munich day trips
 

Hi i'm going to Germany next month for Oktoberfest. Can anyone recommend and fun day trips my friends and I can take? Is there anything that I should definitely do?

Hyun

I like hiking around Garmisch.

Dachau is close by. Not fun but well worth seeing.

There´s a lot to do in the Munich area - plus you could visit Augsburg or Starnberger See.

Make sure to read up on the Biergarten here - and here is an article on things to do IN Munich as well.

+1 on Dachau. A little sobering history lesson is a good thing.

I agree that Dachau should be at the top of the list for visitors to Munich, irrespective of religion. Moreover, it is only about 30 minutes from the center of the city and just a bit past the BMW factory (which is a big tourist destination).
Now, having posted my personal opinion, I am donning my Moderator hat and moving this thread to the Germany Forum.
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator.
P.S. Welcome to Flyertalk

Dachau is mandatory.

You can do a day trip to Mad King Ludwig's castle Neuschwanstein -- inspiration for the Castle at various Disneylands.

I much prefer Linderhof; less crowds, smaller to navigate with beautiful walks around the grounds. Salzburg is in easy distance and definitely worth a trip.

Better if you post your interests ie outdoors, history, etc and if you will have transport. Many sights are reachable by public transport but if taking a day trip some are easier than others without a car.

If you rent a car, there's an awful lot that's an easy day trip: Salzburg, Garmisch, Innsbruck, Nuremberg, Stuttgart, Berchtesgaden are a few ideas off the top of my head. I second the notion of visiting Dachau; it's a profound experience. If you like cars, a visit to the BMW museum is also worthwhile.

As someone else noted, it would be easier to help if you'd give us some idea of what your interests are. Munich is one of my favorite places and there's a huge amount to do there and in the area.

Neuschwanstein is a must.

It is an easy day trip by train.

Andeck's Monastery and Brewery is easy, fun and truly german.

Linderhof is small but very interesting

Neuschwanstein is tourist laden ... don't go on a rainy day.

I once took a bus trip to Rothenberg from Munich, also touristy but very interesting.

Welcome to Flyertalk, Corkey!

You can't go wrong with any of the above advice in my opinion. My personal priority list would be as follows:

1. Dachau - one of the most sobering, haunting experiences I've had

2. Andechs monastery - neat old buildings and grounds, GREAT beer and hearty German food

3. Salzburg - the fortress, Die Weisse brewpub, just walking around the Altstadt

4 Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles - not very old, but very cool

Cheers,
FB

Neuschwanstein is a MUST it is amazing especially the location, it is about 2 hours outside of Munich you can take to the DB Train to Fussen (not sure the number) and then a bus to Newuschwanstein. Salzburg is a must as well.

No Kidding! I went in May on a rainy day and I was soaked on top of that I was all muddy:( since my friend and I went hiking past Mary's Bridge onto the Mud Trails:D But still I think it is a great trip.

munich
 

Thank you for the great advice. My friends and I love anything outdoors. hiking, walking, getting lost, museums, and eating. Will it be worth it for us to rent a car while we are out there?

It depends where you are going to go to.

I would say probably not as you can take the S-Bahn or DB quite easily from the city.

On the other hand, you could make a nice day trip by car to Dürnstein and other parts of the Wachau and go bicycling and hiking and enjoy Austrian wine country. See my article here for detais.

If you like far less touristy pretty towns to spend a few hours in, then you could do Regensburg or Landshut, both not too far from Munich.

Garmisch has so much to do and see. Take the train from Munich.

Dachau has not do too much with religion (notwithstanding the fact that the Nazis kept several catholic and protestant clerics in Dachau) and is in particular not one of the sad centres of the holocaust.

Objection....

Truely Bavarian. At the ustmost. 95 percent of all Germans would never wear leather trousers and do not fiit into these cliches. To my humble believe the same is true for 75% of all Bavarians.

Quite true.

The Biergarten is truly a Bavarian institution (for those interested, see my article on Munich's Biergärten which includes a brief history).

