|
Munich Overview:
Munich isn't just a city of old fashioned architecture, but it is also a city in one style. It's one of the cities bombed during World War II and it's amazing to see how everything was renovated and how it is still being renovated, repainted to keep up with the city's look. Even some new buildings are being built in a similar style so that (hopefully) the character of the city stays for many years.
Munich is full of museums with interesting information. But keep in mind that most museums have only the following in English:
"Out of order". "Next tour guide --:--" and a few others. Similar quotes are used in Munich's zoos. Fortunately, the café food is written in English.
The only museums (that I have seen) with English information are the Deutsches Museum(near Isartor) , and the Concentration Camp (Konzentrations Lager, or KZ) found in Dachau (Munich suburb).
Zoos are the nicest places in Munich. I heard that it's the same for all of Germany, but I haven't checked that myself; so I can't say for sure.
U-Bahn, S-Bahn: The nice thing is that on the new S-Bahn trains they speak a bit of English while going through Munich's downtown. The most annoying thing is that there are four zones in Munich, but they extended Munich Airport to the fourth zone which means you have to pay more to get there.
All of the U- and S-Bahn stations have machines from which you could buy your ticket. It sounds all good but few or no machines would accept a €20 banknote. Tramways don't sell "Streifenkarten", which is a shame because a Streifenkart could be used 10 times (and 5 times if you're over 20, but it's less if you plan to visit someone in the second, third, or fourth zones).
Keep in mind that if you're caught travelling without a ticket, you have to pay
€ 30.
Another small thing: Don't be surprised when you see a dog in public transport, a person on a bike in wintertime (or when someone blows their nose in public). It's considered normal to let your dog into trains and to ride a bike in the winter. I don't know if it's rude to blow your nose in public, but I guess it isn't (although I wouldn't do it).
By the way, many people enter subway trains with their bikes and you can do the same, although there are many stations that only have escalators (no paths for bicycles).
If you're wondering what S-Bahn and U-Bahn mean, well I'll tell you what I think:
I think the U stands for urban and S for suburban. I think I'm right because the U-Bahn trains stay inside the city( or the middle zone, while the S-Bahn trains go through all 4 zones.
Munich's housing:
If you want to find a house/apartment in Munich, then it's a matter of being in the right place at the right time. It's almost impossible to find a place to live. That's because there are about 20 people in line for each house/apartment. This is because of statistics which state that a very large percent of Germans want to live here. Another problem you should keep in mind is that the "Verkaufer" or seller of house chooses the customer out of the long line of people.
German service (fixing things in the household, etc.): This is one of the worst things in Munich (and perhaps other parts of Germany). It took someone a week to come and fix the entry phone system in my building. Our oven has been broken since November, '02 and no one has fixed it yet.
Television and radio: When you move into a house, you have to fill in a form on which you must write the number of televisions and/ radios in your house. Even if you don't use this radio or TV, you still have to write it down because it's in your house. This form will also tell you to write down the serial numbers (which is a useless thing to write down, because the serial number is just stays in a place where it gathers dust). I believe this law exists since World War II.
Internet: You can find flat-rates nowadays but Deutsche Telekom will still charge you per minute.
Another thing about the Internet is that without a flat-rate they charge more on weekdays (before 6 pm, or 18:00) than on a weekend or a holiday.
German stores: There's little or no chance of finding an open Sunday store. Also, please note that all stores close at around 4:00 pm (16:00) on Saturdays; and on weekdays the stores close at 7 or 8 pm (19:00 or 20:00). They close later during the Christmas season. On the day of Ash Wednesday the stores close quite early. Ask a German friend/resident to tell you more.
Calling cards: You can find long-distance and international calling cards in many stores, but be aware that some of them cut you off ~10 min earlier, and there's no number where you can call and report being cut off. Luckily, I know about this because our phone has a timer on it and I would know if I talked an hour or less.
Tele-shopping: You will notice that many tele-shopping programs charge the callers for the call. The highest price that I have seen is € 0, 60 (~ $0.60 US/min). The lowest is € 0,10 (~$0.10 US/min). There are a few TV programs where you could also be charged for calling.
