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.