Day 4 - Munich

Trip Progress

Day Summary

Tuesday Morning - Krakow

Wake Up & Taxi to Airport

Relatively speaking, not a super early wake up…but we were feeling it.

We packed the few remaining things up, checked out of the Metropolitan Boutique Hotel, and made our way to the airport.

Gorgeous morning. We could already feel the temperature warming up.

The taxi ride to the airport was nice and quick. I’m not sure a word was spoken the whole ride there.

Krakow Airport

Breakfast

We haven’t had a moment to sit and enjoy a breakfast on the trip yet.

At the airport, we tried to find some quick breakfast-like things to eat, but it was actually quite difficult.

Lori took Max to a restaurant to get some pancakes. I stayed at the gate. Seats were full at the gate, so I stood in a spot where it felt like a line would form as more people would arrive.

Lines and Order

Wild. The moment the agent said “We’re going to begin boarding soon”, everyone mad-rushed the gate. No lines, no order… mob.

No joke, people pushed past me like their name had just been called, only to then stop and stand right in front of me.

Maybe they’re giving away pretzels and beer Germany?!

Just kidding.

I suddenly found myself in the back of the group…wondering if we would have overhead storage for our things. No worries, a few moments later, Zone 2 was called, and we ended up weaving through most of the people that had just pushed ahead of us.

So confused - what just happened.

Flight to Germany

Otherwise, the flight to Munich was very nice. Short and sweet.

It was my first time flying Luftsana - very impressed.

Munich

We landed after an hour and a half. Munich airport was also very nice.

There were LOTS of pretzels and beer - but they weren’t free.

We grabbed an Uber with a destination of our hotel.

Our Uber van was traveling near ~150 km/h (90+mph) most of the way. Seemlessly weaving navigating traffic. I couldn’t believe, there was still a lot of traffic passing us!

Hotel

We checked in to our hotel: Hilton Munich City

• very nice
• awesome location
• subway station and tram a block away
• grocery (HIT), liquor store, toiletries (dw), etc. all across the street

The boys were a little disappointed the hotel didn’t have a pool - but we also weren’t going to waste a day in Munich swimming at a hotel pool!

Breakfast Package

When the woman asked, “would you like the breakfast buffet with your stay? It’s $40/person, but we’ll offer you a small discount to pre-pay.” I though - yikes, $40?! But this was a decision better made by mom. Lori jumped on it - “yes!”

I think we were all pretty hungry!

Dropping Gear - Time to Explore

We dropped our gear at the hotel and everyone was pretty excited to go explore the city…and find a place for lunch!

Wienerplatz

I think the sun was a motivator we had been missing up to this point.

One of the places on my list to visit was: Wienerplatz a popular square in Munich, not far from the hotel. The name came from the adjacent road, Innere Wiener Straße, which connected Munich with Wien (Vienna), Austria.

As we were walking by, Lori said, “Oh my, this is so cool - we have to stop”

And we did!

Lunch

In Wienerplatz, we found Zinners im Weinhäusl by Domaines Kilger .

A cute little wine/cafe in the square. The menu was in German…but here I finally got to use some of the German I was learning!

I had the chance to chat with the waitress - she was quite impressed at my ability to speak with only a few months learning.

The kids thought their meals were ‘ok’ but Lori and I LOVED ours. A mocktail and a beer hit the spot.

Here’s a picture of my “fried chicken burger” sandwich. Yum.

Walk in the Park

With stomachs MORE than full, we opt’d to walk to our next destination - which was about a mile away.

We crossed the Isar river and grabbed this family selfie.

Although the kids were complaining about the walking, it was wonderful. A slow-paced stroll around the Maximilianeum Parliment building and then on to Maximillianstraße (street).

Shopping - Maximillianstraße

On Lori’s “Munich Bucket List” was a walk around Maximillianstraße - a shopping district on a long stretch of road through downtown Munich.

There were SO many high-end designer stores - one after another. The street looked like it went on forever. I think Lori could have spent a whole day there!

I don’t think we bought anything, and believe it or not - the sun (while only ~75°F) felt HOT .

We were getting cooked (as the kids like to say) so we made our way back to the hotel.

Back to the Hotel

We rode the subway back to a station near the hotel, to compare it vs. The Underground (subway) in London.

Ok…no one else in the family cared about these things. It was me. They just wanted to get back.

I had purchased a full-travel pass for Munich (bus, tram, subway), but for some reason I couldn’t figure out how to “use it” at the subway.

The family was getting annoyed with me trying to figure things out - so we just walked in. I promise I bought tickets.

Naps

We went back to the hotel, rested for a bit.

I was adamant that people shouldn’t lay down for a nap. - No one ever listens to me! Haha!

Fast forward to 8pm and everyone is starving!

Dinner

Earlier in the day, at Wienerplatz, we saw the Hofbräukeller Biergarten and committed plans to come back for dinner.

One of the largest biergartens in Munich, it did not disappoint!

Max had a cheese pizza with pretzels on it. Tyler and I split a half roasted chicken. Lori had a huge dumpling and a pretzel!

I would have stayed for hours - but we were all pretty tired from the day.

And then, there’s these two…

Quote of the Day

Oh my gosh, I love this…what is it?

Referring to Käsespätzle at lunch. Followed by me laughing, saying, it’s “cheesy Spaetzle…more/less Mac-n-Cheese.”