Munich's beautiful museums, castles and architecture
Munich Residenz: Located near Theatinerstraße
The Munich Residenz holds interesting furniture and other things to see. There is a lot of beautiful sewing and architecture. There is even jewellery and other interesting things. The Residenz consists of the Residenz itself and the Treasury. There's one thing you might enjoy seeing and that's the architecture inside and outside the building. You'll see Ludwig's photo there and a small room for him, but he really detested the Residenz, so he didn't spend a lot of time there. Notice how the chimneys are marble? It looks very interesting. There are also carpets with gold thread, and in one of the kitchens there is even cutlery with marble or stone handles, and plates made of marble could also be found there. What I liked about the Residenz is the huge hall which was used for ceremonies or feasts. There is a huge table there and there are paintings along the walls.
The treasury is worth visiting because of the wonderful jewellery there. You'll also find jewellery made from sea shells, a few beautiful and ancient crowns, golden swords with diamonds, figurines with different stones, and different types of weapons.
Nymphenburger Schloß: I enjoyed seeing it. The place is beautiful and so is the architecture inside. It's not just a regular castle, because it has a lot more than that. It has a very huge park with some mansions near it. What I enjoyed is this small building in the park. What I liked about it is the Chinese style of the kitchen and the beautiful drawings on the white kitchen palettes.
Castle Oberschleißheim: I came during an exhibition on different religions. It was during Christmas time and I enjoyed seeing each country's view on different parts of Christ's history. That's not all I saw. The castle itself is long and all the rooms are nice to look at.
The garden of this castle has one huge fountain and a few smaller ones. I can't describe the fountains because I went there when they were boarded up for the winter.
Munich's Tierpark (Zoo): I'm not sure about all German zoos, but I heard that they all have rare and interesting animals. There are also regular zoo animals like elephants, giraffes, or tigers. The animals I was surprised to see are mongooses, beautiful colourful fish (and birds), jelly fish, manatees, and even sea horses! I even saw peacocks, and other kinds of animals.
I enjoyed seeing the animals, but disappointed because I couldn't understand a word about these animals.
Deutsches Museum: Located near Isartor
I really enjoyed visiting Deutsches Museum, which talks about almost everything (in both English & German). From animals to space, from ceramics to music, technology's history to science in general. A very good place for the both young and the old.
Museum Reichkristalle: located near the Neues Pinakothek
I just loved the beautiful rocks, stones, minerals and diamonds in this museum. I'm a rock lover and if you love rocks too, then this is your place to visit. There are many different stones and rocks from all over the world. Some rocks are sliced in half so that you could see the forming crystals inside, while others are very large and weigh a lot. What I enjoyed seeing is this display with stones and what they look like under UV rays. I never knew they change colour under UV Rays, I think that's cool.
The largest and most beautiful (from my point of view) is the Quartz from Arkansas, USA.
Glypothek: If you're interested in sculptures, then the Glypothek is for you. There are a few photos taken of Greece and the whole building consists of Greek sculptures. The building has also been done in a Greek style, but if you look at some photos in the kiosk (near the souvenir stand) you'll see that the building used to have another look; which it was destroyed during World War II.
Altes/Neues/Modernes Pinakothek: All of these are worth visiting if art is something your thing. The Altes Pinakothek features different paintings done in the previous centuries. I haven't seen the Neues Pinakothek, but it probably only contains abstract art. The Modernes Pinakothek is quite weird. When I was there, there was an exhibition of 21st Century furniture and I didn't like it that much (I'm not much of a 21st century fan, well not when it comes to furniture or art). It's so weird! There was also old-fashioned furniture and different displays of architecture. It's weird but still interesting to see.
Dachau/Konzentrationslager/KZ: has brochures in many different languages
When I think of Dachau, I feel sorry for Dachau's prisoners. After seeing all the places in the concentration camp, you'll feel sorry too. The Dachau concentration camp holds a display of letters and documents of it's prisoners. There is also a gas chamber, a bed chamber (where the prisoners all slept in bunk beds), small rooms where the prisoners spent days and nights and a place of execution. The trees outside the camp's yard were planted by the prisoners. The camp itself has strong and high walls. There were two ways out: suicide, or through the main entrance. It is believed that there were about 1600 registered but there were also many who weren't. Mostly Russians, Jews, political opponents and those who sold illegal newspapers on the streets or in the subway stations.
Located in Munich's 2nd or green zone (suburb).
|
|
