Day1

Munich Airport


After I was done with my first medical elective in Middlesbrough, I was so stoked to embark on yet another adventure in Europe! This time we were tackling the central region of the Europe. We left Middlesbrough and travelled to London a day earlier just so that we could actually spend some time visiting UK. It was another hectic schedule but we were all excited to discover every unknown territory with a little bit mixture of fear and nervousness along the way.

Then we proceeded to board the Ryan Air straight to Munich. We were very much confused with the weather in European countries as one place might be warmer or colder than the other at the same time. Luckily the temperature was just right in Munich and we checked in at our Airbnb house before went out strolling.

Englischer Garten






Such irony as we just came from the UK and our first stop was actually, you guess it right, the English Garden. Being one of the largest urban parks in the world, the public park was located in the centre of Munich, Bavaria, stretching from the city centre to the northeastern city limits.
The interesting thing about this place was that there were a Greek temple, a Chinese pagoda as well as a Japanese tea house!



Augustiner Keller






The views were gorgeous and we got to stop by at a beer garden and ordered our first German beer, the Augustiner Edelstoff straight from the barrels which tasted fantastic. Augustiner Keller was one of the oldest beer gardens in Munich. Surrounded by 100 chestnut trees, there were lots of benches for people to sit and had food and drinks. It was just so peaceful to drink some beers in a massive beer mug, chatting with friends and enjoying the beauty of the nature. Life could not get any better.
Day 2

Nymphenburg Palace






On our second day, we went to the Nyphemburg Palace in the morning to avoid the queues and heat. Apparently once our skins were exposed to the sun, we felt like being lashed by fire sticks #notexaggerating .Fortunately we applied tons of sunscreen lotions before we left the house. The Bavarian palace was really beautiful in both interior and exterior aspects. However, I would prefer the exterior slightly more as the gardens were one of a kind as they were so spacious with fountains, lakes and well organised with various kinds of trees and flowers.

Kunstareal Munchen



Of course, more museum visiting when we were in Europe. The Kunstareal Munchen was located at the center of Munich and it was some of the most important cultural hubs in Europe. The museum quarter consisted of three "Pinakotheken" galleries namely the Alte Pinakothek, Neue Pinakothek and Pinakothek der Moderne. We spent quite a lot of time appreciating the arts and histories that were shown in the museums and they were quite interesting to be honest.

Munich Residenz

Image Source: residenz-muenchen.de

Image Source: timetravelturtle.com

After getting a quick lunch/ tea time break, we went to Munich Residence, another museum in Munich. This museum was very different compared to others as it looked so grand and fancy as it was the palace of the Bavarian Kings. The highlight of the museum was the Crown Jewels. Best of all, free audio guides were given to all visitors so we did not have to fork out any more money than necessary. The museum however was not for everyone as it was much more catered to those who loved the Royals very very much. Every room in the palace was indeed a work of art as they had their own themes and designs.

Hofbrauhaus Munchen






After spending pretty much whole day soaking up our brains with European histories and cultures, we decided to call it a day and got to the famous local beer house, the Hofbrauhaus Munchen! The famous beer hall was so crowded and everyone was practically queuing to get a table. The waiters were as busy as bee and the environment was so lively as people (mostly locals) were singing some traditional german songs. The food was good especially the pork shank and bratwursts. The potato balls were a bit too chewy for us and they called it the dumplings.

Day 3

Dokumentationszentrum Reichsparteitagsgelände

Image Source: wherewouldyougo.com

On our third day, we went to the Nuremberg early in the morning. We also spent the rest of the day there as it took couple of hours for us to get there from Munich via the bus. Once we reached Nuremberg, we got to the Dokumentationszentrum Reichsparteitagsgelände (The words were so long because they were translated from Documentation Center Nazi Party Rally Grounds. The tickets were pretty cheap at €5 per person and it was worth every penny you paid.