Au contraire. Dachau was established for political prisoners as well as for Jews so it did have something to do with religion. (Its role was expanded a few years after opening to imprisoning ordinary criminals in addition to the first two groups.)


I am uncertain as to how you would define a ,,sad centre``. The Dachau KZ is very significant in German history for multiple reasons.

Dachau was the first Konzentrationslager (KZ or concentration camp) opened by the NSDAP (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or National Socialist German Workers' Party) back in 1933. The Dachau KZ served as a model for other concentration camps built later.

By the end of the II. World War, over 3.5 million Germans had ,,visited`` a concentration camp.

The NSDAP used psychological terror to keep the population under control - the constant threat of being sent to Dachau was enough to keep most people from protesting the abuses of the new régime.

As an historian, I would further distinguish between concentration camps and extermination camps (those established to conduct wholesale murder of the Jewish ghetto and concentration camp populations, such as Belzec, Majdanek, Sobibor, Treblinka, and Auschwitz-Birkenau). This does not however diminish Dachau´s significance.

The above is not intended to be an exhaustive history of the Dachau KZ but simply to point out the significance of this particular KZ´s rather significant place in world history.

That is what I meant. Simply do not expect that Dachau is something like Auschwitz. I said "Dachau has not do too much with religion" and it was certainly not a centre of the holocaust such as Auschwitz or Treblinka but founded as a prison camp for political prisoners (as you sadly could and still can find them in other parts of the world too).

At least from what I recollect it was never established as a camp for jewish prisioners. After the Nuremberg laws and "Progromnacht" Jews were imprisioned in Dachau, however, as I understand not because they were Jews but more because they were "used" for political reasons.

And you are certainly right with the difference between concentration camps (to my recollection an originally British and/or US invention) and extermination camps which could be defined as an "industry to kill human beings", a very Nazi German thing.

Dachau is very important for German history as such and to understand Dachau you need to know quite a bit about SA, SS and the competition between these two organisations and 1930 to 1945 German politics and society.

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Neurenberg and the Nazi Documentation Center. After the war, the Allies ordered the construction of this permanent exhibition in order to provide a lasting reminder of the origin of the Nazis, how they seized power, and the outcome of their policies right down to photos of concentration camps, damage to German cities and the trial of the war criminals in Neurenberg. You can also tour the large rally grounds that are seen in many of the old film footages from that time. It was a moving experience, and as a history buff I learned many new things, as well as many questions I have had in my mind for years, answered. One of the most compelling displays were children's school notebooks (from about 2 - 5th grade) in which they wrote essays about how "bad" anyone who was not German was. The molding of these young minds was indeed very scary. A worthwhile visit.

Good point but I believe you mean Nürnberg or Nuremberg - my correction being made so that anyone reading this can find the city you mean.

Yes, you are correct, my mistake!

And lets add that Nürnberg is one of the most beautiful big medieval cities in Germany. Focussing just on the short Nazi period does not do any justice to Nürnberg. It is about an hour train ride from Munich.

I agree - and Nürnberg is also one of the few large cities to still have its original city walls in place.

Dachau not only was a concentration camp for politicals, that was the purpose in the beginning of its existence. Dachau's main purpose turned into feeding the military industrial complex in the north west of Munich with slave workers, also inmates (social, political, sexual, racial and religious) were subdued to human experiments connected to the research for the companies in the area and Luftwaffe. They were seriously injured and killed in experiments testing the effects of water pressure, air pressure, temperature changes, falling from heights with protective gear, testing parachutes, pressure chambers, breathing apparati, G forces, medical experiments on how to treat shot wounds and so on. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Rascher who was one of the "scientists" doing the experiments.

Also inmates were executed by shooting squad or processed for transport to Death Camps in the east.

The death march of the inmates from Dachau towards Bad Toelz at the end of the Third Reich is still remembered here.

