6 nights alone in Germany
Oct 24th, 2011, 12:58 PM
#22
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You'll be fine then.
For transportation around the city you can go to this website:
http://www.mvv-muenchen.de
If you like bikes, you can rent bicycles to get around in Munich. Weather permitting since you're going in March.
Our 1st trip to Munich was in March and you'll be getting some decent deals on your hotel. I'm sure you're keeping this in mind while you search for accomadations. You can afford to bargin.
You may want to bid for a hotel on Priceline or look at some other sites. The hostel might be a good idea, depending upon what the Euro does against the dollar (or your currency if different) I'm thrifty so I like to shop for a good deal.
If you want to bid on Priceline look at biddingfortravel.com and see what others have won. If you decide to bid start early and remember that you're traveling in March and that should lower the price. BUT with a priceline hotel you may end up staying out of the center, which is fine for me b/c I figure I'm going to be wandering to different parts of the city.
For transportation around the city you can go to this website:
http://www.mvv-muenchen.de
If you like bikes, you can rent bicycles to get around in Munich. Weather permitting since you're going in March.
Our 1st trip to Munich was in March and you'll be getting some decent deals on your hotel. I'm sure you're keeping this in mind while you search for accomadations. You can afford to bargin.
You may want to bid for a hotel on Priceline or look at some other sites. The hostel might be a good idea, depending upon what the Euro does against the dollar (or your currency if different) I'm thrifty so I like to shop for a good deal.
If you want to bid on Priceline look at biddingfortravel.com and see what others have won. If you decide to bid start early and remember that you're traveling in March and that should lower the price. BUT with a priceline hotel you may end up staying out of the center, which is fine for me b/c I figure I'm going to be wandering to different parts of the city.
Oct 24th, 2011, 01:22 PM
#26
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I love Germany, Union44. I think you've made an excellent choice to start there and Munich is nice in the winter with the snow on the mountains. Plus, there are few crowds. There may be more scaffolding on the buildings but there are few crowds!
Another advantage of winter travel is that the trees are bare so you can actually see the buildings.
Another advantage of winter travel is that the trees are bare so you can actually see the buildings.
Oct 24th, 2011, 01:26 PM
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This probably won't happen but if you find your money is running our before your time, an interesting free thing to do is go to the BMW Welt (world), there is a museum which I liked but the Welt is free. It's a big showroom for bmws old and new. It takes a morning, we also went to the Olympic Park but on the list of things to do in Munich these things rank lower rather than higher. Unless, of course, you are a big fan of BMWs.
Oct 24th, 2011, 07:17 PM
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This is a very difficult question to answer without knowing more about you and your interests.
It's like someone asking how much they should spend on food in Tulsa, Oklahoma. You could say that they could eat at the McDonald's or at the most expensive restaurant in town, both answers would be correct.
I am going to tailor my answer to fit you, a student, traveling on a limited budget.
A) If you stay at the Wombat Hostel, as I've mentioned, the daily rate there is from 12-40 euros. That rate includes an all-you-can-eat breakfast which consists of juice, coffee, tea, water, cereal, cold cuts, cheese, bread of various sorts, jam, butter, bagels and cream cheese, and fresh fruit. Often the bananas disappear fastest, because the travelers like to carry something easy for a fast snack. In other words, you can really fill up at breakfast.
Then you could spend around 10 euros for lunch - there are all kinds of relatively inexpensive places to eat. Most popular are wurst/snitzel (sausage) places, pizza places, and turkish (doner) sandwich places. Right near the train station are any number of places to grab a quick bite to eat. The Turkish sandwiches can be as little as 3 euros up to 5/6 euros. They are quite filling.
Dinner you can also eat relatively inexpensively. Right by the Munich main train station is the Bayerische Schnitzel und Hendhaus, where you can get half a grill chicken plus a beer for something like 10 euros. If you look at their website, on Wednesdays, you can get that 1/2 chicken for only 2.99 euros.
http://www.schnitzel-und-hendlhaus.de/
Inside the train station, there are plenty of places to grab a bite to eat at cheap to moderate pricing.
So, how much for food? With a filling free breakfast, you need spend probably no more than 20 euros a day for quite a lot of food.
Another way to save on food, and especially on bottled water, is to go to a supermarket and pick up some ready-made food.
b) Transportation: if you looked at the website for the local transportation, you will find that a weeklong pass will cost you somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-40 euros. This should be good for almost all your local travel needs.
