The transit system in Munich is really great. It is a total honor system. On the buses there is a sign behind the driver's seat which proclaims, in essence, that "... if you get caught riding without paying then they have to (by law) add 40 euro to the price of your ticket plus you will be prosecuted which would likely mean more cost to you... so do yourself and us a big favor to avoid all the hassle - buy a ticket".
TIP.. The easiest way to travel on public transit is to buy a pass covering the longest period you can make use of. Then just stick it in your wallet and travel as much as you want without worrying about paying each trip. With just about any pass if all you do is go somewhere and come back each day (ie 2 rides per day) you will pretty well be at least even with the pass so any extra rides are bonus.... and you will tend to do more jump on and off. The partner pass tickets are the best with discounts and a family of up to 5 people can travel on the one pass. Even for the 2 of us, a partner ticket was a saver. The Munich tram system is great and is all above ground so is good for sightseeing whereas the U-Bahn and S-Bahn are mostly underground, especially in the center so they are good for faster trip requirements.
One day we took a tram out to the Nymphenburg Palace which is a beautiful place right in the city.
The grounds are fabulous and lilac trees were in full bloom for a very nice smell in the air. On the grounds, in a wooded area, is an old hunting lodge which Rick Steves says is one of the best Rococo buildings in Europe. What exactly is Rococo Brian innocently asks, only to find out in spades...
The palace grounds were a great place to wander around in for a couple of hours.
Another day we took the U-Bahn up to Odeonplatz to have a wander around the Hofgarden and the Munich Residenz. The garden is very large and a heavily used recreation area for bicycling and walking. Very nice.
The Residenz grounds have been turned into a largish museum which Rick Steves warned that it is a one way street through all the rooms... all 90 of them. About half way through we spotted a sign that said "short tour" vs another that said "long tour" and decided we had seen enough. Basically the same kind of thing room after room... here's where so and so slept; here's where so and so slept... etc etc... which does get a bit tedious once you get past the real collections.
On the other hand the Cuvillie Theatre is spectacular...
...and one of the neatest rebuilding feature of the whole place is that reconstruction did not rebuild exterior columns etc, they were just painted on and look fabulous. From a distance it can be hard to tell that they are just painted.
For lunch a couple of days we ventured to the renowned Hofbauhaus where we enjoyed good lunches in a beer hall atmosphere with some locals totally into the attention they get from tourists...
All in all Munich was an excellent stay. Ten days was more than enough time to leisurely see the main sights and more. Munich is a real bicycle city and it was neat to see how easily the car, bike and pedestrian traffic integrated. The bike paths along the river looked very enjoyable. In a time with better knees and feet we may well have rented bikes for our stay here.
On our last day we decided to just get on the tram and go to a different area of the city, so we looked in the guidebook and found the address for a recommended fancy shoe store in an area called Schwabing (now known to us as Shopping). We wandered around for a while looking in the cool little shops - lots of independent shops selling unique things, bead shops, etc. Kris found a shop called Kandis and Kandismann which had clothing designed in Munich and manufactured in Germany. Very high quality (like Vince the Sham-wow guy says ' the Germans make great stuff' ) and not like anything we get at home so it was determined that space could be made in the suitcase for an item or two.
Mid week we took a 5 hour ICE train to Berlin. At times it felt like a bit of a milk run but the train did get up into the 200 kph range quite often. Scenery is pretty cool out of Bavaria but further north Germany seems as flat as the Canadian prairies. The scenery as we got closer to Berlin started to reflect more of an industrial nature... but still lots and lots of green land.
We were met at our apartment by the owners. Nice people. Many explanations and even helped us find where we might be able to purchase tickets to the upcoming Hertha BSC football game. Hertha BSC is Berlin's team in the Bundesliga. This year Hertha will capture first place in the 2nd division so will be promoted to the first division next year. Fans here are pretty excited about that. We did manage to get tickets to the game (now a sell out) so it should be fun to be in that stadium. Game is not for another week though.
Anyway, the apartment is nice and in a great location. Quiet, near transit and near the river where there are a number of eateries and places to sit out in the evening.
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