We settled on Munich, what to do now?
Oct 23rd, 2007, 08:04 AM
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We settled on Munich, what to do now?
Hi all, here is our wonderful problem. We were able to add on a few extra days after our Christmas week in Rome and we have finally settled on going to Munich. We've never been to Germany but we know we'll love it.
So, here is the deal. We arrive at the Munich airport about 11pm on the 2nd of January and leave from Frankfurt Main about 2pm on January 6. That gives us 3 1/2 days, including travel time to Frankfurt.
At first we were considering renting a car, spend a day in Munich, drive over to Stuttgart and then up to Frankfurt. After deciphering the German rail website, it looks like trains are far better.
So, should we spend 2 1/2 days in Munich, then train up to Frankfurt? Or perhaps 1 1/2 days in Munich, train to Stuttgart, spend a day there and then up to Frankfurt?
As many of you know, we like to cram in lots of stuff, but this is the end of a 12 day trip with 7 family members together for the first week. Now we can be alone for a few days.
Any thoughts are appreciated.
Dave
So, here is the deal. We arrive at the Munich airport about 11pm on the 2nd of January and leave from Frankfurt Main about 2pm on January 6. That gives us 3 1/2 days, including travel time to Frankfurt.
At first we were considering renting a car, spend a day in Munich, drive over to Stuttgart and then up to Frankfurt. After deciphering the German rail website, it looks like trains are far better.
So, should we spend 2 1/2 days in Munich, then train up to Frankfurt? Or perhaps 1 1/2 days in Munich, train to Stuttgart, spend a day there and then up to Frankfurt?
As many of you know, we like to cram in lots of stuff, but this is the end of a 12 day trip with 7 family members together for the first week. Now we can be alone for a few days.
Any thoughts are appreciated.
Dave
Oct 23rd, 2007, 08:25 AM
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Stay in Munich!!Don't know which days you will be there, but the Residenz and Museum are good indoor activities. There is a lot to do in the surrounding area-Salzburg,Nurnburg is only about an hr. on the ICE train (also on the way to Frankfurt). The area around Fussen is also gorgeous in winter.
Oct 23rd, 2007, 08:43 AM
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Why on Earth Stuttgart? Unless you have any personal connections with that city, don't waste your precious time.
Stay in Munich. 3 days isn't much there, especially if you want to include a day trip like the others suggested.
Stay in Munich. 3 days isn't much there, especially if you want to include a day trip like the others suggested.
Oct 23rd, 2007, 08:52 AM
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I picked Stuttgart because.... I don't know, it has an S? Actually it was because when we were thinking of renting a car it was kind of on the way to Frankfurt.
Oh and we know nobody in Germany and neither of us is German and I don't speak German. That's why it is perfect
But I really, really like German food. The Salzburg idea is sounding good.
Thanks all and keep the ideas coming...
dave
Oh and we know nobody in Germany and neither of us is German and I don't speak German. That's why it is perfect
But I really, really like German food. The Salzburg idea is sounding good.Thanks all and keep the ideas coming...
dave
Oct 23rd, 2007, 09:01 AM
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Munich is a wonderful city!! You can find so much to do there and visiting the old section of town, plus their beautiful old churches. Stuttgart - nothing spectacular but then Frankfurt isn't either as it's a very industrial town.
Another great little town is Heidelberg dates way back to maybe the 15th or 16th century, wasn't bombed, has a magnificient university and castle there. Plus it's only an hour south of Frankfurt.
Another great little town is Heidelberg dates way back to maybe the 15th or 16th century, wasn't bombed, has a magnificient university and castle there. Plus it's only an hour south of Frankfurt.
Oct 23rd, 2007, 09:51 AM
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I think you could spend most of the time in Munich and have enough to se and do.
But I'd recommend spending the last day in a town closer to the airport since a long train ride followed by a long flight isn't that much fun. That way you can sleep well and then get to your flight at 2 PM in a relaxed way. Frankfurt isn't as bad as its image but there are some towns more interesting, I think. You could go to towns between Frankfurt and Munich:
Heidelberg: 1 hour by train or by shuttle (there are several companies offering the shuttle service to the airport).
Mainz: proibably 30 minutes from the airport.
Wuerzburg: maybe an hour or 90 minutes or so.
If you want to take a little longer train ride from Munich, you might go up to Cologne. There's a great new train going from Cologne to Frankfurt airport which takes about an hour and runs every 30 minutes. If you take a hotel in Cologne at the train station, you're in the middle of town directly at the cathedral and you get easily catch your flight at 2 pm.
But I'd recommend spending the last day in a town closer to the airport since a long train ride followed by a long flight isn't that much fun. That way you can sleep well and then get to your flight at 2 PM in a relaxed way. Frankfurt isn't as bad as its image but there are some towns more interesting, I think. You could go to towns between Frankfurt and Munich:
Heidelberg: 1 hour by train or by shuttle (there are several companies offering the shuttle service to the airport).
Mainz: proibably 30 minutes from the airport.
Wuerzburg: maybe an hour or 90 minutes or so.
If you want to take a little longer train ride from Munich, you might go up to Cologne. There's a great new train going from Cologne to Frankfurt airport which takes about an hour and runs every 30 minutes. If you take a hotel in Cologne at the train station, you're in the middle of town directly at the cathedral and you get easily catch your flight at 2 pm.
Oct 23rd, 2007, 10:20 AM
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I have been in Munich more than once because I have friends who live there.
If you like art, the
Alte Pinakothek presents painting from Middle Ages through to the 18th century.
The Neue Pinakothek concentrates more on the 19th century while Pinakothek der Modern is, as the name implies, the repository of modern art.