If you wanted to visit the nearby castles, then you will have to factor in longer distance train costs.
c) Sightseeing: There are any number of "cards" that you can get that will save you money. I mentioned the CityTourCard, which will be combination of transportation and discounts on certain tickets.
There is also the 14-day museum ticket, which will save you from having to pay for individual entrances to some of the state museums, including the major ones.
http://www.schloesser.bayern.de/engl...ts/jahresk.htm
Unless you are planning on visiting a number of the state museums, it's probably better to just get individual tickets. Some places allow students to get in for free, or else charge a minimum entrance fee. Bring some passport-size photos, as I seem to recall that some of the special cards need an attached photo.
You could easily get by on 50 euros a day for miscellaneous things outside of your lodging and airfare.
Your biggest expenses will be in drinking, fine dining, and attending special events, such as a concert.
Might I suggest that, at this point, you decide which city you want to visit, Berlin or Munich? Costs might be a bit higher in Berlin, especially for transportation, since it is a much larger city.
Once you've decided which city, your next decision is what you want to see and do in that city.
Once you've decided what you want to do and see, then you can price each activity separately and have a general idea of how much you need to spend.
Until then, we can only answer you in generalities.
Hope this helps a bit.
It's like someone asking how much they should spend on food in Tulsa, Oklahoma. You could say that they could eat at the McDonald's or at the most expensive restaurant in town, both answers would be correct.
I am going to tailor my answer to fit you, a student, traveling on a limited budget.
A) If you stay at the Wombat Hostel, as I've mentioned, the daily rate there is from 12-40 euros. That rate includes an all-you-can-eat breakfast which consists of juice, coffee, tea, water, cereal, cold cuts, cheese, bread of various sorts, jam, butter, bagels and cream cheese, and fresh fruit. Often the bananas disappear fastest, because the travelers like to carry something easy for a fast snack. In other words, you can really fill up at breakfast.
Then you could spend around 10 euros for lunch - there are all kinds of relatively inexpensive places to eat. Most popular are wurst/snitzel (sausage) places, pizza places, and turkish (doner) sandwich places. Right near the train station are any number of places to grab a quick bite to eat. The Turkish sandwiches can be as little as 3 euros up to 5/6 euros. They are quite filling.
Dinner you can also eat relatively inexpensively. Right by the Munich main train station is the Bayerische Schnitzel und Hendhaus, where you can get half a grill chicken plus a beer for something like 10 euros. If you look at their website, on Wednesdays, you can get that 1/2 chicken for only 2.99 euros.
http://www.schnitzel-und-hendlhaus.de/
Inside the train station, there are plenty of places to grab a bite to eat at cheap to moderate pricing.
So, how much for food? With a filling free breakfast, you need spend probably no more than 20 euros a day for quite a lot of food.
Another way to save on food, and especially on bottled water, is to go to a supermarket and pick up some ready-made food.
b) Transportation: if you looked at the website for the local transportation, you will find that a weeklong pass will cost you somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-40 euros. This should be good for almost all your local travel needs.
If you wanted to visit the nearby castles, then you will have to factor in longer distance train costs.
c) Sightseeing: There are any number of "cards" that you can get that will save you money. I mentioned the CityTourCard, which will be combination of transportation and discounts on certain tickets.
There is also the 14-day museum ticket, which will save you from having to pay for individual entrances to some of the state museums, including the major ones.
http://www.schloesser.bayern.de/engl...ts/jahresk.htm
Unless you are planning on visiting a number of the state museums, it's probably better to just get individual tickets. Some places allow students to get in for free, or else charge a minimum entrance fee. Bring some passport-size photos, as I seem to recall that some of the special cards need an attached photo.
You could easily get by on 50 euros a day for miscellaneous things outside of your lodging and airfare.
Your biggest expenses will be in drinking, fine dining, and attending special events, such as a concert.
Might I suggest that, at this point, you decide which city you want to visit, Berlin or Munich? Costs might be a bit higher in Berlin, especially for transportation, since it is a much larger city.
Once you've decided which city, your next decision is what you want to see and do in that city.
Once you've decided what you want to do and see, then you can price each activity separately and have a general idea of how much you need to spend.
Until then, we can only answer you in generalities.
Hope this helps a bit.
Oct 24th, 2011, 08:17 PM
#31
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Easytraveler, you are very helpful. Didn't expect so much help from everybody on this site. Thanks a lot. I'll be sure to keep asking questions here as I get further into my planning.
Oct 24th, 2011, 08:44 PM
#32
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>Costs might be a bit higher in Berlin, especially for transportation, since it is a much larger city.
