Munich, Germany and Salzburg, Austria - Weekend Escape

It wouldn't be living if we didn't hit the road every 2 weeks or so. This trip: Munich, Germany and Salzburg, Austria.

Munich is a cool city: culturally diverse, friendly, pretty architecture, historical, modern, good markets, big beers, walkable.

A Few Musts:

Stroll through Englischer Garten (English Garden) - possibly stop at the lake for pint and lunch or afternoon nap in one of the many lawns

 Viktualienmarkt: the outdoor market great for picking up fresh cheeses, produce, fish, meats, flowers 

Schrannenhalle: the indoor market which is a great place to stop for a glass of wine and snack at one of the many cafes or a little shopping in the market

Marienplatz: Stop and enjoy the Rathaus-Glockenspiel - walk into the main square on one of the pedestrian only shopping streets

Churches and Historical Sites: One of our favorite things to do when walking around is to visit churches. It has some of the best free art and no matter how many you walk into, they all are a little different - also cool to pick up on regional differences.

The Opera House, not a church

Hofbräuhaus: Cap off the night with a beer, music and chance to meet some cool people from around the world. Known for their beer, but you may or may not be able to order wine too (yes, I did that at a beer hall but in all fairness, I drank some beer too)

There is so much to see in Munich and the best is just to get out and walk. Also, they have a great variety of cuisine there so if you are like us and need a fix of good ethnic food and fish - which can be hard to come bye in Eastern Europe - this is a great place to fill that void.

Also, for anyone visiting Munich, the Bavarian region is running a promotion with the local trains and offering round trip tickets to a few cities within the region for 23 euro for the 1st ticket and the second ticket for 4 euro. We were originally planning on driving to Salzburg but with round trip tickets at only 27 euro for the two of us - we took the train. You get to see the country side and don't have to worry about parking or gas which was an extra plus. Tickets can be purchased at the train station.

Day Trip to Salzburg, Austria

Salzburg to me was perfection. It was beautiful. The town is so tiny and posh. Every corner is another quaint street with darling stores. They were decorated for Easter which made the town feel like spring is upon us.We strolled along the river until we hit the main area but not before stumbling into the local Saturday farmers market.You can learn so much about a place by their farmers markets.

We enjoyed in some of the local sausages and then picked some local cheeses and fruits and headed to the river. It was a perfect day so we found a nice spot and posted up for awhile.



Salzburg is an easy day trip. You can see pretty much the whole town in a few hours and even have some time left over to wander around until the train leaves.

All in all, Chris and I say - we both like both locations but he liked Munich more than I did and I liked Salzburg more than he did.

Travelers Tips: When looking at where to stay in Munich - it is true, most of the hotels are by the train station. There are some closer to Marienplatz but when we were looking, those tended to be the very high end hotels for a slightly exaggerated price of 700 euro a night (not our budget).  

Also, if driving into Munich it is pretty awesome because there are a ton of hop fields in the country. They look similar to a vineyard but the stakes are super tall and have vines growing up them and a net at the top. I didn't know what they were before so had to Google it. Worth seeing if driving past.

Just Dickin' Around in Berlin

Berlin, Germany. To be honest, Germany isn't a country that is high on our travel list but Berlin happens to be exactly 3 hours away from Wroclaw so it made for a perfect weekend getaway. We did some research and decided on the things that were important for us to see during our 2 days there. The good thing about Berlin - it's super easy to walk. And while we didn't take it - looked like they have good public transportation.

When deciding where to stay - we opted for the trendy Mitte area. There they have lots of trendy restaurants and art galleries and happens to be close to the sights we wanted to see. So Saturday we hit the pavement for a little tour.

First up, Brandenburg Gate.

We did a little walk through the park behind - joining a festival they had going on. The park has neat things to check out and one stop we made was to the Soviet War Memorial.

From there, we hit the Memorial for Murdered Jews of Europe. The memorial is an interactive outdoor exhibit. My interpretation is they are coffins, making you feel lost and confused, not knowing what or who is around the corner.

After the memorial - we headed to Checkpoint Charlie. This is the most famous checkpoint during the era of East and West Berlin. They have pieces of the wall, photos and historical facts to read up on your history. They also still maintain the stand in the middle of the street. While the history is cool to preserve, the checkpoint feels more like a tourist attraction than a reflection of history.

So when traveling, Chris and I feel it's important to get away from the main attractions and find the hidden gems. One cool fact about Berlin is they have the largest Turkish population outside of Turkey. In Berlin, there is a Turkish neighborhood called Kruezberg. It definitely has it's own thing going on. Residential with lots of cool street art.

 

Street art is something you will find all over Berlin. It is neat to see the city express itself in this way. While Berlin isn't a particularly pretty city - the art gives it such great character. Hence, where the name of this blog post came from.

Anyway - if you happen to find yourself Kruezberg, be sure to check out Mustfa's - they are supposed to have the best kebab in town. Be prepared to wait awhile though.

Chris and I waited for awhile but since it was cold - we weren't in the mood to wait so hit up Curry 36. Not worth it. We like the currywurst in Dresden way better.

After a little bite to eat, we continued our journey toward Gendarmenmarkt. This is large city square in Berlin. While you can tour the building, we opted to continue on to Museum Island.

 Here is where they have a few different museum's including the Berlin Cathedral.

Just behind Museum Island is Alexanderplatz Square. We didn't walk over but you can see the sky tower from many point within the city and on Sunday on the way to the East Side Gallery - we drove past it.

We enjoyed our evening exploring different places to eat and drink - as well as parks to sit and enjoy the night.

It was a long eventful day. Our opinion of the city - it is a dirty, Soviet style Washington, D.C. I don't know we'd recommend it to anyway but if you have an interest in going - it's always worth forming your own opinion of a place. One aspect we loved though truly was the street art. Seemed like every corner - someone had something to express. While we don't like pointless graffiti - when it is artistic and a statement - it is neat. PS If you haven't been to Poland, a lot of Berlin looks very similar to parts of Poland.

On Sunday, we hit up the East Side Gallery - you can see our post on that here: Berlin Wall Circa 2014.