CENTRAL EUROPE BLOG May 11th, 2026 - MUNICH

 

5/11/26– Today will be an interesting day as we leave Austria for Germany again. It’s very cloudy and expected to rain so unsure how this will go, but we’ll figure it out along the way.

At 10:30am we depart our hotel and drive almost two hours to Munich. As we approach the city center I just missed the light as it changed to red, and that’s when I saw the police car on the cross traffic. Quickly, I pull down a side road and into a store parking lot thinking I’m toast. After a few seconds I decide to leave the lot through a side exit and see that police car pulling in at the same time. They don’t stop or turn on their lights so perhaps they didn’t care or didn’t realize it was me. Either case, it was a close call.

I find parking in an underground lot near the center and walk about seven minutes through the sprinkling rain to Frauenkirche, a landmark church in Bavaria. This is primarily a stopover to get out of the rain but realize they have a tower that you can go up to, so of course we do that.

We power up the spiral staircase before coming to an elevator that takes us the rest of the way. What is weird is the manpower security at the bottom floor, elevator and the top as if we’re touring a bank. Either case, the top floor provides an excellent view of the city even though the clouds mask the full experience.

After leaving the church we find the rain has stopped and continue to the Munich Residenz. This is the former royal palace of Bavaria and the largest in Germany. It takes some time to find the ticket counter, and once inside we’re met with an amazing elaborate corridor filled with ceiling art and statues.

As we venture through we see room after room decorated with their royal collections and furnishings with no two rooms like the previous. Its mind blowing how huge this palace is and reminds me of the Louvre in many ways (architecturally that is).

Toward the end (or what I think is the end) there’s an option to take the long tour and explore the upper floor, which I do, and it’s filled with more rooms, antiquities and less crowded. This is definitely one of the better palaces I’ve seen and put together so well.

Upon exiting, we make one final stop to Marienplatz, the city’s main square since 1158 when it would host markets and tournaments from the middle ages. It’s mainly a large open area with the new town hall as the main attraction.

It’s pushing 3pm and now time to leave the city behind. We drive over half an hour to Munich airport to drop off our rental (I made sure to video the car all the way around just in case they try to charge me for damage I didn’t do) before calling an Uber to take us to our hotel, Premier Inn Airport Ost. Even though the airport is only about a six minute drive away a taxi wanted to charge 25 Euros, so we walk a bit further to the Uber stand for the cheaper rate.

Our hotel is basic with zero air conditioning but opening the window allows a cold breeze to swoop in. I smell people smoking periodically so not sure how bothersome this will be throughout the night, but time will tell. At least it’s just for one night.

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