in light of the recent terror alerts. I felt pretty safe there. I didn't see that many refuges. However, I don't know if they have moved on from munich and have homes or what the situation is. I hardly noticed a difference in munich from this time in comparison to my previous visits, last year and before. However, I will note that I did hear the call to prayer in the marienplatz, and there was some protesting, but it is in german and I had no idea what they were saying..But in all honesty, I didn't really travel out from the city center. So if there is a different vibe in a different part of town, I didn't witness it. I can only witness what i saw and felt.
Once we left munich, we traveled by train to Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The train ride took only about an hour and a half and tickets were purchased with the Deutch Bahn app. I find this very convenient. We stayed at the Hotel Edelweiss, in the town center. This is a fantastic hotel. I loved it!! The hotel staff if very friendly and they have a nice spa. I would stay here again, if I am ever in this town. We also shopped around the town and ate in the different restaurants. It is a nice place to visit.
On our way back home, we stayed for the night at the Hilton Munich Airport. This hotel is extremely convenient because its right in the airport. We ate our meals in the airport terminal, dinner and breakfast. Although, the hotel does have a restaurant, we opted for the airport. All in all, we were ready for our return trip home nine days later. But, how I miss germany already!!

Gary_Mc

Thanks for the trip report. It is nice to know that things still seem pretty normal in Munich. Gary

flpab

What did you do in Garmisch? I have not done the Gorge in winter but my husband has and said it was beautiful. You sound like me with lighting candles. I love to do that in those beautiful churches.

orzo

in garmisch we have done the gorge on previous trips, its beautiful but it was a little too slippery for my elderly mom last time, so we decided against it. We mainly stayed in the town and took walks to take pictures, we were only there a few days.

Pegontheroad

I'd love to read this, but it's difficult with no paragraphing.

swandav2000

flpab, may I add something --

The Partnachklamm in winter is really fabulous if you do the night-time torch-lit hike. Oh, and if it's actually cold enough for the water to freeze. Unfortunately, it's been so warm this winter (overnight temps around 40F or 50F) that it's not that great.

But normally -- the water running over the rocks freezes, and when you ascend with your torch, you get amazing views of the frozen waterfalls. Really spectacular! You should try to see it on your next trip --

s

traveller1959

Everybody seems to care about the refugees. Their number is about 1 per cent of the total population, so neglectable. You will hardly see them as a tourist.

So, just come and do the normal things any tourist likes to do.

nubbyrose

I was in Munich a few weeks ago. Regarding the call to prayer - is this something you can hear in Marienplatz?