A Weekend in Munich...

We spent the final two nights of our holiday in Munich. Due to a special deal on a hotel, we stayed outside the city center. That gave us an excuse to explore another part of the city, where we found an excellent roto-sushi restaurant. We also found a geocache.

We spent Saturday roaming around the historic center, mostly shopping, but we did pop into this church. We attempted to grab a beer at the Hofbrauhaus, but the service was atrocious so we left. Instead, we had dinner at an organic café, which made Ashlynn very happy as she’s very into healthy eating. 

Before heading to the airport on Sunday, we went to Therme Erding, home to a natural mineral springs and a huge indoor waterslide park. We especially loved the Magic Eye, the world’s longest tunnel slide in the world at 360 meters (1,180 feet).

Love Locks...

While geocaching, we crossed a bridge and noticed that there were padlocks attached to the railing. On closer inspection, we saw that there were names engraved on them. This was the first time we’ve seen love locks, which apparently have cropped up in cities around the world.

More Geocaching in Munich...

Within the Olympic Park and Olympic Village, there were also several cool geocaches. This one was disguised to look like a water main cover.

The one above looked like it might have been a cache, but was actually a bird feeder with a note at the bottom saying “This is not a geocache.” The other looked like a bird feeder and was actually a cache.

















This one was up high, but Ashlynn still managed to reach it.

Geocaching in Munich...

Since all the shops are closed in Munich on Sundays and we weren’t in the mood to go to a museum, we decided to fill our time with geocaching. We were pleased that there were several very cool caches within walking distance from our hotel. We had a tough time finding this one as it was buried deep under this giant blue sculpture.

We walked right past this one, but Ashlynn finally noticed that the warning sign was upside down on this fake electrical box.

We were surprised to find a cache rated 4 out of 5 for difficulty in an urban area. Once we figured out that it was below a low overpass next to a canal, we understood why. No surprise that Ashlynn didn’t hesitate from retrieving it. Are you surprised that Jimmy didn’t hesitate from retrieving another from the bum of this monk statue?

BMW Factory Tour and Olympic Village..

Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take photos during the 2.5 hour BMW Factory Tour. We were a bit disappointed when we went into the first few rooms and the robots (which the guide called rabbits) seemed to be on a lunch break. Perhaps that made it even more exciting once we did see them in action. We especially loved watching the robots painting cars and installing windshields.

Afterwards, we wandered around the nearby Olympic Park from the 1972 Summer Olympics.

While in search of a geocache, we happened past the memorial outside the apartment building in the Olympic Village where 11 Israeli athletes and coaches were kidnapped and then later killed by Palestinian terrorists.

Back to Munich...

Normally, we fly home on the Sunday after skiing. This year, the girls had more than a week off which allowed us to extend until Tuesday morning so we could go on a tour of the BMW Factory in Munich, which is only open during the week.

As we passed through the Marienplatz, we managed to see the show of 32 life-sized figures on the Rathaus-Glockenspiel, which was built in 1908. I especially liked the jousting.

Off to Munich...

Just a week after we returned from India, we spent a weekend in Munich before heading to the mountains. Ironically, Jimmy had already been there that week for a quick work trip. We filled up our time exploring the historic center, taking a tour of BMW World (a purpose-built building of fascinating architecture where owners can come to pick up their new cars, which supposedly is so emotional that it brings tears to their eyes), swimming at the hotel and a historic city pool, and searching for the city’s best all-you-can-eat sushi (which is much cheaper here than in Holland). Being the good parents that we are, we left the girls behind at the hotel so we could have a beer at the infamous Hofbrauhaus.

Back to Germany...

After only one week back at the office, it was time for Jimmy to take a week off so we could go on his company ski trip. We flew into Munich for a quick overnight stay. We found yummy all-you-can-eat sushi for lunch, then headed to the Deutsches Museum, the world’s largest science and technology museum that Jimmy had visited as a teen with his parents. We were bummed that the brick making factory was out of order, but thoroughly enjoyed the mines underground, the room of bridges and tunnels, and the high voltage show. We’ll definitely plan on a longer visit next time. The next morning we spent in the wellness center at our hotel, which was amazingly sophisticated (we’ve had great luck staying at Novotels in many cities--we highly recommend them for families). Jimmy found a discounted bakery on the way to the train station; the name was a bit discouraging, but the giant pretzels were great.