It had more than 200.000 inmates of which an estimated 3rd were mainly german jews and 35.000 inmates have died in it or its sub-camps

Especially since Dachau was the first one, it became the template for future concentration camps and it's architect became responsible for all the others.

If you google Dachau Massacre you will find statements about the state and conditions there during the end game. I recently was remembered of this incident when watching Shutter Island.

It is a very sad part of the holocaust.

Greetings from Dachau,
Mamb0

It's depending on your plans and where you want to go. Another option could be a Deutsche Bahn railway "Bayernticket" which is in the standard version good for up to 5 people with public transport included in the major cities for a day. It costs around 25 €.
You might use the search option here, as it has already been mentiones in other threads.

Linderhof?
 

How easy is it to get to Linderhof w/o a car? Is it easier to get to from Munich or from Salzburg? Lastly, is it open in the winter time (December)?

Thanks.

Very easy by car, but do note that many of the outbuildings and fountains will not be available. They are closed and/or boarded up for the season, and sometimes even earlier than scheduled if the weather is colder than the norm. So if you are going in the shoulder season you may be disappointed, although it is still a decent visit.

But still a very nice trip with a side visit to Oberammergau or Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It is especially stunning on a crisp sunny day.

From Salzburg take the A8 north, exit Irschenberg over Bad Tölz, and join the A95 south. Total time about 2 hours depending on traffic conditions.

From Munich an easy trip south on the A95.

Note that if there is snow the trip is not quite so nice; there is a steep winding hill at Oberau. In that case train plus RVO bus is still possible.

The Linderhof website has driving directions here in English http://www.schlosslinderhof.de/engli...t/howtoget.htm

And if you can manage to squeeze this trip in by this weekend, you'll still be able to catch the tail end of the Nürnberger Volksfest, which is at the fairgrounds right in this area. Think a mini-Oktoberfest that is much less expensive and less crazy. There is only one big beer tent (Tucher), but their Volksfestbier is very good (and strong!) Additionally, the other food vendors at the restaurant are serving up excellent Franconian beers-a real treat to go along with your bratwurst. From the Hbf, take Tram 7 to its turn-around station (Bayernstrasse, I believe) and walk in to the fest (just follow the crowds).

currently have reservations for end of Nov (Thanksgiving)
 

about 8 years ago I was in Munich for two days. One full, long, fun day was spent at Oktoberfest, the other day was spent going to Andechs Monastary (thank you LH738 for the recommendation!!) and an attempt at visiting Dachau but it was closed.

It has been awhile since Mrs Sweet Willie & myself have been to Germany, we will be in Munich for nearly 4 full days (arrive 9:40am on a Wed & depart at noon on a Sun)

Andechs is a must (as the Mrs wasn't with me on the first trip) as well as Dachau. I'm thinking that both could be done in a day from my recollection.

Is there enough to do in Munich proper for the remainder of the trip (2 & 3/4 days) or should I look into the other day trip suggestions on this thread?

We really enjoy soaking in a place we travel to so I'm thinking we should just stay put in Munich but....

Benn to Germany many times but this time with the kiddoes
 

Dachau is a place I have not yet been. I am versed in much of the history but not everything, and now I think it is time my children see and experience some of this. They are a bit young but lessons about life, death, humility, etc must be learned nonetheless.

Does anybody have thoughts on my wife and I taking our 10 year old daughter and 8 year old son to see this place?

We will be in Munich proper for 2 days/nights and staying near the München Hauptbahnhof, the city's main train station, and one of our days there can be for this trip if it's appropriate/doable. This is our best chance of going there for a while now.

Later in our trip we will be doing many of the things already shown in the thread, some of which I have seen but want to take them to such as Garmisch-Partenkirchen (staying in a B&B not in town centre), Neuschwanstein Castle, lakes and hikes in the areas, and later a drive to Salzburg where we stay next.

We leave for Munich on July 11 from BOS and arrive on July 12. I was considering the Dachau trip for the 13th.

