Sharing all about our family trip to Munich, Germany.
Our first family trip to Europe was a true whirlwind from beginning to end! Let’s do some backstory, then we’ll get to the highlights on spending time in Munich, Germany.
So why did we go to Munich? Well, Dave was already going to Munich for work to see the Carolina Panthers game taking place there, and Brady and I decided to tag along. We only made this decision about four weeks in advance, so we didn’t have a ton of time to plan, prepare or overthink this trip at all. Things in our lives were so busy leading up to the trip, that it just sort’ve came up, we packed, we left, and we made the most of it in the moment. (Thank goodness we had all renewed our passports over the last couple of years.)
Normally, we like to book things further in advance and have more specific plans laid out for our family vacations (and I would probably recommend the same to you, especially for international travel). But because we were just joining Dave on his established work trip, this one was different. We only had a limited time to explore together, and we knew we needed to stay in a small area. When you take away the travel time, we ended up with four nights in Munich, and I would say we did everything we could do in that time.
Today, I’m going to share the highlights from what we did on our family trip to Munich, Germany, as well as some overall thoughts on the travel and the city, in case you ever plan to visit.
We flew directly from Charlotte to Munich (an 8-hour flight there, and a 9-hour flight back), and we stayed exclusively in Munich in one hotel. While we would have liked to have visited some other European cities, this trip was pretty short, so we made the most of our time in one location.
Dave had been to Munich once before on a college soccer trip many years ago, but this was my first time (and of course, Brady’s first time too). In fact, I had only been to Europe once before, and that was when I studied abroad in Florence, Italy in college (during that trip, I went all around Italy, and I visited France, Monaco and England), so I was very much due for another European adventure in my life by now.
We had never taken Brady on such a long flight before, and he couldn’t have handled it more perfectly. I feel like he fared better on both flights than Dave and I did, and we’re so proud of him for that. (A big shout-out to my girlfriend who lent us her son’s Amazon Fire tablet, because that thing kept Brady entertained for almost the entire flight home.)
As a refresher, Brady is currently 7-years-old, and I feel like he’s just the right age to handle a big trip like this, and it may have been a bit harder if he was younger. While we were in Munich, he did some very minor complaining about the cold temperatures and all the walking on one of the days, but other than that, he was down for anything, and he was a true travel trooper. Brady loves to see new things and places, and we love doing that with him.
It may have been a little easier to go on this trip without him (I certainly would have had more freedom), but I know it was the right choice to experience it together. In fact, all of my favorite moments from the trip center around Brady, of course.
Here are the best parts of our family trip to Munich, Germany …
Walking around English Garden Park (Englischer Garten)
When I googled “what to do in Munich, Germany” one of the first things that came up was English Garden Park, and this place truly delivered. Fun fact about English Garden: It’s actually bigger than Central Park in Manhattan, NY and is one of the largest public parks in a city in the world.
We spent a couple hours walking around English Garden, and it was quiet, relaxing, peaceful, beautiful and restorative. While we only touched the surface of this gorgeous oasis in Germany, we loved it. The air felt so darn fresh in this park, which was a nice change from the city air, where there were a lot of people smoking (yuck).
During our time in English Garden, we saw tons of people walking their dogs (off-leash walking is not a big deal in Munich and most dogs were running freely), we saw a man doing a “cold plunge” in the chilly river in a Speedo, and we saw super-skilled surfers riding the waves in the Munich River, right under a bridge where visitors gather to observe.
(Here is my jacket, here are my pants, here is my top, and here are my shoes.)
When I travel, I want to feel something different, and English Garden Park was just that. We had to cut this visit short (yes, about two hours felt short) to get back for a work commitment for Dave, otherwise we would have stayed much longer. By the way, this was a totally free activity, and I love that about public parks.
Being part of the Munich pub experience
Okay, the pubs in Munich are something. While I only went into two, they were both a real experience.
The Carolina Panthers had “taken over” one pub, Augustiner Stammhaus, which we visited several times for meals and special Panthers pep-rally events leading up to the game (more on that later). And we also went to one of the most famous pubs in Munich, Hofbrauhaus, which had live music, pretzel girls and long communal tables, where we sat with other patrons.
