We had an early departure out of Dublin so we caught the redeye bus from home. We arrived into Dublin airport around 5:00 a.m. and although it’s normally busy around this time, it was reasonably quiet and it took no length to get through security. We also took a notion and booked the T2 lounge, we had used this lounge before and while it’s certainly not a great lounge, it’s nice to be away from the main terminal and the crowds.
The flight time was just over the two hours and before we knew it, we were on the train heading into the centre of Munich. Something to note, we purchased unlimited travel for the month while in Germany using the MVV app and it was fantastic value at just €49 each and it was easy to use. Once out of the station in the centre of Munich, we made our way to our hotel. We’re staying in a Premier Inn, one of three in the city centre and a few notches down from our previous stay in Munich 🙂 – which you can check out here.
However, I have to say, not only was the price point really good, considering that we were visiting not just on a weekend, but a weekend when the biggest band in Germany had sold out several nights, but the staff were very friendly, the room spotless and a decent size, plus the location is just a few minute’s walk from the main square.
Once checked in, we all decided to do our own thing for lunch, so myself and C headed towards the centre and popped into Spockmeier for some lunch. We probably could have wandered for a while longer, but we were hungry and it was really busy, so this was the best option. Once seated we wasted no time and ordered, C went with the a simple chicken salad which was really nice and of course when in Munich, it has to be some Bratwurst – which I had and it was fantastic.
After lunch, we did some window shopping along with checking out some of the sights in the centre of Munich. We were really enjoying the atmosphere and add to that the weather was amazing.
After wandering around for a bit we headed back to the hotel to rest up as we had been on the go for quite a while. We rested up for about an hour or so and had arranged to meet the rest of the family downstairs before we all headed out for dinner. We had booked the very famous Augustiner Keller for dinner – and lucky we did. When we arrived, there must have been close to 1,500 or more people dining outside in the huge beer garden. If we had not booked a table (which we did several weeks previous) there was no way we’d have gotten a table.
Once seated, we had a look over the menu and despite how crazy busy it was we were waiting no time to give in our order. Of course, this is hearty German fare all washed down with huge steins of beer – or wine if that’s your preference. All together we ordered Duck, Pork knuckle and the ‘little’ bit of everything – along with some strudel to finish.
This was a really enjoyable evening, the food was good, the staff were fantastic and the weather was idyllic. Once done we left full and satisfied and in need of a good night’s sleep as it had been a very long day. The following morning, we all headed out for breakfast and as luck would have it, there was a really good spot called Café Kranich just a two minute walk from our hotel. Between us we had tried the ‘light’ breakfast, along with a vegan option which was really tasty and of course, a full Irish, but, German ;-). After breakfast, we made arrangements for meeting up later that evening for the concert, we also all headed towards the market place in Munich which was excellent.
Café Kranich
For the remainder of the day, myself and C did some more window shopping and we did some actual shopping. I picked up some new brogues in a large outdoor sports store – which has six floors of sporting gear, it was impressive. For lunch we dined in the Galleria department store which is bang in the centre of the city. The food choice was excellent and really tasty.
After lunch, we visited the Residenz museum. We had tried to get in on our previous visit but it was full so thankfully this time we had no trouble. The place is huge and we really could have done with several hours to visit, but we had just over an hour as we had to be back at the hotel to get ready for this crazy concert we’d be attending.
Once back at the hotel we got ready to head out for the evening. As this trip was partly arranged by my brother, all we had to do was follow the leader so to speak – which was handy as we did not have to figure out which tram to get or where to go. Speaking of trams, our tram stop was just a minute walk from our hotel which was fantastic. Once on the tram, we had to make one change and before we knew it, we were at the Olympic Stadium. The stadium is huge with a capacity just shy of 70,000. They had a very simple system for going through the turnstiles, you show your physical ticket and photo I.D. and that’s it, easy.
Once inside, we made our way towards our seats and when seated we felt it fitting that we purchase some ‘merch’ – as the kids call it these days. There was a long line at the merchandise stand and it took myself and my niece almost an hour before we finally got to the counter and placed our order – once done we made our way back to our seats in order to get ready for the gig. Support was on first, which consisted of two ladies playing a piano each and unbeknown to us, they were doing covers of Rammstein songs.
Finally, it was on to the main event. Rammstein are known for pyrotechnics as part of their stage show and their main singer is a qualified ‘pyrotechnician’ – or something like that, who knew there was even such a qualification. It was funny to note that as we could see around the side of the stage from our seats, there were members of the fire brigade and a fire engine parked alongside the stage, just in case I guess.
Here’s a taster of the madness!
So how were Rammstein and how did the compare to previous concerts we have attended, such as this one here and these guys. Well, I have to say, it was fantastic, the show was amazing. It didn’t matter that we don’t understand a word of German, the spectacle of the show was worth the ticket price alone. Of course, we had been listening to some of their tracks prior to departing so we knew a few of their songs and if you like your music on the ‘heavy’ side – you’ll like Rammstein.
After the concert, we exited the stadium and walked back towards the tram – on another note, everybody left in an organised and civilised manner, it was great. Once on the tram and back at our hotel, we had a nightcap to finish off a fantastic evening before grabbing a good night’s sleep.
The next morning, we had another outing for the day – before we departed we had discussed what we would do for the Sunday in Munich. There are several fantastic day trips you can take – but for us, we opted to take a train south towards the Alps and visit Germany’s highest mountain – Zugspitze.
From the main train station, it’s less 90 minutes by train to the start of the journey that will bring you to the beginning of the ascent. To save time, we grabbed a quick breakfast in the station and a few bits for the train. This was the only time that our train tickets (on the app) were checked. Once off the main regional train, you then board a cogwheel railway – the first part of the journey – going up. After about 25 minutes, you arrive at another station and switch to another cogwheel train – you also have the option at this point if you’d like to take the cable car to the very top – but we wanted to enjoy the journey and stayed on the train.
As we climbed higher and higher, the view gets better and better. After about another 40 minutes, you reach the ‘almost’ top. You exit the train and arrive out into a snow-capped mountain area, with two restaurants and bars and some great views, of course this would normally form part of a ski area during the winter months. After taking a few snaps, we grabbed lunch in the restaurant which was pretty decent. After lunch it was now time for the final leg to get to the top. From here, you board a cable car to take you all the way up to the summit at 2,962 meters.
Once at the very top, the views are spectacular and as you’d expect, there are bars and restaurants and a really nice coffee dock where we grabbed a coffee. On a fun side note, you can actually cross the border into Austria. After our coffee, there was only one thing left to do – the journey back down. The cable car that goes all the way down to the mid-station has the longest single cable car ‘cable’ in the world, apparently.
Once back down from the mountain, we were back on our main train heading back towards Munich. We went out for a few drinks and a late bite to eat before calling it a night. The next morning we grabbed breakfast in the hotel and made our way towards the airport.
This was certainly a different weekend for us in some regards – we travelled with family and we went to a concert of a band we really knew very little about. However, we had a fantastic weekend. The concert was more than memorable, we had some nice food, great company -this coupled with the sunny weather and the trip to Germany’s highest mountain made for a full but rewarding weekend.
As always hope you enjoyed reading along,
Until next time,
Bye for now,
C&J
cjfoodandtravel 