OT - Visiting Munich & Prague, Advice?

[Ted]

Hi Folks - I have a few weeks off and was thinking of heading over to Munich (only 35k frequent flier miles!) for a few days, then taking the train to Prague for 4 or so days, then back to Munich for a few more before heading home. Anyone been to Munich or Prague recently? Any of the touristy sites you would specifically recommend (and any you wouldn't?)

For Munich I have been looking at hotels near the train station (Flemings or Vi Vadi), and for Prague near Wenceslas Square (maybe the Hotel Archibald City?) Any recommendations?

Thanks folks!

[jimfastcar]

Was there a few years ago with my wife. Beautiful city. Must see the Cathedral at the top of the mount (forget name - cannot miss). There is a military demonstration every day which is very interesting. We stayed on the other side of the river - city core, and walked everywhere.
Charles Bridge very interesting.
Vienna, our next stop was much more diverse and offered more to see and do

[PAULBACH]

I'll be in Munich for a few days in September. Looks for a B&B. Do such accommodations exist there? I hope to spend waking hours out of the room and on two wheels. Creature comforts hold small attractions. After a bunk on a destroyer any hotel room is top shelf.

[gfspencer]

I've been all over Europe and Prague is one of the most interesting cities that I've ever visited. The people are friendly and English is spoken almost everywhere. Old Town, the Jewish Quarter and the Castle are all great tourist places to visit. Be sure and take the obligatory walk across the Charles Bridge.

From Prague, my wife and I took a boat up the Elbe to Berlin stopping in German cities along the way. I really enjoyed Wittenberg . . . where Martin Luther did his thing.

Berlin was very interesting. Being retired military, I especially enjoyed seeing Checkpoint Charley. Berlin has some great museums.

You can't go wrong in either of those two cities for things to see and do. Be sure and take a camera and shoot the rooftops of Prague, the City of Spires.

[beemergirl]

There is a BMW Museum in Munich---very interesting not just for the BMW part but for the engineering and design of the building itself.

Visit the Olympic complex, also very interesting and has a lot of history with the terrorists. As I recall the Museum was walking distance to the Olympic complex.

[Texpaul]

Ted,

If you're going to Munich you have see the BMW Museum and the Marienplatz. There are tons more things to see and do (http://www.muenchen.de/home/60093/Homepage.html) but those at minimum. Public transportation there is very good so even if you stay on the outskirts of the city you can get downtown quickly.
We were there in September and stayed in Buchenhain, about 16 km south of downtown Munich on the beautiful Isar river, and it only took 15-20 minutes by rail to get downtown. It was nice staying out in the country. More peaceful. If you're into biking or hiking there were paved trails all the way into Munich.
Never been to Prague but hear it's beautiful. Enjoy and stay warm.

[Bob_M]

My son lives in Munich and we visited him over Christmas. It is a great pedestrian city with lots of public art and people watching. The rail system is comprehensive and we never had to rent a car when were in Germany.

Museums abound in town with the Residence (Royal family's home) is spectacular, and the summer palace is also pretty awesome. This trip we went to the modern museum. Some remarkable stuff. Of course the Mother Ship (BMW HQ) is in Munich and they have a new museum. The BMW museum gift shop has books that might be valuable to your motorcycle library.

Near Munich, crazy king Ludwig built several castles. Neuschwanstein is the most famous, the fairy tale castle that has been copied at Disney locations around the world. It truely is spectacular, with a setting on a knob of the Alps, that is breathtaking, but it is a tourist mecca. Research the lesser castles and check them out.

Oh yea, the Deutsches museum. The transportation museum and the flight museum are different parts of Germany's answer to the Smithsonian. Check out the bicycle tires.

You can't go wrong with a Rick Steves guide.
Have fun.:thumb

Oh yea, there is a fantastic brew pub a short walk from the main train station. It is about 100 years old and the history is written in the architecture and art. Good beer in ample portions and meaty dishes that you will fondly remember. I was very pleased with the veal schnitzel.

[bobs98]

As stated, BMW Museum is a must. Recently re-done and renovated. I did a (auto) factory tour also, many years ago (1982?) and it was fantastic! May need reservations or advance booking, if available at all. Home of Mobile Tradition (now BMW Classics) I believe.

Marienplatz, Olympic Stadium and museum also. Hofbrau Haus (for the experience) and many other Bavarian brew houses in the area.

Have a great time!

[Don]

My wife and I rode around Europe for 5 years, sure was fun.http://http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=15964&stc=1&d=1232987571

[Ted]

Thanks for the advice folks! Please keep it coming :)

[jshuck]

I really liked Prague. Lots of old Communist architecture and infrastructure, but lots of new things. I think that Prague would have been as influential as Paris if WW2 had not come along. Hitler's tanks were all make by the folks around Prague and they were excellent. There is a Transportation Museum across the river and up on top of the hill. I drug my wife and daughter there kicking a screaming, but once there we saw lots of old motorcycles a Tatra or two and a pre-war Mercedes Grand Prix car. Best meal was a tray of appitizers with a shot of gin. Also do the Midnight Tour. Lovely.. and of course the beer was excellent. Ride the cable cars out into the surrounding town areas..it is like going back in time.

[SCQTT]

BMW Welt (World) is the big showroom / delivery. They make a very big deal about you picking up a car or bike there.

