Here's my promised input about Munich - Enjoy
Food and Drink
Oh, man, the food. We Germans really know how to eat (and drink). Some suggestions:
Leberkäse—(lay’ bur kay sa) A sort of German meatloaf that is generally eaten for breakfast or lunch with a Semmel (zem’ mul, roll) and some Senf (zenf, mustard). It’s tastes vaguely like mild bologna. Try the sußer Senf (zoos’ ur zenf, sweet mustard—yumm).
Semmeln—(zemm’ uln, rolls) German baked goods are out of this world. Tengelmann’s bakery section has a decent selection. Get yourself zwei normale Semmeln (zwai nor mal’ ua zemm’ uln) and some Nutella (chocolate hazelnut paste in a jar) and you’ll be set for brekkies or a snack.
Schweinehax’n—(schvine’ uh hox un) Pork knuckle. Sounds gross, tastes great. Ask anyone.
Schnitzel—(shnits’ ul) Cutlets, with multitudinous variations. Wiener or “nach Wiener Art” (which just means “from Vienna” or “Vienna style”, by the way) is generally plain breaded pork (Schweinsfleish, shvines’ flaish) or veal (Kalbsfleisch, kalbs’ flaish), while Jägerschnitzel (yay’ ger shnitz ul) has a mushroom gravy sauce. You really can’t go wrong.
Sauerbraten—(zow’ ur brott un) Roast beef in a tangy sauce. Usually served with Knödel (knurd’ ul, dumplings) or Spätzle (little baby dumplings).
Grillhendl—(grill’ hend ul) Grilled chicken, usually rotisserie-style.
Spezi—(spate’ zee) Half coke, half orange soda. Once again, sounds gross, tastes great. Regarding soft drinks: you will find that 0.2l of coke or 0.5l of Spezi will cost you about the same as a whole litre of Beer. No free refills, either. Tap water is called Leitungswasser (lai’ toongs voss ur) and, while it is free, you’ll probably get some funny looks. It’s just not done. If you ask for just Wasser in a restaurant, you’ll get Sprudel (sproo’ dul, fizzy mineral water a la Perrier).
Bier—(beer) This needs very little explanation in and of itself. Germany is Germany, and they make and consume it in breathtaking quantities. There is a reason for this—it’s really good there. Munich has—get this—seven major breweries. Löwenbräu (yes, that Löwenbräu, but it is actually pronounced Loo’ vin broy) was founded in 1280 AD, so they have some expertise. To make it even more interesting, there are a bunch of different kinds (Pilsen, Weißbier, etc. etc.).
Suggestions on where to eat:
Augustiner Keller (ow goos tee’ nur kel lur) (located Neuhauser Str. 27) —Take the S-Bahn to either Marienplatz (ma reen’ plotz) or Karlsplatz and walk toward the other. The Augi is pretty good chow, and it’s tough to beat for ambience. You’ll see what I mean. Augistiner was the semi-official beer of Munich American High School, and since this beer hall/restaurant is owned by the brewery, well, I logged a considerable amount of time here.
Andechser am Dom (on’ dex ur om dome)—also in the downtown area; take the S-Bahn to Marienplatz, walk toward the Frauenkirche (frow’ in keer cha), the one with the twin onion domes, and it’ll be right beneath the towers. Really good food, and beer made by real monks in a monastery southwest of Munich called Kloster Andechs (that in itself is worth a day trip). If they are in season, have the Reherl (ray’ url), baby mushrooms in a cream sauce over Knödel (q.v.).
A few more original Bavarian restaurants:
• Braunauer Hof Frauenstrasse 42 (near the "Viktualienmarkt")
• Das Weiße Bräuhaus Tal 10 (near the pedestrian zone)
• Kaisergarten Kaiserstr. 34
• Max Emanuel Brauerei Adalbertstr. 33
Please note that I left out the Hofbraeuhaus, as you ONLY meet other tourists there (no local goes there) ;-)
Breakfast (on weekends)
• Cafe Schwabing, Belgradstraße 1
• Cafe Freiheit, Leonrodstr. 20
• Cafe Münchener Freiheit, Münchener Freiheit 20
• … and thousand other breakfast places (Cafes)
Some restaurant info:
• Don't wait to be seated at a restaurant. They'll never do it. Just go ahead and pick the table that you like the best. (Only exception, if you see a sign on the table which says “Reserviert”, then – you already guessed right – the table is reserved). Nothing is without an exception: Some fancy restaurants actually will seat you.
