This week’s “Live Like a Local” we are heading to Munich, Germany, with Just Another Travel Blogger Marissa. She’s an American living abroad and her blog is filled with travel tips and her personal adventures. Head on over and check it out. Is filled with a lot of great information. But now sit back, relax, and live like a local in Munich with Marissa.
Tell Us A Little About Yourself:
Hi! My name is Marissa Stagg. I am originally from Utah in the USA; however, I now live in Munich, Germany. One of the greatest places to live. Munich is a beautiful and vibrant city that is also only an hour’s drive to the beautiful Alps! I have been living here for almost 2 years for my job working in medical research and getting my master’s degree in International Health Management. When I am not studying or working, my passions are being in the mountains and traveling! This makes living in Germany the perfect place. I spend my weekends hiking around the Alps or visiting nearby countries. After making the move to Germany it felt like a great time to make a blog to talk about my adventures in Germany and the rest of Europe.
Tell Us A Little About Where You Are From?
I think Germany is an amazing place that everyone should see, but especially Munich! Munich is part of southern Germany called Bavaria. Often the stereotypical things the world associates with Germany, like pretzels and Oktoberfest, are actually unique to Bavaria! So, it’s clearly an important part of the country. Munich has great places to eat, a beautiful river, many outdoor parks, museums, historical sites, and it’s close to many options for day trips! I think spending 3-5 days in Munich is the perfect way to see it all, and even take 1- or 2-day trips to the surrounding areas.
Is There Anywhere People Can Skip While Visiting Munich?
When visiting Munich most people want to try the traditional beer, see the beer halls and experience Bavarian beer culture. This results with many people making a visit to Hofbrauhous their top priority. However, I would suggest skipping this tourist trap and opting for a local Biergarten. Biergartens are large outdoor gardens where people gather to enjoy Bavarian food, and of course beer! Biergartens are all over the city and loved by locals. I would suggest visiting the Muffathalle Biergarten. This one is in a beautiful, forested area, next to a river and yet still near the city center. You will likely run into many biergartens while in Munich, because they are everywhere, ranging from intimate to huge. They are the perfect place to end the day with a beer after sightseeing in the city.
What Is A Must See To Live Like A Local In Munich?
One must-see in Munich are the river surfers at the Eisbach. The river that runs through Munich (the Isar) convenes at one spot that creates a natural wave that is perfect for surfing. Surfers from all over the world come here to try river surfing. They even do it all winter long, in insulated wet suits of course. It’s really cool to see! The Eisbach is also inside the English Garden, which is the one of the largest public green spaces in Europe. In the summer locals gather here to swim in the river, sunbathe, and meet friends for a picnic or aperol spritz. It is the perfect place to spend a sunny day. The English Garden also has a large biergarten called the Chinese Tower. This biergarten is okay to stop in for a drink if you’re in need of one, however be aware it is one of the largest tourists biergartens in the city. Therefore, it is a bit unauthentic, overpriced and crowded.
A must-see day trip from Munich is the famous Neuschwanstein castle. You’ve probably seen pictures of this beautiful castle before. It was built by the last king of Germany in the 1800s. It is in the beautiful Bavarian mountains and surrounded by mountain lakes. To get here you will need to rent a car or go with a tour group. But either way it is less than 2 hours to get here from Munich. It is a short but beautiful hike up to the overview of the castle, which is definitely worth it! You can also pay to go inside the castle, where you can see what the castle looked like when it was used as King Ludwig’s home. There are over 4 lakes near Neuschwanstein, meaning there are plenty more areas to explore around here if you finish your tour of the castle.
What Is Your Favorite Restaurant And Food So People Can Get A Taste Of Living Like A Local In Munich?
It’s hard to pick a favorite restaurant here in Munich, because the city is known for having delicious international cuisine. But for a visitor, I would suggest trying Mariannenhof. This restaurant serves traditional German food such as Wiener schnitzel, with a bit of a modern twist. For an after-dinner pick-me-up, they often give shots of “liquid cocaine”, which is essentially just a mini espresso martini. Super tasty! They have some outdoor seating as well. I would suggest calling to make a reservation, as it’s small and popular in the area.
If your pallet is craving something different than German, I would suggest an incredible Israeli place called Eclipse Grillbar. This restaurant has really really good food, great service and of course good wine. It is located in a part of the city called Maxvorstadt. Maxvorstadt is a very trendy and hip area of Munich. You can easily find plenty of bars for after dinner drinks near Eclipse.
Any Advice To Those Who Might Be Visiting Munich For The First Time?
My biggest piece of advice for anyone visiting Munich would be to not be afraid of the public transportation! It’s very affordable, accessible and efficient. You can download an app called MVG where you can directly buy your tickets on your phone (make sure you do buy a ticket because they do check and like to catch tourists. The fine is 60 euros). You can get a day ticket for around $10, and this will let you go through the whole city (using the subway, bus or tram). The announcement system is even in German and English . If you prefer biking, Munich is also a very bike friendly city. MVG also has their own city bikes that you can rent and pay as you go. Just look for the big blue bikes around the city!
Speaking of English, another great part about visiting Munich is that everyone speaks English! Don’t be afraid to ask people for help or directions in English. If you want to be polite, you can start by saying “Entschuldigen sprechen Sie Englisch?” (pronounced en-shool-dee-gun spre-ken zee ayn-glish). If they say yes or “ja” then go ahead and ask away! Some other important phrases to know are “hallo” -hello and “danke” -thank you.
What Is One Place People Might Not Know About When Living Like A Local In Munich?
When coming to Munich many people do not realize there is a historic WW2 concentration camp memorial just a few miles outside of the city. Dachau Concentration Camp was actually the first concentration camp opened by the Nazi party. It is a very somber place to visit, however it is also important to understand what happened there and pay respect to the many people that came through the camp. You can easily buy a day ticket on the subway that takes you out to Dachau. Another option is to book with a tour group. Plan to spend a whole day here, as it is quite large.
What Is One Thing People Might Not Know About Munich?
Something interesting about Munich is that most traditional places usually only serve one kind of beer: traditional Bavarian Helles. This nice, light golden beer is the main beer that everyone drinks in Munich (you can find some variations at bigger grocery stores). So when eating out it is common to just see “bier” on the menu, which will always refer to a helles beer. Additionally, if you ask for a beer, you will always be given a helles.
Any Last Worlds For Our Like Like A Local Readers?
As you can probably see Munich is a great place that you should definitely visit! It is also super connected to many other destinations in Europe. So, you can plan a longer trip through Europe, and Munich is a natural stopover. From Munich you can get easy train connections to Austria, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Czech Republic and more! If you want to explore more of Bavaria here are 7 more great day trips from Munich that allow you to explore this beautiful area. I hope you take the opportunity to visit this amazing city!
Thanks To Marissa For Letting Us Live Like A Local in Munich With You.
Don’t forget to check out her blog Just Another Travel Blogger and follow her on Instagram so you can Live Like a Local in Munich as she continues her adventure.
* And don’t forget to check out last week’s “Live Like a Local” in Austria with Jenson HERE.
[…] *And don’t forget to check out last weeks “Live Like a Local” where we head to Munich, Germany HERE. […]