Actually Berlin is a cheaper city than Munich, especially for rents. It's an ideal student city. We send students there with this knowledge.
Lavandula
Actually Berlin is a cheaper city than Munich, especially for rents. It's an ideal student city. We send students there with this knowledge.
Lavandula
Oct 24th, 2011, 11:00 PM
#33
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Thanks Lavandula, I was going to write the same exact thing. Berlin is one of the cheapest places to visit.
For trains and side trips, get a Bayern ticket, as this allows you to use the regional trains all through Bavaria all day long.
Eating near or in the train stations will get you mediocre food at higher prices than eating in neighborhood restaurants. Lunch can be had at cheaper prices than dinner. Why go to another country and eat food from a grocery store or a train station? That is almost sad.
Do go on some bike tours or walking tours. As a student, prices are very affordable, you will meet new people, have a great time and learn a lot about the city, as well as get a good orientation. So do these the first day or the 2nd. Plenty of tour companies offering cheap tours, do you don't need to go with the free ones, where you end up giving just as much of a tip as what it would have cost you in the first place, plus the quality of the tour will be much better.
For trains and side trips, get a Bayern ticket, as this allows you to use the regional trains all through Bavaria all day long.
Eating near or in the train stations will get you mediocre food at higher prices than eating in neighborhood restaurants. Lunch can be had at cheaper prices than dinner. Why go to another country and eat food from a grocery store or a train station? That is almost sad.
Do go on some bike tours or walking tours. As a student, prices are very affordable, you will meet new people, have a great time and learn a lot about the city, as well as get a good orientation. So do these the first day or the 2nd. Plenty of tour companies offering cheap tours, do you don't need to go with the free ones, where you end up giving just as much of a tip as what it would have cost you in the first place, plus the quality of the tour will be much better.
Oct 25th, 2011, 07:01 AM
#34
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easytraveler, as usual, has very good advice. There's only one thing; "Often the bananas disappear fastest, because the travelers like to carry something easy for a fast snack"
I would hope that easytrav isn't suggesting that you take bananas that are meant for Frühstück and carrying them away for later.
If you're staying at a small hotel this is an independently run place. You're not stealing from a large corporation (although I don't condone that either) but a person/family. Sometimes an owner might encourage one to take things for later but don't do it without invitation.
We often eat brats and doners or grab a sandwich from a bakery. We're just not all that attached to food. It's not that we don't go and sit down at a restuarant but eating out is not the pinnacle of our trip. It's not sad, it's just DFY (different from you) that's all.
I would hope that easytrav isn't suggesting that you take bananas that are meant for Frühstück and carrying them away for later.
If you're staying at a small hotel this is an independently run place. You're not stealing from a large corporation (although I don't condone that either) but a person/family. Sometimes an owner might encourage one to take things for later but don't do it without invitation.
We often eat brats and doners or grab a sandwich from a bakery. We're just not all that attached to food. It's not that we don't go and sit down at a restuarant but eating out is not the pinnacle of our trip. It's not sad, it's just DFY (different from you) that's all.
Oct 25th, 2011, 08:45 AM
#38
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LSky: Thanks! Unexpected praise from you!
I honestly don't know what the kids do with the fruit. Sometimes there will be a kid who is so shy, he/she will take a lot of food up to the room and eat it there. This is obviously discouraged by the staff (can you imagine cleaning up those rooms without having to deal with a lot of bug-inviting food bits sitting around!). I have seen, on occasion, someone stick a piece of fruit in their backpack (Bananas go fastest, apples are next, oranges not so much, and kiwis never). It's obvious that's going to be their snack sometime during the day. Actually, the worst offenders are more the middle-aged men. They tend to make whole sandwiches and take those.
I'm like you, not much of a foodie when traveling. I also don't stay in hostels all that much. It's just that the Wombat in Munich is very convenient and I'm usually in and out for one night (Munich is so central!) and saves me from hunting around at night for my B&B. At the Wombat, my favorite is their coffee/cappuccino machine (ssshh, don't tell anyone!) A cappuccino will usually cost around 2-3 euros, even at the train station (more on this later), but to be able to get a limitless supply of cappuccino in the morning while working on my netbook is pretty much next to heaven for me.
Hostels, like hotels, run the gamut. Just as there are Interncontinental Hotels at the high end and Motel 6s at the low end, so there are hostels of every type and variety. The Wombat hostels are more like the Hyatts for hotels, whereas there was this one hostel in Eastern Europe that I stayed once and that hostel was behind a low-end brothel...anyhow, the OP isn't going to Eastern Europe... For the budget minded, staying in a "high-end" hostel is infinitely better than staying in a flea-bag hotel for twice the price, IMHO.
