Munich Christmas markets

It's December, it's advent time. It's the time that many Germans regularly attend the Christmas markets one can find all over Germany, for Christmas shopping, for eating all that delicious Christmas (market) food and/or simply for enjoying several cups of "Glühwein" (spiced hot wine).
And I admit, every time I'm abroad during the advent time, the Christmas markets and their atmosphere are really something I miss. And it seems to be the same for my German friend Jana. That's why Jana and I together with Audrey booked a weekend trip in December to one of the Christmas markets in Germany.
We actually decided on that already in August and booked our flights to Munich. We didn't want any city in particular, but based our destination on the flight schedule. It had to be from Friday to Sunday without making us take a day off from work. Thus, it simply turned out to be Munich as there were flights from Friday evening to Sunday evening and for a reasonable price. Hamburg was in the game as well, but the flight back would have been already on Sunday morning...
So, yes, we had booked Munich for the weekend 09/12 to 11/12. Additionally we had asked my friend Sarah from Neuss (Germany) who had joined us already for several trips in Norway. So she was coming along as well :-)


Friday 09/12:

Jana, Audrey and I left the office a bit earlier this day. We met up at 4 p.m. at the train station to take the airport express train Flytog to Oslo Airport Gardermoen.

Our flight to Munich left at 18:10. It was a Lufthansa flight! It's a loooooooong time ago that I took a Lufthansa flight. So from all the many many flights I have been taking in the last 10 years I'm not used to getting free food (except from Air Berlin actually) and even free ALCOHOLIC drinks!!! To eat we got some "Weißwurst-Bällchen" (Bavarian "white sausage" meatballs)...

...and some wine to drink. I just had to use the occasion and order that and I had to take a picture of it as well as it is so rare for me to have wine on a plane (for free) :-)

Not even arrived in Munich for 30 minutes we already found ourselves on the first Christmas market :-) There was one right at the airport. As Sarah would arrive from Dusseldorf only about 1,5 hours later, we took into consideration to stay at this Christmas market, to have already a first Glühwein while waiting for her. However, we had to check in at the hotel by 11 p.m. and we would have risked arriving too late in town if we waited for Sarah. And since it also seemed that the booths started closing, we went to the train station and took the local train to Munich city.

Jana had arranged a hotel for us called "Hotel Achterbahn" (hotel "Rollercoaster"). It's located on the way between the central station and the "Theresienwiese", the "Wiesn" where the Octoberfest takes place in autumn, thus only a 15 minutes walk to the old town.

It's a small independent hotel with only a few rooms. Each room had a theme related to a feeling: the name of our room was "Glück" (luck), a four bed room.

Other rooms were themed "Melancholie" (melancolia), "Rausch" (delirium/rapture), "Übermut" (wantonness/high spirits), "Ekstase" (ecstasy), "Erleichterung" (relief), "Angst" (fear) and "Erleuchtung" (inspiration):

We had arrived late and after check-in we were just waiting for Sarah to come as well. After a stressy day at work we were all too exhausted to go out.

Saturday 10/12:

As the breakfast was only served from 10 a.m. we kind of slept in before we went down to the Café Camera where the breakfast was served.

Right after breakfast we were passing the close by St. Paul's Church...

(Just to explain the blurred part of the picture: it was raining and I ended up with some rain drops on the lens.)

... on our way to the "Tollwood" Christmas market on the Theresienwiese.

The "Tollwood" Christmas market is a bit more alternative, not as typical as other ones. Nevertheless really nice and still pretty huge!

After about two hours we turned around and walked towards the real city centre, towards the old town...

...along the Kaufingerstraße...

... to the famous "Frauenkirche" (Cathedral of Our Dear Lady).

From there we proceed to a next Christmas market, the one at the yard of the "Residenz", infront of the Theatinerkirche.