People are chatty and jolly in pubs in Munich, and I think our experiences were elevated, because there were extra Americans in town for the big game. It just felt so cheery and lively in these pubs every time we were in them, and we loved it. Even if we were pretty sick of eating meat and potatoes by the end of the trip, because that’s a lot of what’s on the menu there (along with beer).
Touring the Munich Residence (Residenz Munchen)
Another item that came up on our search for “what to do in Munich, Germany” was visiting the Munich Residence. This historic building was only a short walk away from our hotel, and it was an enriching experience for us, especially as we explained it all to Brady.
The Munich Residence is a sprawling castle-like building in the middle of the city that was once home to dukes, electors and kings of Bavaria starting from the 1500s to early 1900s. While parts of the building were destroyed in World War 2, much of it has been reconstructed.
We really enjoyed walking room-to-room in this building and listening to the audio guide, which described each room, including the artwork, decor choices and purposes of the space. Brady was totally into using his own audio guide, because he could push the numbers of the room as he went along and hear the descriptions for himself. (It’s always a good thing when he’s interested in the activities we choose, and he loved this one.)
Visiting an establishment like the Munich Residence is truly fascinating. The opulent decor and massive spaces were pretty cool to witness in person, because they are so unlike anything we’re used to. I described the Munich Residence to someone like this: The halls and rooms of this place felt like a mixture between The Biltmore Estate in Asheville and The Vatican in Rome. Or at least that’s how I thought of it.
(Here’s my sweater, here’s my coat, here are my jeans, here are my shoes, here are my sunglasses, and here’s my purse.)
We toured around this building for about 90 minutes, and we took in each room for long enough without having to rush. Once again, this experience definitely made me feel like we were far away from home, and that’s how I wanted to feel.
By the way, the ticket prices for this attraction were super reasonable, and we didn’t need a reservation. Dave and I were only 10 Euro each, and Brady was free. Love that.
Watching the Carolina Panthers play (and win) at Allianz Arena
What a blast this game was! We feel so lucky to have been a part of it. And while this American football game could have taken place anywhere, so many aspects of it felt different and felt special.
The whole reason we were on this work trip for Dave was based around this game. The NFL has been holding games in Europe for the last few years to introduce and engage Europeans to/in the sport. This particular game featured the Carolina Panthers and the New York Giants. The game took place at Allianz Arena, which is where FC Bayern Munich, one of the most popular German soccer teams, plays.
Allianz Arena is a really unusual building from the outside, and it felt so cool to watch a game there. There were more than 70,000 people at this game, and most of them were European. Now, we go to a lot of sporting events, but this particular crowd was so, so good. The fans knew all the words to almost every song (yes, in English), and they sang their hearts out.
I think Brady would say this game was the highlight of the trip for him (it was for me too). Although it was very busy, the arena felt safe and orderly, and I was even able to order a cappuccino at the general concessions, which was lovely. One downfall? People somehow smoke in the arena, and we got some drafts of that throughout the day (once again, yuck).
(Here are my jeans, here’s my coat, and here are my boots.)
Brady and I got to enjoy two different viewing areas at Allianz Arena, as we sat down in some great seats in the lower bowl for a while, then were able to head up to sit near Dave in the suites area as well. We finished the game with Dave, cozied up under some blankets, and it couldn’t have ended any better.
The Panthers won this game in overtime, and the ending was full of action-packed excitement. We will always remember singing “Sweet Caroline” at the top of our lungs with tens-of-thousands of other people in Munich that day after the victory. And in the words of Brady Pitt, it was a real “core memory.”
While we did some other little activities in Munich and stayed very busy each day, those are the big highlights.
A few other things worth sharing about our family trip to Munich, Germany …
Munich is a clean and safe city and it seemed like everyone spoke English.
Overall, I loved Munich. It felt like a clean and safe city, and I walked around it alone (or just with Brady) quite a bit while we were there. I enjoyed some of the food (which is not the healthiest, by the way), I like that pretty much everyone spoke English, and I appreciated that the areas where we were moving about were easy to navigate.
