During Summer 2019 (almost an entire year ago) Elliott and I took a trip across Europe with nothing but the contents of a 30-litre backpack. All previous posts from this series can be found on my travel blog!
Having always wanted to visit Germany I was so excited for this next leg of the trip. This would be the final Hostel of the trip. Despite being a hostel our accommodation in Munich felt much more like a hotel. The MEININGER Munich Olympiapark despite doubling up as a hotel was actually my least favourite ‘hostel’ experience of the trip.
The kitchen facilities were always overcrowded with everyone able to use them, there was often nowhere to sit and eat the food you prepared and the entire building felt extremely busy – oh and our lunch got stolen one day.
Despite this though it didn’t shadow the wonderful city that is Munich.
We had a bit of trouble trying to find our hostel and trying to navigate Munich’s transport system. We spent a long time trying to figure out how to purchase tickets to board the tram which would take us to our hostel. This lead us to trying multiple ticket machines before finally ——
From here on we purchased our tram tickets from the Hostel reception who managed to score us a good deal by purchasing a group ticket. I would definitely recommend talking to hostel/hotel receptionists to get the best deals on public transport. Most hostels and hotels will be able to print/book your tickets for you.
We arrived at our Hostel pretty late after a busy morning/afternoon in Prague and our travels in between. We decided to make dinner and prepared our two packed lunches before heading to bed for a full packed day exploring the city the following day. Our room was luxurious compared to some of the previous hostels we had stayed in. Our room had an en suite and despite sharing with seven other people it did feel more hotel-like.
After a pretty decent night sleep, after getting ready, we made our way downstairs to grab our packed lunches and to make a quick breakfast. It was now we found one of our packed lunches had been stolen! Shocked, we took a look around the kitchen to see if we could source the lost lunch. It became evident that it was no longer in the kitchen at all confirming our suspicions were correct and it had in fact been stolen.
As the lunch contained Gluten Free pasta to cater to my diet it was decided that I would have lunch as prepared and Elliott would try to find some food whilst we were out. We had our quick breakfast and headed out for the day.
We took the tram into the centre of the city. Starting our day in Angerviertel at 11am. On arrival in the small neighbourhood, we just managed to catch Rathaus-Glockenspiel also known as, New Town Hall. The clock only chimes at 11am and 12pm (the clock also chimes at 5pm during the height of summer tourism) every day so we were extremely lucky to catch this occurrence when we did. It consists of 43 bells and 32 life-sized figures. This was wonderful to watch with lots of people gathering in the square to see the show ending with a round of applause once it was complete.
We then decided to enter the building to explore its beautiful interiors. Although hesitant due to our clothing we figured it was ok to enter despite being in short shorts. There didn’t seem to be any clothing restrictions to enter this building. Filled with magnificent structures, stained glass and staircases it was definitely worth taking a look and would recommend if you are passing through this neighbourhood.
After our visit to Rathaus-Glockenspiel, we embarked on a 15-minute walk over to Deutsches Museum whilst along the way stopping to look at a small market. Here they sold tourist memorabilia, – this is where I purchased my Germany patch – fruit and vegetables as well as handmade gifts.
When we arrived at the museum we tried to purchase tickets at the manned ticket booth. This turned out to be a little more challenging than originally hoped it would be. It soon became apparent we would only be able to purchase our tickets with cash. We didn’t have enough cash on us in order to do this thinking Germany would be well equipt to take card payment. With the nearest cash point being another 15 minutes away we had to think of a resolution.
Top Tip: Deutsches Museum also accepts student discount so make sure you remember to bring that along with you!
My quick thinking meant that we managed to ‘pre-book’ our tickets on their website from our phones using our cards. We were then able to enter using the barcode sent to us on our booking confirmation. Though this was a little bit of a headache I am glad it’s one we resolved as the museum was great!
The museum boasts a collection of 100,000 objects from both science and technology. With interactive elements and life-size recreations. Highlights for me were definitely the aeronautics and exploring the 400-metre long mine recreation despite it being very creepy!
We spent hours in the museum and there was still lots we didn’t manage to see but as time was pressing on and our stomachs starting to rumble we decided to head back toward Angerviertel in search for some lunch. As Elliott no longer had lunch to eat we needed to find a food outlet. We came across a large seating area with lots of large tables that was conveniently next to a number of food outlets. Elliott decided to buy some fish and chips; whilst ordering the smell of the chips was calling me so of course, I got a portion as well.
To our lunch theif’s dismay does serve them right though, my next day gluten-free vegetable pasta wasn’t too pleasant to eat and despite eating half of it I gave in and was very glad I ordered the chips to have alongside.
After lunch, we made our way to Hofbräuhaus, built over 500 years ago and now the most famous tavern in the world. I think everyone should visit this tavern to officially say that they have done Munich. We entered and found ourselves a table. Filled with both tourists and locals it was extremely popular.
This is where I tried my first, and only since, beer. I have always grown up detesting the smell of it however to get the full experience we both decided to get a half-pint. As expected I didn’t like it too much, being a non-alcohol drinker and gluten intolerant I didn’t drink too much of it at all. It was great to have the experience of drinking beer here though and I would definitely recommend it.
Despite most of it being demolished during World War Two the ceiling of the tavern is covered in paintings revealing its dark past. I would recommend doing some research into this if it is of interesting to you! I found out a lot of information that I didn’t know even during my visit.
After this, we took a stroll to Englischer Garten Süd. This beautiful public park was beautiful and it was great seeing all the locals relaxing in the sun, swimming in the river and playing team games. There is a wonderful surf spot in this park with space to sit and watch these surfers practice and show off skills. I was fascinated by some of the youngsters taking up this sport especially in such a dangerous patch with fast-moving water and concrete edges. I could’ve spent hours sitting watching them.
Now was time to hop back onto the tram back to our hostel for another nights sleep before moving again the next morning.
That is where I’m going to leave my Munich experience for this blog post. I really loved Munich and all the city had to offer, I would definitely recommend visiting if you get the chance! I would definitely return here in the future.
Have you visited Munich? If so I would love to know your favourite spots in the comments below!
Before you go …
I am extremely excited to announce that for the first time a film I produced is nominated for an award! Lift-Off Sessions, held by Pinewood Studios, are now at the public vote stage of process. If youare interested in supporting myself, fellow members of my crew, youngupcoming filmmakers or indie cinema in general I would love for you to rent the selection and cast your vote. You can rent the collectionand watch Spinning Frame by clicking here. Through this link you are able to watch not only Spinning Frame but also all the other selectedfilms for only £8.00.
Thank you so much for all your continued support throughout the creation of this short experimental film. I can’t wait to see where this journey takes us! #LiftOffGlobalNetwork #LiftOffFilmFestivals #LiftOffSessions #LiftOffSessionsJune #SupportIndieFilm
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secretdiaryofjess 
I love this post. My boyfriend also must eat gluten free, and we understand the struggle that is eating on that diet while traveling.
Kristen | https://globetrottingguiris.com/
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Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed this post. Eating gluten-free especially while travelling is definitely a struggle! I did expect Germany to be more equipt for it than they were x
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