• Don't wait for them to bring the check. They'll never do that either. Flag them down and ask for the Rechnung (rech’ noong, check) or say “’Zahlen, bitte?” (tsahl’ un bit ta, “Pay, please?”) And ask for a Quittung (kvee’ toong, receipt.) Also, do not feel bad submitting receipts you receive that are written on a coaster or a piece of paper. European restaurants are not big on electronically printed receipts. Generally, in a sit-down-type restaurant, it’s best not to be in a hurry. From trying to order to trying to pay your check, things generally move at a pace somewhere between slow and glacial.
• Do not be surprised if someone asks to sit at your table. It is common across Europe to share tables with strangers. So feel free to sit with others. Bench-type seating is very common, and it is a good way to have a conversation with the locals if either of you is so inclined.
• Even though the tip is included in the bill, the waiter will expect that you give her/him some extra tip. About 5% ~ 10% are appropriate.
Stuff to See and Do
Shopping:
The area between Marienplatz and Karlsplatz is one huge open shopping mall. You will find great department stores and whatever your heart desires. But be warned about the German “Ladenöffnungszeiten” (shop opening hours). During the week shops will close somewhere between 6:30 PM and 8:00 PM, on Saturdays they are open until 4PM and on Sundays they are closed!
By the way: The sales tax is included in Germany, that means the price which you read on the price tag is the price you will pay at the cash register.
One more remark: Sales tax only applies for German residents: That means that you can get some cash back when you leave Germany.
That’s the way it works: When you buy something (I believe for about more than DM 300.00) tell the clerk that he fills out a Tax Free Cheque. Collect all these cheques. One your day of departure, you will have to claim your money:
On the Airport visit the customs office and present them the cheques and the merchandise and your ticket and passport. The customs inspectors will stamp your checques, now you will have to proceed to the booth where they will give you the cash (between Terminal B and C)
Must Sees in Munich:
Suggestions: Go to the top of Alter Peter, see the Deutsches Museum (budget a whole afternoon for this); see the Isar River and the Englischer Garten on a nice sunny day; go to Schloß Nymphenburg (Castle Nymphenburg, in the West End of Munich) and eat at the Augustiner Biergarten or the Hirschgarten on the way. There are a million great things to do in Munich, so take as big a bite as you can.
Here are a few more must-sees in Munich
http://www.munich-tourist.de/ also please check out
http://www.munichfound.com/
• The Olympic Stadium (you have a great view over Munich from the Olympic Tower, aprox. 800 ft high)
http://www.olympiapark-muenchen.de/english/index.html
• You should visit the BMW-Museum (very close to the Olympic stadium and the Olympic tower).
• The "Liebfrauendom or Marienkirche" one of the famous churches in Munich with it two 300 ft parallel clock-towers (actually much more impressive from the outside than the inside)
• The town hall (Rathaus) with the "Glockenspiel" which starts every day at 11 AM, located on Marienplatz
• The pedestrian zone (starts at the town hall) between Marienplatz and Karlsplatz (the locals call this place "Stachus")
• The pedestrian zone is like a huge shopping mall, just outside, but beware it closes on Saturdays at 4PM and no shop is open on Sundays!
• The "Viktualienmarkt" a daily market of any sort of fresh food, close to Marienplatz. Every time I am in Munich I make sure that I get my "Weißwurstfrühstueck" there on one of the booths where you can buy your hot sausages. " Weißwurstfrühstueck " means "White sausage breakfast". White sausage is a Bavarian delicatessen which you eat with a soft Bretzel and with lots of Bavarian sweet mustard (and with a half liter of Munich beer ;-). When you eat this sausage make sure that you don't eat the skin of the sausage. This is very hard to digest. There are special techniques to get the skin of the sausage. Munich folks love to teach tourists their way of doing this (I mean to get the skin of not how to digest ;-).
• Schloss "Nymphenburg" one of the famous Bavarian castles located on the outskirts of Munich, and one of the few places where you need a car to get to.
• You should not miss the "Asam-Kirche" (baroque church built by a Mr. Asam) in the Sendlingerstrasse. Very easy to miss, but definitely worth a visit. Located close to the pedestrian zone. If you only want to see one church in Munich, that's the one !
• Nerds like us ;-) normally also pay a visit to the "Deutsche Museum" one of the biggest technical pushbutton museums in the world.
• Have a walk in the English Garden, a huge inner city park, like the Central Park in New York but muuuuuuch bigger. There are several beer gardens inside the park and on the weekend (if it is a sunny day) you will see a lot of people from Munich there.
I put this together some time ago for a few friends, I hope you'll find it helpful
Viel Spass! (Enjoy)
Christopher