Munich is the capital and largest city of the German state of Bavaria. Home to BMW, Oktober Fest and six major breweries: Augustiner Bräu, Hofbräu, Löwenbräu, Hacker-Pschorr Bräu, Spaten-Franziskaner Bräu, and Paulaner Brauerei . A place where Beer is considered as a food.
– So of course we had to visit!
Munich is not surprisingly a place with an abundance of Food Fun and Adventure so let’s get straight into it.
Visiting Munich Germany
Food
We arrived in Munich in the middle of May. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and everyone was heading to their favourite beer garden. Yes, that’s right, we just said that beer was considered a food, so how can we not mention the world famous beer gardens of Munich.
Munich is proudly home to over 200 beer gardens, many of which have been around for hundreds of years serving their thirsty patrons’ locally brewed beer. They even have the largest beer garden in the world at Hirschgarten which can seat over 8000 joyful drinkers.
We visited a few in the very short time we were in Munich – but two of our favourites were:
Augustiner Keller & Hirschgarten (which translates directly as “deer garden”, they actually have live deer there)
As with many countries around the world, booze and food go hand in hand, and the beer gardens of Munich are no exception. Here we had some fantastic pub grub that you simply must try if you visit Munich or even Bavaria for that matter.
Must try Bavarian food in Munich:
Weisswurst – White sausage with mustard
Wiesswurst is a traditional Bavarian Sausage made from minced veal and pork, it is also seasoned with bacon, onions, parsley, salt, pepper, and lemon powder. The difference with this sausage and it’s other German sausage brothers is that this sausage is boiled rather than grilled.
Eaten mainly in the morning until 12.00, it is eaten fresh as there were no refrigerators 100 years ago, so the tradition has remained to this very day. Weisswurst is best enjoyed with mustard and pretzel and of course a glass of the best beer on tap.
Kaese Spaetzle
Lovers of all things cheesy and awesome prepare yourselves – because this is a pure punch in the face of noms. Let me introduce to you kaese spaetzle.
Spatzle is a kind of egg noodle or dumpling that is hugely popular in many areas of Central Europe, we had it a few times during our Eurail trip, because honestly, who can resist cheesy cheesy dumplings? No one! But the reason it’s making it into the Munich Food section is because the one from Hirschgarten is absolutely the best we tried – sooo many noms.
Karamellisierter Kaiserchmarrn mit Apfeimus
The most heavenly of desserts in all of Bavaria. This serious piece of food porn is a sort of caramelized pancake with apple compote. If you see this on a menu – Order It! You won’t be left disappointed.
Important Info: Must visit beer gardens in Munich
Augustiner Keller
Hirschgarten – A BIG thanks to Laurel from Monkeys & Mountains for showing us this place and opening our eyes to so much tasty Bavarian food!
These two are our favourite beer gardens in Munich. But there are plenty to choose from that all serve some of Munich’s finest beer.
FUN
As you’ve probably gathered by now Munich is rather fond of beer, so naturally, we just had to go on a pub crawl while we were in town. We teamed up with the highly rated Size Matters Beer Tour to go out and learn about the beer culture of Munich, learn a bit of local history, and most importantly – Get Drunk!
We had an absolutely fantastic time on this tour. Our guide Tim was lots of fun and offered interesting information on the history of the area and the beer halls. He’s been doing these tours for a while so he really knew how to keep the group under control and kept us moving, which was great seeing we don’t really remember much of the end of the tour – our trusty leader got us all back safe and sound.
During the tour, you get to visit 3-4 beer halls/gardens depending on time, and along the way, Tim gives you information on the beer brewing scene, some history about the beer garden you visit, and of course what it’s like being in Munich during Oktoberfest.
Did you know: In 2013, 6.4 million people visited Oktoberfest, and the festival served 6.7 million litres of beer. INSANE seeming it’s only a city of 1.4million people!
During this tour, you certainly get the opportunity to sample quite a few litres of beer yourself. For those that have never been to Bavaria, you may not have been introduced to the Mass beer. The Mass beer is 1 whole litre of beer, and you will very rarely find beer in any other size when visiting a beer garden or beer hall unless it’s a specialty beer. Drink up!
This tour is a perfect way to get to get an introduction to the local beer culture – and it’s a great way to meet some fellow booze hounds who might make perfect drinking buddies while you are visiting Munich.