(Here are my jeans, here’s my turtleneck, here’s my bag, and here are my shoes.)
The historical buildings and cobblestone roads were lovely, and it felt incredibly European. The taxis were a muted cream color, which just felt so stylish (as opposed to bright yellow, of course), and it seemed like all the people were well dressed too. I had read ahead of time that Germans are very organized and like order, and I sensed that. Even when places were crowded, they were orderly.
Being in Munich felt like being in another world, and that’s how I like things to feel when I travel. I loved looking at every little nook and cranny of the architecture, peeking into every shop window and doing as much people watching as I could (although, I didn’t actually get to do any real shopping, outside of getting Brady souvenirs at the Lego store and the NFL store).
While I know we didn’t see the whole city at all, we traversed a lot of it in our four nights there. I certainly could have enjoyed another couple days there if we’d had more time. And if you ask me if I would ever return to Munich? Sure! I’d love to explore other European cities too, but I’m now a big Munich fan.
We stayed near the city center’s historic Marienplatz Plaza, and it was the perfect location.
Our hotel was near the city center’s historic Marienplatz Plaza, and that was a perfectly central location as our home base. We were lucky enough to stay at the Mandarin Oriental in Munich, and it was truly a top-notch accommodation. We don’t usually (or actually, never) choose luxury 5-star hotels for ourselves, but of course, it was a perk of being on Dave’s work trip.
(Here’s my sweater, here’s my skirt, and here are my booties.)
Right next to our hotel was the oldest bakery in the city of Munich, and I went there one morning for a croissant and a cappuccino, and both were excellent. Food always tastes better when you know it has some history. By the way, pistachio croissants were in most bakeries, and they were delicious.
It was cold and cloudy in Munich, so we had to bundle up each day for walking outside.
As far as the weather in Munich in the fall? It’s cold and cloudy! It was in the low 40s most days, and we were in our winter coats, with hats, scarves and gloves at all times when outside. I was pretty comfortable walking around when I was in all my gear, but then I went inside, I had to quickly shed most of my layers, because it was warm indoors.
On one of the days, it was “misting” when we walked around, and I hadn’t experienced that since my days of living in San Francisco. It felt oddly nostalgic, even if my hair doesn’t love it.
We didn’t get much sun in Munich, except for a couple hours when it peeked out behind the clouds. But, the cloudy vibe totally fit what I expected of Munich, and it worked.
Munich is known both for its Oktoberfest and holiday markets. On this trip, we were a little late for the Oktoberfest celebrations, and we were a little too early for the holiday markets, unfortunately. But we had our own special festival to attend, which was the Panthers Fanfest held in a nearby square, and it was a really good time …
The less-than-glamorous parts of overseas travel.
It’s important for me to mention that, as expected, we definitely felt some effects of the overseas travel. I was super tired on a couple of days from very minimal sleep. Our windows for exploration were fairly brief, due to Dave’s work commitments. And even though I brought the right adapter/converter, my curling iron blew out on the second day, then I didn’t have one to use the rest of the trip (thus, my trusty braid worked its magic). Luckily, I was able to properly curl my hair for the one very fancy dinner I attended with Dave at a beautiful museum (and we used a hotel babysitter for that night, who Brady really enjoyed).
(Here’s my dress.)
We arrived home to Charlotte pretty tired and beat up after several go-go-go days, with spotty sleep and a really long and uncomfortable travel day home (the 9-hour direct flight home was much, much longer when you add in all the international airport travel to-dos you have to take care of). And, then, a day later, I ended up with a bad case of the flu (which was the worst and the reason this trip recap is so delayed).
Yet, even though the getting there-and-back part can be super tough when you travel internationally … all in all, I think it was absolutely worth it for the experiences and the memories our little family made. And I’m grateful we could do something like this.
We came away knowing that we can take Brady on big trips, and we’re definitely going to do some more Europe exploring in the next couple of years.
Until then, we’ll be talking about our trip to Munich for quite some time, especially that sweet Panthers win!
Thanks for reading my post about our family trip to Munich, Germany. Guten tag!
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Questions of the day
Have you ever been to Germany before?
What’s the best trip you’ve been on in the last couple of years?