I anyone has tips or advice on it, please post or PM. If people have best tips on getting there by train, etc, please let me know. We can change our car rental that we have reserved for July 14 to drive to Garmisch and later Salzburg but we would rather not do that if possible.

Thanks,

:)MM

I'm not sure if you can appreciate Dachau (or any KZ for that matter) at the age of 10 to the fully extend. I agree, that you have to teach your kids about that part of the history as well, but I think, that it might be rather premature to do it at such a young age.

The last WWII location I've visited in the last couple of months was Hiroshima. It's an absolute must see while visiting Japan, but I've noticed that many children seemed rather bored by the memorial park and apparently simply didn't realize the importance of it.

In the end, it is however impossible to generally recommend visiting or not visiting Dachau with children. You certainly have to take into account the interests of your children.

If you think that Dachau is not suited for your children, you might look at alternatives in and around Munich. There's a Legoland near Günzburg, a Ravensburger Spieleland (Ravensburger is a very popular German brand for puzzles) near Ravensburg. If you want to stay in Munich, you can always visit the Deutsches Museum: They have a huge selection of topics.

https://www.kz-gedenkstaette-dachau.de/directions.html

Thank you for the information.

We do have a lot to do in Munich so Legoland wont be one of the things on our list, but I had a few reasons for sharing this place with my kiddoes.

For one, we live in a rich society with every comfort and many taken for granted. No matter how good we have been at parenting, there are some things young people just cannot yet grasp--like how easy life can be especially if you are doing well and nobody is sick or in trouble.

They kind of need a wake up call anyway, for a variety of reasons, and so while we are gone and family is house sitting our home and keeping each kid's room nice and cozy for our return by probably leaving some nice present behind, it is time for them to experience what will likely be just one half of one day seeing what life could be like if you lived back then, or even if you lived now in places like Syria, etc. Not every kid is happy or has both parents or even one. What you say or do could land you in prison or in trouble... that is not the case back home in our comfortable world.

My daughter is familiar with the Ann Frank house in AMS and my wife is Dutch so we have shared many stories of things, but my son thinks the Nazi flag isn't real because he saw it in an Indian Jones movie. So yeah, they need to see things I think.

I do not know if they would be bored and we certainly wouldn't be dragging them from one exhibit room to another to look at old photos or anything. But they need to see and understand what went on here and how such things could happen anywhere. The only concern I had was whether it was too much for them but I am getting an impression having read more on it that this is something only we can answer for ourselves.

You're clearly trying to do the right thing by your kids and help them grow up in a more wise and worldly way. Good for you.

As you stated, you are the only one that say how your kids would like or not like Dachau. My wife and I (also from BOS) went there in 2012. Granted we weren't with kids but we thoroughly enjoyed it. It's not a 'fun' place but it was an 'interesting' place.

I will just throw this out there- yes you can drive there or take the train from Munich, however we went with a tour guide. We used Radius Tours
http://www.radiustours.com/en/englis...ame&height=367

I find you get so much more out of these places with a guide. With someone telling the kids the history and stories, they may be more interested than just going there and walking around. Just a thought.

No, it´s not a fun place, of course not. But I agree it´s an important place.

I think I was around 12 when I visited my first KZ, my brother was 7. It wasn´t a problem, so it´s possible.

That alone should be a reason to take them there.

--- ---

It's rather difficult to give advice without knowing your kids. Some are at the age of 8/10 more grown up than others. Some kids are more sensitive at that age. It is up to the parents to decide whether or not to go. The visit will certainly be educative.

100% agree. While not being fun, visiting important WWII (and WWI) locations is crucial in everyone's education.

Yes, thank you all of you for tips and information and thoughts on this. I have pitched it to my wife and we will discuss and try and make a plan if it is feasible.

I know the kids will learn a lot of history in school but since we are actually going to the area as a family I figured this could be our best chance and their best chance at seeing it up close.

The Radiustours link above looks like a good one too because the tours you can get through the actual Dachau website appear to be for 14 and above, while Radius can work for our younger aged children.

:)MM