Lunchtime: 50cm Thüringer Bratwurst (sausage) in bread with mustard and ketchup... :-) It's nice to be home, in Germany :-)

Sarah, Audrey and Jana went for some "Rahmbrot", flat bread with a kind of sour cream, bacon and spring onion. Also very delicious!

For dessert: one of those "Striezel" with sugar-cinnamon cover.

Right on time for the "Glühwein", a friend of Jana, Anne (who currently lives in Munich) joined us.

All together we just walked around the city.

The "Neues Rathaus", the New Town Hall at Marienplatz.

At one point we ended up in a kind of "design" store, with several floors, all offering a mix of nice and bizarre things.

At around 5.30 p.m. we reached another "alternative" Christmas market. The "Pink" market for the gay and lesbian, which is, nevertheless, accessible to everyone.

A this stand Jana got herself a pair of those nice earrings made out of Christmas balls. What a simply idea :-) And they are absolutely made for Jana!

Since it has been raining the whole day, already since the morning, we decided at one point to go in a warm and especially dry place. Just to escape the rain for a while. Some coffee and "Punsch" warmed us up again.

After an hour break, we continued our walking tour and eventually stopped by a shop where Audrey couldn't resist buying herself a Christmas tree including a full load of decoration for it! Having to carry it all around the town now for the rest of the day or how on earth getting all that save on a plane weren't really a problem to her. She wanted that tree :-)

Again at the Marienplatz passing the New Town Hall.

It wasn't even 8 p.m. when we realised that we were pretty hungry again. And since it has been commonly put on the agenda to go out to one of those famous places to eat typical Bavarian food, we ended up in the "Augustiner am Dom".

While I had a "Zwiebelrostbraten mit Kässpätzle" (steak with onion and typical Bavarian "cheese noodles"),

...Audrey and Jana went for typical potatoe dumplings with roast of porc and sauerkraut.

Of course this was well accompanied by some typical "Weißbier" (wheat beer).
Pretty filled up from the heavy food we went back to the Tollwood Christmas market to end the day with yet another Glühwein.

Sunday 11/12:


The day starts again with the breakfast at the Café Camera.
Later on we go back downtown and end up at the Marienplatz at noon, exactly the time when the"Glockenspiel" plays. It chimes and re-enacts two stories from the 16th century to the amusement of mass crowds of tourists and locals. It consists of 43 bells and 32 life-sized figures. First the top part of the Glockenspiel tells the story of the marriage of the local Duke Wilhelm V and then the lower part showing the "Schäfflerstanz" (the coopers' dance). The whole play lasts about 12-15 minutes...

We left the Marienplatz in Northern direction, strolling through town.

We eventually also pass the very famous "Hofbräuhaus" beer hall at the Platzl.

On our way to the English Garden, we pass the Bavarian State Chancellery.

At the English Garden...

... of course also venue for again another Christmas market.

From the Hofgarten with the Theatinerkirche in the background.

Odeonsplatz at the Residenz.

The Munich Opera House.

At 2 p.m. it's time for us to leave the city centre. We attend once again the Tollwood Christmas market close to our hotel: we all wanted to get some last Christmas presents there.
After that we stop quickly at the hotel to pick up our luggage and then it's already time for us to head back to the airport. After one last warming Glühwein at the Airport Christmas market we greet Sarah, said goodbye to her and Jana, Audrey and I proceeded to our terminal. After some further Christmas shopping at the duty free shop and the acquisition of a mega Bretzel we finally managed to sit down for a couple of minutes before boarding started.
After a whole day out in the cold and then all the rushing and shopping around in the terminal with winter jacket on and all the stuff to carry, it had become pretty warm (well, maybe also the last quick Glühwein was a bit too warming as well...). So despite the red head, I couldn't resist taking a picture of my Riesen-Bretzel :-)

Girls, thank you very much for the nice weekend! It was once again a pleasure with you :-)
And Sarah, it was so great to see you again. Thanks for joining! Looking forward to seeing you again for New Year in Italy :-)