Munich, Germany Travel Diary

Oh Munich, Germany! The land of beer gardens, beautiful greenery, European city charm, the Autobahn and of course, Oktoberfest. Below I am sharing a mini travel diary of my trip, and some of my favorite spots in the city.

Marienplatz

Every city has it’s touristy must-see landmark. In Munich, it’s definitely the Marienplatz. Whether it’s gawking at the stunning historic architecture, shopping, snacking on pretzels or simply walking around the square with hundreds of other tourists, Marienplatz is the iconic area of Munich. You cannot leave without watching the Glockenspiel tower put on its animated show on top of the tower; a human sized cuckoo clock that goes off 11am and 12pm daily, adding a 5pm showing between March and October.

Viktualienmarkt

The Viktualienmarkt is like a huge permanent Farmers Market, walking distance from Marienplatz. You’ll see all the locals shopping for fresh ingredients, florals and many other items that you can only get there. A few minutes away (walking) is my favorite bakery in probably the WORLD- I’m not much of a sweet tooth…but those DONUTS WERE INSANELY DELICIOUS AT Schmalznudel Café Frischhut.

Breweries

I am not much of a beer drinker, but when in Munich you MUST go to a brewery, and if it’s September, attend Oktoberfest. (More on Oktoberfest later in the post.) I had two favorite breweries for different reasons. My favorite beer? Definitely Augustiner-Bräu. Best atmosphere and Munich culture? Hofbrau. The Hofbrau Brewery is a traditional German beer hall, complete with live band, long wooden tables and humungous baskets of pretzels.

Autobahn

Driving with no speed limits? That sounds a lot more dangerous than it really is. We drove down the Autobahn not going past 130 mph, but there were sports cars actually PASSING US at that speed, meaning they were going at least 150 mph. It doesn’t feel like you are driving that fast when everyone else is driving the same speed!

Coffee

Man Versus Machine Coffee Roasters

It wouldn’t be a Panache Travel Diary without a few mentions of coffee shops. This one was my favorite- (and can we talk about that adorable dog on the right hand side?). Standing up, that dog was taller than me!

Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest was not really what I expected (in a good way). This is definitely a travel bucket list experience that wasn’t even on my personal list, but was added and crossed off after my visit. Let me just say that Oktoberfest is a huge carnival that happens to have these ginormous tents (more like warehouse-sized, decorated rooms) with the best brews and beers in the world. Each brewery/beer house has their own tent in which they serve their brews + food and have an incredible live German band that plays everything from classic German music to American classics. One of my favorite memories of Oktoberfest is seeing hundreds of Germans singing/screaming to Sweet Home Alabama at the top of their lungs!

Oktoberfest was also a lot more organized than I thought. We were lucky enough to have our own table at the Hofbrau tent with people we were with. I would highly suggest reserving a table at a house to secure a seat. They cannot serve you beer unless you are sitting down (hence reserving a table), so I think that made everything a lot more controlled and fun. Don’t get me wrong, there were definitely chaotic moments, especially if you are jumping from tent to tent, (which we did), but ended up going back to our tent because of the craziness. Below are some of the tents that we visited.