Munich, Germany: Beer, Lederhosen, and Good Times!

Germany was really my first big dream destination. I started taking German as soon as I began high school and it didn't take long for me to fall in love with the language and culture of Germany. This was the first time that I had ever really studied another culture and it opened my eyes to how big the world is. I quickly became obsessed with Germany and wanted to learn everything about it. I went on to take five semesters of German in high school (big shoutout to my awesome teacher Frau Schock!) and then I was a peer facilitator in German for two additional semesters. I begged my mom to take me to Germany for what seemed like forever, and finally she said that we would go for my high school graduation trip. Needless to say, I was beyond ecstatic and we were soon booking our flights to Munich. This was going to be my first time on another continent and while I knew a lot about Germany and a fair bit of the language, I was still kind of nervous as to how wheelchair accessible Munich would be. Right after my graduation, we boarded the plane and went to find out ourselves.

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After flying for almost ten hours, we finally arrived in Munich. I didn't reserve any kind of wheelchair accessible transportation because I read prior to going that the trains were usually accessible. There is a train inside the airport so we planned to take it to our hotel. I was able to get on most of the trains in Munich with a ramp, but finding someone to bring out the ramp wasn't always an easy task. We would have to find a worker, tell them what we needed, and then wait on someone to bring the ramp to us. This wasn't a quick process and usually took about 20-30 minutes, so if you are in a rush to get somewhere then go a bit early to the train station. Also, if you've been waiting for more than about 15 minutes go remind them that you are still waiting. They never seemed to get in too much of a rush for us, but riding the train was a vastly cheaper option than hiring an accessible taxi so we didn't mind waiting a little.

Just a short train ride later and we were in the city center of Munich, Germany, ready to explore. The first place that we went to was Marienplatz. Marienplatz is the town square of Munich and is in the heart of the city. It consists of the Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall) and it's famous Glockenspiel. The Glockenspiel is a twelve minute long spectacle that shows figurines twirling around three times a day in the Summer, at 11:00am, noon and 5:00pm, and twice per day in the Winter, at 11:00am and noon. The show is really a must see when in Munich and the crowds pack Marienplatz for the shows. The Neues Rathaus also has an elevator that will take you to the top of it for one of the best views of Munich. It is a staggering 255 feet high, but is completely accessible via wheelchair. I love heights and picture worthy views, so this was really the perfect introduction to the city.

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Being a foodie at heart, our dinner that night was what I was really looking forward to. Everyone that knows anything about Germany (or beer) knows of the Hofbräuhaus. It is a huge restaurant and brewery that can hold up to 1,300 people inside. There are bands playing traditional German music and all of the waitresses wear dirndls. Upon entering, I immediately felt like I had finally arrived in Germany. We were quickly escorted to a table where we sat with other travelers as well. All of the tables are like this, bringing a sense of community to the Hofbräuhaus. We started out with the original Hofbräu beer and some pretzels. The beer is reasonably priced, at just 7 € for 1 whole liter! I had seen pictures of the large steins of beer before, but it was so much bigger in person. It was HUGE! I really don't even like beer, but when in Germany you have to drink beer... or at least that's what I was thinking. As far as the food goes, I ordered the Wiener Schnitzel and it was delicious. It was also served with potatoes, which happen to be one of my favorite foods. Yum!

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Munich is full of beautiful churches, but the one that is the most visible from all around the city is the Frauenkirche, or the “church of our lady”. You can see the two towers of the church all over Munich due to the height limits in place in the city, making it stick out prominently as a landmark. No buildings can be built higher than 99 meters. I had seen the Frauenkirche around the city for a few days before we decided to go inside and check it out. It is an extremely large church, with a maximum occupancy of 20,000 people. Being inside is quite breathtaking and the main level is completely wheelchair accessible. However, it is not accessible to go to the top of the tower for a view of Munich, as there are only stairs available to reach the top. One of my favorite things about Europe is the gorgeous cathedrals and the Frauenkirche doesn’t disappoint.

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If you are visiting Munich, you might want to consider a weekend trip to the Black Forest, where cuckoo clocks are a big thing. It’s actually the birthplace of the cuckoo clock, which is a huge part of German history. If you want to take a piece of authentic Germany home with you, you can choose from a beer stein, lederhosen or a cuckoo clock. Since I don’t feel like my figure is really cut out for lederhosen and I’d rather be reminded of Germany every hour, I would choose the cuckoo clock. If you are obsessed with Germany like me, you can get your very own cuckoo clock without ever visiting the area.

Aside from shopping and wandering around the hectic city centre, we also got to relax in the Englischer Garten and Chinesischer Turm beer garden. The Englischer Garten is Munich’s largest park area and is even bigger than Central Park in New York City. Chinesischer Turm is a traditional beer garden and is actually located in Englischer Garten. There are many benches where you can sit and enjoy beer and food, such as bratwursts, roasted chicken, and pretzels. This is a great people watching spot and since we were there in the Summer, it was packed. It was very relaxing to stroll around the Englischer Garten for a few hours and it was a nice distraction from the hustle and bustle of the city.

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On our last day in Munich we decided to venture over to the Olympic Park. The park was built for the 1972 Olympics and contains lakes, sports facilities, a stadium, restaurants, and the Olympic Tower, which is considered a landmark of Munich. The tower can be accessed by an elevator, making it wheelchair accessible. Once you are at the top, you can see the complete Olympic Park, and even inside the stadium. It was a pretty rainy day when we were there, but we could still see most of the park well. After taking in the views for a while, we made our way across the street to the BMW Museum. This museum houses some of the coolest, and most expensive, BMW’s in the world. Before touring the museum, I had no idea that BMW made bicycles as well, and there was a children’s bike for sale for a whopping 4,000 €. It was awesome to see these expensive cars and bikes and hopefully one day I’ll actually be able to afford one.

Olympic Tower

Olympic Tower

View of the stadium from the top of the Olympic Tower

View of the stadium from the top of the Olympic Tower

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Really expensive BMW bike

Really expensive BMW bike

While Munich isn’t the capital of Germany, it sure does offer a plethora of activities for visitors. Whether you are wanting to drink beer in one of the many breweries and beer gardens or be in awe of the beauty of the cathedrals, there is always something to do in Munich and I am anxiously awaiting the next time I get to go… Oktoberfest or bust!

Looking for the best places to stay in Munich? Check out this post

Other pictures from Munich:

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