This is our third trip to Europe, but we were equally as excited as the previous two. There are so many places in Europe still missing in our “to go list”, and Munich is definitely one of them.
Car Hire
Finding a good car hire company can be daunting. I have read so many different reviews about car hire companies, and I saw plenty of them had bad experiences. I have read so many reviews with car hire companies, and the the best of them are down to these two – Europcar and SIXT.
In the end, we decided to choose SIXT, as their price were more competitive. However, in my past car hire experiences (for any car hire company), the type of car that was pre-booked normally would not be available. This time it was no different, we were forced to upgrade to a bigger vehicle. Thankfully the car I got did not disappoint me. I was able to get a car large enough to fit in 4 luggages, without any hindrance to comfortability for the four of us in the car.
Accommodation
For the first 3 days, we stayed at a house around 1 hour drive east of Munich. The reason is a shorter drive to our visit to Salzburg for the next few days. Also, it was almost impossible to find a house within Munich at a reasonable price. In Munich city, we could have hire a small apartment at best. However, we want to be comfortable and ended up living in a 3 bedroom house in the suburb of Siegsdorf. The house is very big, and is great for families, and …. we love playing the football machine.
Note that in Germany most supermarkets were closed on Sundays. We fell into that trap in our previous trip to Germany and were in hungry in the first night. This time I did my research and discovered that there were a small number of supermarkets opens on Sundays. There were several of them at the Munich main station, we ended up at Edeka as they were some parking available (at a small fee) beside the store.
Destination
1. Deutsche Museum
Getting Parking wasn’t easy. We were lucky able to park on the street. Since we arrived on a Sunday, there were some parking space available in Munich city centre along the street west of the river, as per picture above. Outside the museum, the queue was quite long given that it’s a weekend. We waited for around 30 minutes before getting into the museum and purchase our tickets. I strongly advised to make booking before arrival, especially on the weekend, the staff will give you priority to enter.
The most fascinating site in the Museum were the fighter planes during the World War, these planes were kept very well despite already more than 50 years old.
2. Munich Summer Festival
In Germany, most capital cities will have some kind of summer festivals, with many food stores and mini-theme parks. We had that in Hamburg a couple of years ago, and it was one of the fond memories for the children. These festivals normally opens during late July to early August and last for a several weeks. You can click on the link here for their official website, the website normally updates a few weeks before festival.
Be aware that the festival may not occur every year, therefore you should only plan for it if it is confirmed in the website. Carpark is not easy to find, especially in the rain, I am attached the parking location in the google map above.
The Munich Summer Festival is situated at the Olympic Park in Munich. Unfortunately for us the weather wasn’t as good as anticipated, therefore some gaming activities and food stores were closed during that day. Nevertheless, I am sure the it would be an ideal playground for kids if the weather turns out to the fine.
3. Blutenburg Castle
On our way from Olympic Park towards Viktualienmarkt, we tried to visit the International Youth Library but unfortunately it was closed 3pm in the afternoon on a weekday (even though it was supposed to close at 4pm!). We had the disappointment behind us straightaway as there was a beautiful castle nearby – Blutenburg Castle. There was also a beautiful lake nearby for us to take plenty of photos.
4. Viktualienmarkt and Cathedral of St Peter
This place was probably the highlight of the day, the area around the market was quite vibrant just before 6pm. The Viktualienmarkt is situated at the heart of the Munich Old Town. There were so many different stores located in the open area, with many of them selling farmer’s produce.
The Cathedral of St Peter is another stunning site in the Old Town area, and there are lots of shops and restaurants for locals and tourists.
5. Allgau Skyline Park
Before coming to this trip, I have never heard of Allgau Skyline Park. There was one day I was doing a search in google map, and this place suddenly popped up on the east side of Munich. It’s around 1 hour drive from Munich city center. I understand that there are many more well-known theme parks in German, but given it’s positive reviews from many people, we decide to give it a try, and it did not disappoint. The park was full of thrill and fun rides, we shall have a section in this website fully dedicated to this theme park.
