A couple of weekends ago we headed to Munich for a couple of days (cheap flights, thanks easyjet!). James has always wanted to visit Dachau as his grandfather was held there as a POW so thought we would take the opportunity to hang out in Munich as well.
The first night we did the obligatory visit to the Hofbrauhaus, the biggest beer hall in Munich. Given the stories we've heard about Oktoberfest we assumed it would be full of tourists like us but we were pleasantly surprised. It turned out to be full of locals and we ended up sitting across from a a guy from Boston who lives there and filled us in. There are signs above many of the tables that indicate it's reserved on certain nights, and apparently you either have to have been part of the family for too many years to count or be close enough to be invited in order to sit on those tables. The atmosphere was great, incredibly festive with a band, families and groups having a good time, and drinking copious amounts of beer from 1L steins!
Before I learnt how to hold it properly....it's very heavy!!
The locals having fun.
The next morning we ventured out into the cold, it had been snowing the day before so we layered up and went exploring.
The S-Bahn station near our hotel.
Dachau - I felt it was very disrespectful to take any photos inside the Memorial Site or any of the buildings in the camp itself so this is the sign out the front. It didn't stop many others from snapping away however, made me feel a little ill....especially outside the crematorium. Just a little wrong.
The walking man statue in the trendy Schwabing area.
Quick! Emergency! Need maltesers!!!
And the obligatory food photos....we went to a lovely place behind the Marienplatz for dinner that was recommended by Lonely Planet, and it didn't disappoint. The English menu seemed a little pricey so we decided to take a punt and try to interpret the German menu, with fantastic results! The place was a little taverna with good beer and the kind of food your grandmother would cook if she was German. I had this lovely braised beef with knodles (potato and bread dumplings). Delish!!
Fantastic store we found with every kind of dried fruit and chocolate you could imagine.
We opened the hotel room curtains on the last day and saw snow, snow and more snow!
Halfway to the bakery where we had breakfast we were already covered in snow which was hitting us straight in the face. Lucky we had the thought of coffee and pastries to keep us going!
Fountain in the Marienplatz with the last of the snow clinging on.
More food....beech smoked sausages and German potato salad. Lovely! And served on a cute little heart shaped tin plate.
Our lasting impression of Munich was that it was very clean and orderly, especially in comparison to London! No big crowds, very friendly people, large roomy trains and clean air. Although I imagine Oktoberfest time is a completely different affair!
The first night we did the obligatory visit to the Hofbrauhaus, the biggest beer hall in Munich. Given the stories we've heard about Oktoberfest we assumed it would be full of tourists like us but we were pleasantly surprised. It turned out to be full of locals and we ended up sitting across from a a guy from Boston who lives there and filled us in. There are signs above many of the tables that indicate it's reserved on certain nights, and apparently you either have to have been part of the family for too many years to count or be close enough to be invited in order to sit on those tables. The atmosphere was great, incredibly festive with a band, families and groups having a good time, and drinking copious amounts of beer from 1L steins!
Before I learnt how to hold it properly....it's very heavy!!
The locals having fun.
The next morning we ventured out into the cold, it had been snowing the day before so we layered up and went exploring.
The S-Bahn station near our hotel.
Dachau - I felt it was very disrespectful to take any photos inside the Memorial Site or any of the buildings in the camp itself so this is the sign out the front. It didn't stop many others from snapping away however, made me feel a little ill....especially outside the crematorium. Just a little wrong.
The walking man statue in the trendy Schwabing area.
Quick! Emergency! Need maltesers!!!
And the obligatory food photos....we went to a lovely place behind the Marienplatz for dinner that was recommended by Lonely Planet, and it didn't disappoint. The English menu seemed a little pricey so we decided to take a punt and try to interpret the German menu, with fantastic results! The place was a little taverna with good beer and the kind of food your grandmother would cook if she was German. I had this lovely braised beef with knodles (potato and bread dumplings). Delish!!
Fantastic store we found with every kind of dried fruit and chocolate you could imagine.
We opened the hotel room curtains on the last day and saw snow, snow and more snow! 
Halfway to the bakery where we had breakfast we were already covered in snow which was hitting us straight in the face. Lucky we had the thought of coffee and pastries to keep us going!
Fountain in the Marienplatz with the last of the snow clinging on.
More food....beech smoked sausages and German potato salad. Lovely! And served on a cute little heart shaped tin plate. 
Our lasting impression of Munich was that it was very clean and orderly, especially in comparison to London! No big crowds, very friendly people, large roomy trains and clean air. Although I imagine Oktoberfest time is a completely different affair!
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