First time in Munich for 1.5 days in early December - then Schongau
 

Hi All,

In a few weeks, I'll be coming to Schlongau(1 hour SW of Munich) for a work meeting, and decided to head into the area a day early to explore Munich, as I have never been before. I will be arriving on Saturday December 7th at 9:45 AM to MUC and will be free until Sunday December 7th at ~10 AM when I will pick up my boss from MUC to drive to Schongau. We will be staying in Schlongau for the remainder of the trip, however we will have the afternoon available on Sunday.

Having never been to Munich, or Germany in general since I was too young to remember much of anything(4 years old), I'd love to squeeze in a bunch during my time there.

Based on this short visit time, and my interests(following), do you have any recommended places to visit, stay, eat, drink, shop, etc?

Interests:
-Food - although I do enjoy wurst from time-to-time, I enjoy trying new things and eating a varied diet, especially with sweets. I love bakeries, so would be interested in learning about some that I should visit.
-Cultural events - festivals, holiday gatherings, etc.
-Shopping - Christmas is coming up, so this would be a great place to get gifts from
-Outdoors - I love hiking and seeing beautiful sights, if the weather is right for it.
-Cars - I have a background in car racing, so would be interested in car- and technology-related activities/sights.
-Connecting with people - This may be hard to do in a city so large, but I'm always interested in meeting and connecting with new people to learn about them and their cultures, while they do the same with me.

Given that I will be staying alone for 1 night and do not speak any German at this time, are there any areas that I should avoid, for safety reasons? What area would you recommend that I stay in? I will be trying to learn some German phrases in anticipation of this trip, but there is only so much that you can learn in a couple of weeks.

Thanks for all your help!

the Christmas Market in Munich (marienplatz) is one of the best so you should wander around it. The original HofBrau Haus is on the same square so its worth a stop as well. The clock in the square is a 'must see' in Munich as well. If you like cars, the BMW HQ and museum could be of interest if they are open on the weekend.

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll be sure to check that out, and buy gifts for family at home, if the items aren't too over-priced. Are there are items at the Christmas market that I should/shouldn't buy based on price/quality?

It looks like the BMW HQ doesn't do factory tours on the weekends, which would be the biggest draw to me(as an engineer).

Otherwise, I've found the following potential stops for Munich(please excuse the misspellings):

Christmas Market: http://www.germany-christmas-market....as_market.php; http://www.muenchen.de/veranstaltungen/event/6995.html

BMW Headquarters: http://www.bmw-welt.com/en/visitor_i...ng_times.html; also: http://www.muenchen.de/veranstaltungen/event/6941.html

Glockenspiel - check out cuckoo clock style things that pop out every 15 minutes

Climb tower in Munich center near Marienplatz

People watch on pedestrian street East-west of Marienplatz

Drink from a high-proof bowl outside! http://www.muenchen.de/veranstaltungen/event/6943.html

Drink beer somewhere: http://www.beerdrinkersguide.com/BDG...eer/BigSix.htm

Is this enough for a full day/night in Munich? Is there anything else that I should look into, as a 25 year old? Thanks!

If you're an engineer, you can spend a week in the Deutsche Museum, a technology museum in Munich. You can find things like the first Diesel machine there.

http://www.deutsches-museum.de/en

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsches_Museum

Keep in mind that there are several branches of the museum in Munich. It makes sense to check what you want to seee so that you go to the correct site.

I think you may enjoy eating at the Ratskellar.
There is a good write-up about this restaurant on the website www.muenchen.de.
This is is excellent website for a visit to Munich. Click on "international" in the upper right corner to go to the English version.

Whoops, I now see that you have already found that website.