We're back!

Tim and I traveled to Munich and Venice with his brother and parents and we all got along and enjoyed ourselves!

Thank you to everyone who assisted in my planning; all of your advice helped a LOT.

I didn't keep too detailed of a journal this trip, but here goes.

<b>Broad Overview</b>
Tim had to work on Christmas Eve and Christmas. His brother (BIL) and I didn't have to work starting the 21st, so we decided to go early. Tim and his parents (MIL and FIL) joined us in Munich on the 26th. We stayed in Munich (with day trips) until the 30th, when we took the train to Venice. FIL, MIL, and BIL left Venice on January 2nd, and Tim and I left on the 3rd.

Demographics:
Me: 27
Tim: 31
BIL: 25
MIL+FIL: Mid-50s and fit!

<b>Friday, December 21</b>
BIL and I arrived at the airport early so that we could enjoy my Northwest WorldClub membership. If you are not a member, you can purchase a $85 60-day temporary membership, which allows you to bring two guests into the WorldClub with you. The clubs offer the following amenities free: internet (usually), beer, wine, hard liquor, soft drinks, coffee, espresso, snacks, and a nice place to sit. Highly recommended if you'll be traveling a lot in a 60-day window.
http://tinyurl.com/35loew

We boarded our flight to AMS without incident. Food was good. I love the NWA Airbus 330s-- so comfortable in coach.

I can also highly recommend my new travel pillow, the SkyRest. I used it both while leaning forward to rest on the tray table and also under my feet. (I put a pillowcase on when near my face but not while it's on the floor!)
www.skyrest.com/

<b>Saturday, January 22nd</b>
Our flight arrived early, at 6am. We cleared immigration and went down to the arrival hall baggage storage area to store some of our carry-on luggage. I believe it was 6-8 Euro for a 12- or 24-hour locker. (Sorry I can't remember specifics.) We washed up and headed out.

We stopped at the airport ATM. A tip: request 190E instead of 200E, or 390E instead of 400E so that you have change. Otherwise some ATMs only dispense 50E notes, which some places refuse to take.

We purchased train tickets at the counter (in my experience, American CCs don't work at the Amsterdam automatic ticket machines) and headed down to the train platform.

We arrived in Centraal Station after a pitch-black ride. We walked down the main street toward Dam Square and quickly walked through the Red Light District (RLD) on the left. Everything was closed and didn't look like much.

Back to the main street. We had cappucinos and croissants at a caf&eacute; and tried to warm up. (It was cold.)

We wandered through Dam Square and over in the direction of the Anne Frank Huis. The sun began to rise and the morning light was beautiful. I had bought a Nikon D40 two days prior and began to snap photos like crazy.

We wandered some more until our reservation at 9:30.

There was absolutely no line, and our reservation was not needed, but I was still glad to have it. There were hardly any people there at 9:30am, so I recommend an early (or late) visit.

I wish that there were different opening hours for people who actually are interested in the Huis and those who are there just to check it off a list. But I digress.

Afterwards, we stumbled across a local outdoor market and got some great photos.

Back to Dam Square for cheese pancakes at De Passage. I love Dutch savory pancakes.

On our way back to Centraal Station we walked back through the RLD. The red lights were on and there was more for BIL to see. Done.

At this point jet lag hit us hard. We took the train back to the airport, picked up our stored carry-on luggage, and headed to the KLM lounge for the two hours remaining before our 3:30 flight.

Next stop: Munich.

<b>Saturday Evening, January 22nd</b>
The KLM flight was quick and comfortable. We arrived in Munich about 45 minutes late (due to delayed departure) and it took forever to get our bags.

We took the train from the airport to the Hauptbahnhof. The train ticket machine does not take 50E notes, but we had enough small bills+change to purchase what we needed.

Upon arrival at the Hauptbahnhof, we took a taxi (8E incl. tip) to the Hotel Uhland because we had so much luggage. (We had Tim's luggage too, because he had a short connection in AMS on the 26th, and KLM has delayed our luggage the majority of the times we've connected through AMS.)

Thank you so much to the fodorite MaureenB who recommended the Hotel Uhland for our group. We very much enjoyed our stay! What a breakfast!