Food in train stations - I'm not suggesting that the OP eat exclusively in train stations - who would want to do that? I was just suggesting the Munich train station (BTW, I wrote the long post with mainly the Munich HBF in mind) does have relatively inexpensive food stalls, should the OP feel the need to grab a quick bite to eat. Except for that chicken place, the food is better inside the train station than in the eateries outside and around the train station.
That said, the food in the train stations in Germany are MUCH, MUCH better than eating at a McDonald's. The food is always very fresh, especially the sandwiches. The only fast food I'm not particularly attached to in Germany is the currywurst. curry+wurst+salty pretzel? I don't think so.
Sorry for this long post. I've got a sickie on my hands this morning and with all the running around - (which kid comes home when they're feeling well, right?) - I'm losing my train of thought.
So, union44, have you decided which city yet?
I honestly don't know what the kids do with the fruit. Sometimes there will be a kid who is so shy, he/she will take a lot of food up to the room and eat it there. This is obviously discouraged by the staff (can you imagine cleaning up those rooms without having to deal with a lot of bug-inviting food bits sitting around!). I have seen, on occasion, someone stick a piece of fruit in their backpack (Bananas go fastest, apples are next, oranges not so much, and kiwis never). It's obvious that's going to be their snack sometime during the day. Actually, the worst offenders are more the middle-aged men. They tend to make whole sandwiches and take those.
I'm like you, not much of a foodie when traveling. I also don't stay in hostels all that much. It's just that the Wombat in Munich is very convenient and I'm usually in and out for one night (Munich is so central!) and saves me from hunting around at night for my B&B. At the Wombat, my favorite is their coffee/cappuccino machine (ssshh, don't tell anyone!) A cappuccino will usually cost around 2-3 euros, even at the train station (more on this later), but to be able to get a limitless supply of cappuccino in the morning while working on my netbook is pretty much next to heaven for me.
Hostels, like hotels, run the gamut. Just as there are Interncontinental Hotels at the high end and Motel 6s at the low end, so there are hostels of every type and variety. The Wombat hostels are more like the Hyatts for hotels, whereas there was this one hostel in Eastern Europe that I stayed once and that hostel was behind a low-end brothel...anyhow, the OP isn't going to Eastern Europe... For the budget minded, staying in a "high-end" hostel is infinitely better than staying in a flea-bag hotel for twice the price, IMHO.
Food in train stations - I'm not suggesting that the OP eat exclusively in train stations - who would want to do that? I was just suggesting the Munich train station (BTW, I wrote the long post with mainly the Munich HBF in mind) does have relatively inexpensive food stalls, should the OP feel the need to grab a quick bite to eat. Except for that chicken place, the food is better inside the train station than in the eateries outside and around the train station.
That said, the food in the train stations in Germany are MUCH, MUCH better than eating at a McDonald's. The food is always very fresh, especially the sandwiches. The only fast food I'm not particularly attached to in Germany is the currywurst. curry+wurst+salty pretzel? I don't think so.
Sorry for this long post. I've got a sickie on my hands this morning and with all the running around - (which kid comes home when they're feeling well, right?) - I'm losing my train of thought.
So, union44, have you decided which city yet?
Oct 25th, 2011, 09:16 AM
#39
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Yeah, I've always wanted to go to Munich so I'm going to just spend 6 nights there exclusively. It looks like the Marienplatz is a good place to go. I want to see a concentration camp and I know Dachau is close by.
Oct 25th, 2011, 10:00 AM
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If it was unexpected easytraveler than I've been in error. I often read what you write b/c we seem to share similar travel styles 
Warning Union about currywurst is excellent advice but maybe it's something ppl must try for themselves. Basically, it's catsup with curry powder- horrible stuff.
"Actually, the worst offenders are more the middle-aged men. They tend to make whole sandwiches and take those"'
I believe that! too many have taken Rick Steve's advice.
Union, you'll want to try some real cusine but as easytrav says, go for lunch.
Warning Union about currywurst is excellent advice but maybe it's something ppl must try for themselves. Basically, it's catsup with curry powder- horrible stuff.
"Actually, the worst offenders are more the middle-aged men. They tend to make whole sandwiches and take those"'
I believe that! too many have taken Rick Steve's advice.
Union, you'll want to try some real cusine but as easytrav says, go for lunch.