Basically you got to watch couple of short movies about the second world waar and there were also pictures around the museum. In addition, we were also given English audio guides that explained each and every thing in the museum in detailed manner.

Imperial Castle of Nuremberg (Kaiserburg Nurnberg)






Our next destination was none other than the Imperial Castle of Nuremberg. It was a great place to go as it gave testimonial about Germany's history in a whole. Contrary to belief, the Kaiserburg was actually a conference centre where leaders of the very fragmented empire met instead of being assumed as a fortress to fend against enemies. Aside from that, the museum also displayed some of the most interesting medieval weapons that were used by the soldiers. I particularly liked the old city as it was beautiful beyond words and filed with historic events.

Historic Rock-Cut Cellars (Historische Felsengange)





Couple of hours and hundreds of photos later, we went to have a tour at the Nuremberg's rock-cut cellars. It was the biggest rock-cut cellar maze in Southern Germany and we actually had to go underground below the city. It was really cold when we went to the cellars and creepy at times as everything was quite dark.

It was the cool and constant low temperatures that favoured wheat beer brewing which was a bavarian specialty. The german purity law for beer ("Reinheitsgebot") was written down and executed by the local brewers in Nuremberg. At the end of the tour, we were given couple of testers of their local wines and they tasted really rich and delicious.

Hauptmarkt


Another famous site in Nuremberg is the Haupmarkt, a marketplace that was located in the middle of the Old Town, just in front of the St Lorenz church. We could find all sorts of local products, ranging from fruits and vegetables to bakery products, craft goods just to mention a few.

Albrecht-Durer-Haus.

Image Source: telegraph.co.uk

We also managed to squeeze some time visiting a 15th century sandstone and timber framed house
in the heart of Nuremberg who was owned by Albrecht Durer. It was later being converted to museum long after his death in 1871. For your information, Albrecht Durer was a famous painter, printmaker, and theorist of the German Renaissance. His significant masterpieces included Knight, Death and the Devil engravings (1513), Saint Jerome in his Study (1514) and Melencolia I (1514).

Day 4

Church of Our Lady (Frauenkirche)

Image Source: monaco-baviera.net

Since it's our last day and we had a bit of aches here and there after travelling whole day yesterday, we took things slow and easy and visited the church after we had our breakfast. The 15th century cathedral was most famous for its domed towers and its interior was magnificent as well especially the high vaulted ceilings. Also, the massive wooden doors were impressive and it happened to be the main church of the city hence photographs were discouraged as people were coming in to do their prayers.

Marienplatz





We went to the Marienplatz, a prominent public square that was largest in Munich, to look aorund. After spending three days in Munich, this was probably the first time we stepped back in to city life as there were tourists and locals busy walking around the streets with big buildings and shops all around the area. Besides, there were also classic Gothic buildings that were pleasing to eyes and some of them actually reminded me of Harry Potter scenes.

St Peter's Church

Image Source: oldstmarys.org

In my humble opinion, Munich had pretty churches all over it. We were amazed by the histories behind each cathedral and church and the way they rebuilt most of them after being destroyed in World War II. What was interesting with this church was that it was the city's oldest remaining church that was built in the 11th century. St Peter's Church was known for its gorgeous golden interior.

Viktualienmarkt






Last but not least, our Munich getaway ended with us visiting the Viktualienmarkt. It was a lovely open-air market that offered a wide variety of items for those who loved local products or crafted items. It was also a great place for us to purchase souvenirs for our friends and families as the craft items are small and handy for us to bring back home.


Munich Train Station



During the evening time, we checked out and went to the Munich Train station to board the train and head to our next country, Salzburg! Honestly speaking, I was a tad bit disappointed with Munich as I was expecting to see a huge metropolitan cities instead of a normal urban area. Probably Berlin was much more developed than Munich in general. One great thing about Germany was that the people were very generous with their sauces as they are free ( unlike the UK where they would charge five pence for every sauce). Stay tuned for my Salzburg post. Till then, bye!

Munich Itinerary