Some of the best local beers to try include Weissbier, Helles, Pils, Dunkles (my favourite) and Starkbier.
Important Information:
Size Matters Beer Tour
Price: 15 euro per person includes 3 free drinks (first 3 girls can get tour for free)
Location: The tour starts and finishes at Euro pub (this is where the drinks tickets are valid)
Warning: You may not remember going home….but it’s the best night out you’ll never remember!
ADVENTURE
Do you know the Cinderella castle at Disneyland? You see it at the beginning of every single Disney movie? What if I told you that that castle is based on a real castle? A castle just outside of Munich – it’s true. When I found out about this castle, the little girl inside me peed her pants with excitement (just a little), even if still to this very day I can’t pronounce it’s damn name properly…..
Neuschwanstein Castle (try saying that name 10 times while on the Size Matters Pub Crawl – or at all! It’s a real tongue twister), was built by Ludwig II of Bavaria. Construction began in 1869 and was sort of kinda finished in 1892 (long story). Ludwig never saw the completed castle as he died in 1886, in fact, Ludwig only lived in the castle for 172 days in total (according to Wiki).
We visited Neuschwanstein castle while on tour with Mike’s Bike tours. Not only is the castle a beauty in itself, but the surrounding countryside is exquisite. And the best way to explore and take in the beauty of the castle and it’s surroundings is by bicycle.
The great thing about taking a tour to Neuschwanstein is that everything is taken care for you. You don’t have to worry about transport, you have knowledgeable guides with you the entire time, and best of all no waiting in line for tickets.
The lines for visiting Neuschwanstein castle can be ridiculously long (especially in summer) and there are plenty of people that have made the trip out there only to miss out on an entry ticket for that day. Having someone there before you arrive to sort out the tickets in advance is awesome! And all you need to do is turn up and enjoy the beauty of the Bavarian countryside.
One of the aspects of this tour that appealed to us was the “choose your own adventure’ feel to the tour. In no way is this a traditional tour, where you and 40 other people get bussed around with some guide in front waving a stupid flag. Nope! With Mikes Bike tours if you want to go hiking instead of the bike ride – sure go have fun! Do you want to pack your own lunch instead of eating at the designated restaurant – no problems. Only want to explore the outside of the castle and not bother going inside – easily done.
There is really no set way for you to enjoy your trip to Neuschwanstein castle – you do whatever makes you happy. Hell, they even have the option to go paragliding while you’re there – now that’s an adventure!!!
Important Information:
Address: Bräuhaus Str. 10 (corner of Hochbrücken Str. & Bräuahus Str.) Hochbrücken Str. side of the building.
Contact: info@mikesbiketours.com
Where to stay in Munich
Wombats City Hostel Munich
Wombats is a fantastic place to stay while visiting Munich. It is conveniently located in walking distance to Munich central station Hauptbahnhof. Which is where you will arrive if you are travelling (like we did) with Eurail or Interrail.
The hostel is modern, funky, incredibly clean, and also offers a friendly, homely atmosphere alongside great design. The common areas and bar are comfortable and modern – and the free drinks tokens on arrival doesn’t hurt either.
One of the best features of this (and all the Wombats hostels) is the all you can eat buffet breakfast. For only $4.76 USD you can eat yourself silly between the hours of 7am and 11am, our particular delight was making a morning toastie…or even 3 toasties.
Wombats offer relaxed private rooms, as well as mixed and single-sex dorms sleeping up to 8. With some dorms also featuring en-suite bathrooms for families or groups of friends staying together.
While staying here we saw people of all ages and backgrounds – this is certainly a hostel that welcomes everyone and is appropriate for all demographics.
Our private double room with ensuite at Wombat’s Munich
Important Info:
Address: Senefelderstraße 1, D-80336
Contact: office@wombats-munich.de
If hostels aren’t really your thing…. Then click here for availability and pricing of the 30 best hotels in Munich.
Transport – Getting in and out of Munich
During our travels in Europe, we used Eurail and Interrail rail passes – we love exploring countries by train as it’s more comfortable and you get some fantastic scenery along the way.
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Have you been to Munich? What Food Fun and Adventure did you discover? Let us know in the comments.
Disclaimer: We received the Size Matters beer tour, Mike’s Bike Tour and our stay at Wombats Hostel complimentary. All opinions remain our own.
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