My favorite, because it is different from what I usually see in museums, is the Glyptothek. It focuses on Greece and Roman art. There are two buildings housing the collection. One has many works of sculpture while the other one has beautiful pottery, metallic art, coins, and other artifacts from the ancient Roman and Greek periods.
The Deutsches Museum is a collection of exhibits from the world of science and technology. The exhibits, however, the exhibits cut off about 1945. More recent exhibits are in a museum in Bonn.
I also highly recommend the Money Museum of the Deutsche Bundesbank. Try your hand at controlling inflation and recessions by managing the supply of money in a world economy. (You will at least come away with more appreciation for Greenspan and Benarke.)
In addition there are the holdover exhibits from the days of the
Wittelsbach dynasty: the Residenz in downtown Munich and Nymphenburg on the western side.
Unfortunately, the interior of the churches do not bowl me over.
Hopefully by the time you are there, the reconditioning of the Rathaus clock will have been completed and the shroud will be gone so you can see the full clock in operation.
If you like art, the
Alte Pinakothek presents painting from Middle Ages through to the 18th century.
The Neue Pinakothek concentrates more on the 19th century while Pinakothek der Modern is, as the name implies, the repository of modern art.
My favorite, because it is different from what I usually see in museums, is the Glyptothek. It focuses on Greece and Roman art. There are two buildings housing the collection. One has many works of sculpture while the other one has beautiful pottery, metallic art, coins, and other artifacts from the ancient Roman and Greek periods.
The Deutsches Museum is a collection of exhibits from the world of science and technology. The exhibits, however, the exhibits cut off about 1945. More recent exhibits are in a museum in Bonn.
I also highly recommend the Money Museum of the Deutsche Bundesbank. Try your hand at controlling inflation and recessions by managing the supply of money in a world economy. (You will at least come away with more appreciation for Greenspan and Benarke.)
In addition there are the holdover exhibits from the days of the
Wittelsbach dynasty: the Residenz in downtown Munich and Nymphenburg on the western side.
Unfortunately, the interior of the churches do not bowl me over.
Hopefully by the time you are there, the reconditioning of the Rathaus clock will have been completed and the shroud will be gone so you can see the full clock in operation.
Oct 23rd, 2007, 11:36 AM
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Hi dave -
You're right - the train makes much more sense.
Stay in Munich, and on the morning of January 6, take the train from Munich directly to the Frankfurt Airport. About 3 1/2 hours.
Or you could break up the trip and get much closer to the airport by leaving Munich the afternoon of January 5 and staying in Mainz. Or Heidelberg. Mainz is practically at the airport. Heidelberg is about an hour away.
There's plenty to do in Munich. The Nymphenburg Palace and the Amalienburg pavillion in the grounds are really beautiful, especially in the snow.
If you go out to the Nymphenburg, there's a good, charming restaurant close by - as you face the palace from the city, at the canal, it's on the right (north) corner.
I can also recommend taking the train south (1 hour) to Kufstein for dinner at the Auracher Lochl. It has great food and an amazing old Alpine look and feel. Special.
Have a great time!
You're right - the train makes much more sense.
Stay in Munich, and on the morning of January 6, take the train from Munich directly to the Frankfurt Airport. About 3 1/2 hours.
Or you could break up the trip and get much closer to the airport by leaving Munich the afternoon of January 5 and staying in Mainz. Or Heidelberg. Mainz is practically at the airport. Heidelberg is about an hour away.
There's plenty to do in Munich. The Nymphenburg Palace and the Amalienburg pavillion in the grounds are really beautiful, especially in the snow.
If you go out to the Nymphenburg, there's a good, charming restaurant close by - as you face the palace from the city, at the canal, it's on the right (north) corner.
I can also recommend taking the train south (1 hour) to Kufstein for dinner at the Auracher Lochl. It has great food and an amazing old Alpine look and feel. Special.
Have a great time!
Oct 24th, 2007, 04:40 AM
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Well, we are getting it more locked down. Thank you all for the excellent tips.
We'll stay in Munich the nights of the 2,3,4th. Now that I started investigating the area I see it needs a few weeks not a few nights. Anyway, the daytrip ideas are great, so we'll probably drop down to Fussein (sic?) one day.
We'll take an evening train to Frankfurt, getting in around 10pm. Our hotel is right across from the train station in Frankfurt. We figure we can pop out of the train, get a good nights sleep, have a lazy breakfast and catch the mid-morning train out to the airport.
Our return flight is direct to Orlando, so that works out good for us too.
Thanks everyone.
dave
We'll stay in Munich the nights of the 2,3,4th. Now that I started investigating the area I see it needs a few weeks not a few nights. Anyway, the daytrip ideas are great, so we'll probably drop down to Fussein (sic?) one day.
We'll take an evening train to Frankfurt, getting in around 10pm. Our hotel is right across from the train station in Frankfurt. We figure we can pop out of the train, get a good nights sleep, have a lazy breakfast and catch the mid-morning train out to the airport.
Our return flight is direct to Orlando, so that works out good for us too.
Thanks everyone.
dave
Oct 24th, 2007, 04:56 AM
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Which hotel by the Frankfurt train station? I've stayed many times at the InterCity. You get a free pass on the trams/airport train if you stay there. I know there is also another hotel next door to InterCity. Good location. Train stations, including FRA, are busy places with food and shopping. The breakfast buffet at InterCity is a nice selection.
Carol
Carol
Oct 24th, 2007, 05:08 AM
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We'll stay that last night in the Hotel Excelsior. It got good reviews on Venere, the location is perfect for us, and the price was really good, like 60 euros.
Do you know anything about it?
dave
Do you know anything about it?
dave