We headed out to the Marienplatz. (Note: make sure you know what type of tickets you need before you struggle with the U-Bahn ticket machine!)

We walked around and headed to the Hofbra&uuml;haus. I had purchased &quot;The Beer Drinker's Guide to Munich&quot; for BIL, and he knew all of the beer hall etiquette. We found a table to join and ordered some sausages and liters. A nice first evening in Munich.

OK so all of my dates are wrong! Should be December dates!

The dates are unimportant--I'm waiting for the rest of the story!

<b>Sunday, December 23rd</b>
We woke up and enjoyed our first breakfast at the Hotel Uhland. Wow, what a spread! There are no hot items but that was fine with us. Many types of meats, cheeses, cereals, hard boiled eggs, great breads, jams, peanut butter, nutella, fruit, and my favorite: gherkins.

BIL had never been to Europe or experienced jet lag before. It hit him hard. I think that our long layover in AMS really wore us out. So we decided to rest and didn't come out until about 3pm.

We took the U-Bahn to the Odeonsplatz and walked down to the Marienplatz and saw the Christmas Markets. I honestly was not impressed with the Christmas Markets (except the Gl&uuml;hwein) compared to the markets we visited last Christmas in Barcelona. Many of the items for sale in the Marienplatz were things made in China that we could purchase in the U.S. But it was still a beautiful scene.

From Marienplatz we worked our way over to The Arc bar.

<b>Note for NFL Football Fans: This is the place to watch American football in Munich!</b>

It's kind of a dive bar, located in a basement, but they had the Packers-Bears game and lots of good greasy bar food and we were happy.
http://www.thearc-pub.com/

We also met a guy (a Bears fan, the opposition!) who gave us some tips on places to visit in Munich.

(The Packers lost. It was ugly.)

<b>Monday, December 24th</b>
We woke up refreshed and again enjoyed our breakfast.

We headed to the Schwabing Christmas Market which had much nicer, handmade items for sale, compared to Marienplatz, although Marienplatz wins for ambiance. But Schwabing was all locals. So there were pros and cons to each.

BIL purchased our first mugs of Gl&uuml;hwein. Gl&uuml;hwein is good! We spent some time at the market people watching.

On to the Marienplatz market. Tried Gl&uuml;hwein there. Also good. Around 2pm, everything shut down as expected.

We went to the Hofbra&uuml;haus for dinner... Goulash for BIL and Sp&auml;tzle for me. Both were really good. We also had some Radlers and Russns. The Hofbra&uuml;haus is relatively inexpensive compared to most of Munich's offerings, so we enjoyed our time there.

When we returned to the Hotel Uhland, they had left us a nice basket of cookies, chocolates, and clementines with a Merry Christmas note-- a nice touch.

<b>Tuesday, December 25th</b>

After breakfast, we headed over to the Stadtmuseum to see the weapons display. Unfortunately, due to remodeling, the weapons exhibit was closed. The only real exhibit was of wooden puppets. Not really our thing. Luckily, entrance was free due to the holiday.

We did stop by the National Socialism museum, which is somehow connected but not in the same building. 95% of the displays were in German, but we did value seeing the Nazi uniforms and the photos of Nazi troops in the Odeonsplatz (through which we walked each day).

We headed to the Hofbra&uuml;haus for lunch. Not much else was open (except for the Hard Rock which was over twice as expensive with no atmosphere). I had the Roast Pork and BIL had the Schweinehaxe. Both were ok.

We walked over to the BMW museum, which was supposed to be open, but it was closed. We walked around the BMW complex and through the Olympic Area.

We had a dinner of bratwurst and Weisses at the Weisses Brauhaus. It was another nice place to eat, and I recommend it.

We went back to the Hofbra&uuml;haus after dinner. It was a nice place to spend Christmas night, and it was full!

OK starting on the 26th, the rest of our party joins us and the real touring begins.

I agree with you regarding the christmas market. I find it disappointing that there are increasingly more made in china stands in the last decade. I wish they would set some rules against that. One time we thought half the goods they're selling were made in china cheap stuff.

Thanks for posting this report.

Looking forward to hearing more.

<b>Wednesday, December 26th</b>
After breakfast, BIL and I took the U-Bahn to the Hauptbahnhof to meet Tim, MIL and FIL. We transferred them to the Hotel Uhland and let them wash up.

