We had so much fun last year that we had to return once again. We felt like we learned a few things and could not wait to experience Munich and other cities during the holiday season. We also *hoped* that we would finally make it to Bamberg.
We left Kansas City and flew to Chicago, where we caught a flight directly to Munich.
Ready for the long haul!
For the first time ever, we were lucky enough to have an extra seat by us, so I scooted over and we had an entire row to ourselves. That comes in rather handy when you are 4'10 and can lay down and sleep over two seats.
Ken taking a picture of me with all of the wine as if it all belongs to me.
We ended up meeting a guy that is on the USA Olympic snowboard team. It was really nice and Ken and I talked to him at the back of the plane for a very long time. Overall, I thought this was one of our easiest international flights to date.
We arrived in Munich and quickly cleared customs and took the S-Bahn into the city. We were delighted to see a dusty of snow on the ground as we traveled towards the city.
We found our hotel with ease, dropped off our stuff, and headed towards the nearest Augustiner for a little local fare.
Ken and his first one liter of the trip. He was so excited to be back at his favorite bier hall!
We walked around for a bit and decided to stop off at the hotel for a quick little nap. Normally we are anti-nap after travelling to Europe, but it was still only noon since we arrived so early and we decided a nap was necessary.
After our quick nap, we felt refreshed and headed out for the evening. Since we visited last year, we felt like we should check out some of the smaller markets that Munich has to offer. We headed to Haidhauser Weinachtsmarkt, which was in the area where Ken and I stayed in 2014. I was rather impressed with our ability to navigate ourselves back to that area without a map and as it was getting dark!
The main market in the Marienplatz
One of my favorite views in Munich
We found the adorable market and our first order of business was to find gluhwein, naturally.
Zwei gluhwein, bitte (Two gluhweins please)
I tried my hand at the little bit of German that I know and apparently I was convincing because the lady replied in German. In case you are curious, I had no idea what she said. I smiled and told her that I really do not speak that much German and she was surprised that an American tourist was at this non-touristy market.
I grabbed our gluhwein and we wandered around the market. It was a very cute market with a lot of lights hanging from the trees.
Haidhauser Weinachtsmarkt
Locals bundled up and enjoying the evening
Haidhauser Weinachtsmarkt
I was hoping to bring home a frosted gluhwein mug this year and this market had the exact mug I was hoping for. We brought one back with us after enjoying a few glasses of gluhwein at the market. We decided to ride the S-Bahn back to the Marienplatz instead of walking. We wandered around a bit and listened to the live Christmas music that was being played.
The Marienplatz all lit up with the beautiful Christmas tree
Christmas Carols and a view of the market
Part of what we love so much about visiting the Christkindlmarkts is the atmosphere.
Everyone was out enjoying gluhwein and snacks from all of the vendors
Having a great first day in Munich!
We left the Marienplatz and went to a few of the other markets and they were packed! We were surprised that the Marienplatz market was the least busy, so we wandered back to that area. We stopped off at the Rindermarkt, which was one of our favorite areas last year.
The Christmas pyramid in the Rinkermarkt, my favorite!
We stopped off at Paulaner for a drink and to warm up. While we were seating at the bar, we had some guy from Brazil start talking to me and he immediately became obsessed with Ken. When I say obsessed, I mean obsessed. He was fixated on Ken being from Finland, even though I told him Ken was from the USA. He kept calling him my Finnish husband and was talking about how handsome he was and what a beautiful voice he had. He then preceded to tell me that my voice was annoying, but Ken's, oh my. He would not stop. He went on and on about my beautiful husband and his beautiful eyes and voice. Finally he left. He was the weirdest and funniest thing!
After Ken avoided being kidnapped from the Brazilian man, we left Paulaner in search of dinner. Ken was hoping to get a foot-long sausage, but settled on a regular one instead. I ate pommes frites for dinner and loved every minute of it.
Pommes frites and gluhwein for dinner, my dream come true!
We enjoyed our dinner and a few more gluhweins and called it an early night after a very long journey across the pond!
Up next, Salzburg!
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