Back on the U-Bahn and off to Odeonsplatz, from where we walked down to Marienplatz. Lots of window shopping was done.

We went to the Hofbra&uuml;haus for lunch. (Tim's request.) We had sp&auml;tzle, goulash, sausages, Hofbra&uuml; Original, Radlers and Russns. Everyone was happy.

We walked around a lot more until it was time for our Beer and Brewery Tour with Munich Walks.

www.munichwalktours.de/home/english


We enjoyed the tour and recommend it. First we met in Marienplatz and walked to the Viktualienmarkt and learned about Beer Gardens and Maypoles.

On to Weisses Brauhaus where we sampled Weiss.

On to the Paulaner Haus (using the U-Bahn) for a brewery tour followed by a sampling of three beers and an optional dinner.

The tour then finishes at the Hofbra&uuml;haus, but the newbies were so tired we had to return to the Uhland.

<b>Thursday, December 27th</b>
We got a later start this morning.
Eventually we made it to Dachau, *just* making the 3:30pm English movie.

Everyone was very glad that we visited Dachau. I am not sure what else to say. It was quite moving.

I had never been to Dachau, but I had been to Mauthausen. They are very different, and I would suggest visiting both if you have the opportunity.

We had one final meal at the Hofbra&uuml;haus. Try the yeast dumpling dessert. Wow. It is so yummy, like a donut with hot icing.


<b>Friday, December 28th</b>
Thanks to LarryinColorado, we bought a 29E ticket that was good for all five of us for the ride from Munich to Salzburg. I couldn't figure out how to do it on the machine (which came up at almost 300E!) so we had to purchase it at the ticket counter.

We attempted to catch a train to Salzburg, but just missed it because some of the train platforms are way away from the center of the station. Make sure you allow plenty of time to find the correct platform at the Hauptbahnhof.

We had an extra 45 minutes until the next train departed and purchased some coffee and a newspaper. Not too much time was wasted.

The train ride to Salzburg was beautiful. Lots of small Bavarian towns with steeples framed by mountain scenery.

Upon arrival in Salzburg, BIL figured out how to buy 24-hour bus passes for us and how to get to the fortress.

We bought 10E tickets each to take the funicular up and get into all of the fortress exhibits.

It was beautiful, and I highly recommend a visit to anyone staying in Munich for 3 or more days.

It was also FREEZING. We live in Minnesota/Colorado and were so cold. Dress warmly. I had on a knee-length North Face parka, warm mittens, a scarf, a hat, my hood over my hat (oh I look beautiful in photos!) and I was still a little cold. The other four were very cold.

After returning to the street-level of Salzburg we walked through some of the churches and then back to the train station. We bought some food to eat on the train and returned to Munich.

Back at the Hauptbahnhof, we bought some wine, beer, and snacks and had our evening chat at the Hotel Uhland while we thawed out.

The Christmas markets are a mixed bunch these days. We found 2 really nice ones in Berlin, but 2 others were very blah. The good ones still exist, but you need to get some advice on which ones are worthwhile before you go.

Although the goods at the Munich markets were not exciting, the ambiance was terrific! Caroling, good food and wine, costumes and a very fun atmosphere.

Did not care for the Hofbrauhaus, though, and we walked out after looking at the menu and breathing in too much smoke. When I was 16 I thought it was fun, now not so much

Sounds like a really fun trip, Liz. Thanks for posting a report so we can all enjoy it with you.

My husband and I were in Munich Christmas week 2005 with our two college aged daughters. (We've been to Germany several times). We could barely fit in the Hofbrauhaus, much less find a seat or order anything! Even my daughters found it too loud and overpowering. It seems to have really worked for your group. And it's always a bonus to find somewhere that is serving on Christmas Eve/ Christmas Day.

We enjoyed the different Christmas markets and the ice skating. Plus it was snowing, so it really felt like Christmas.

I look forward to reading the rest of your report.

I think we are missing the rest of it? Do go on!

Great trip report so far. Looking forward to your next installment...

Robyn &gt;-

I seem to have missed this trip report the first time, so I'm glad it has risen to the top. I hope Liz comes back and finishes!