I was there in May of 08 IIRC it was the weekend they introduced the X6

The building will blow your mind.

Next door is the bowl looking new museum. It was not open when I was there, but now is.


Olympiapark, where they held the 72 Olympics, is within walking distance.

In May I also went to the German Transportation museum. Lots of cool Audis & MBs. They also have Ernst Hene's BMW that set all the speed records.

I went to Intermot in 2004. At that time BMW had a temporary museum set up. It was still really neat.

Here a a few photos (from my 04 trip) I could quickly put my hands on (I think I have hundreds)

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w159/SCQTT/DSCN0140.jpg

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w159/SCQTT/DSCN0137.jpg

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w159/SCQTT/DSCN0156.jpg

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w159/SCQTT/DSCN0152.jpg

[GlobalRider]

Anyone been to Munich recently? Any of the touristy sites you would specifically recommend (and any you wouldn't?)

Every year!

I don't know where your interests lie, but I have been to:


BMW Museum.
Deutsches Museum (http://www.deutsches-museum.de/en/information). A science & technology museum covering just about everything. A day there and you've only nicked the surface. It is huge!
Hein Gericke (http://www.hein-gericke.de/0/), Louis (http://www.louis.de/_10dee13d14ef8abe42f0eeb3c997ee0fc8/index.php?topic=filiale&ID=37) and Polo (http://www.polo-motorrad.de) motorcycle accessory shops on Balan Strasse west of the Ostbahnhof (east train station).
Englischer Garten (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Englischer_Garten) - Chinesischer Turm. A beer garden with live music.
countless beer gardens: Hofbräuhaus (http://www.hofbraeuhaus.de), Augustiner Keller (http://www.augustinerkeller.de), etc.
the Tal - Kaufinger Strasse promenade with Marienplatz (http://www.best-of-munich.com/marienplatz/marienplatz.html) in the center.

I would most definitely take that 135 km drive down the A8 to Salzburg (http://www2.salzburg.info) which happens to be the nicest city in the world.

[rinty]

Ted:

The new Porsche museum, in Stuttgart, is supposed to open at the end of the month. Just down the road from Munich, I believe.

[aaaaaa]

Hi Folks - I have a few weeks off and was thinking of heading over to Munich (only 35k frequent flier miles!) for a few days, then taking the train to Prague for 4 or so days, then back to Munich for a few more before heading home. Anyone been to Munich or Prague recently? Any of the touristy sites you would specifically recommend (and any you wouldn't?)

For Munich I have been looking at hotels near the train station (Flemings or Vi Vadi), and for Prague near Wenceslas Square (maybe the Hotel Archibald City?) Any recommendations?

Thanks folks!

I'm heading to Prague for my birthday in March. Mick Jagger had his 60th birthday at the Four Seasons there. It'll be good enough for me too. Gotta get these air travel trips gotta the way while there's ice and salt on the ground here in Jersey.
aaaaaa

[R80andR100RT]

If you are curious about ww2 stuff Thereseinstadt is not far from Prague. It was presented by the Germans to the Red Cross as a model resettlement town but was actually used as a transit camp for people on their way to more evil places. Interesting museum. A concentration camp remains about a mile away. Very little appears to have changed. In Prague there is an Orthodox church, I think St. Bartholomue. The parachutists who assinated Reinhard Heydrich were hidden in the church crypt for weeks where they made a last stand after being snitched on. They even attempted to dig their way thru a wall. Interesting to visit, read up on both places before you go.

[gfspencer]

I don't know why I was babbling about Berlin when you were asking about Munich. :hungover

As others have said:

1) BMW Museum :thumb

2) Hofbräuhaus :thumb :thumb

3) Englischer Garten (it might be a little chilly for that)

Have a great time, have a bier, and eat a schnitzl for me. :german

[535is]

OK; I'm biased the other way. I love Bavaria for Bavaria and I love being in the Alps. If you haven't seen the castles, they're closer than Prague. I was also charmed by nearby Garmisch-Partenkirchen and followed the mountains all the way through Switzerland (Interlaken) and Liechtenstein and into northwestern Italy. I love Aosta. I have no idea if any trains run to all these places (I suspect they do). I rented a car in Frankfurt (you start much closer in München) and drove everywhere, with no particular plan in mind.

[franze]

Close to Munich, Dachau is worth the visit


The door that "greets" the death camp inmates. I believe the translation is
" Work sets you free"

http://elcid.smugmug.com/photos/467162396_s6XSs-L.jpg


http://elcid.smugmug.com/photos/467164036_cZdx8-L.jpg





About a half hour outside of Prague is the famous "Church of Bones" where the boys stopped in during the Long Way Round. Can't recall the actual name of the place but I went there when I took my son to a hockey camp in Prague. Definitely creepy with an odd smell that defies description.

http://elcid.smugmug.com/photos/467164066_rD8k8-L.jpg


http://elcid.smugmug.com/photos/467164053_UCums-L.jpg

http://elcid.smugmug.com/photos/467162403_kfxVh-L.jpg

http://elcid.smugmug.com/photos/467164045_XLTCQ-L.jpg

[OUTBACKUFO]

http://elcid.smugmug.com/photos/467164045_XLTCQ-L.jpg

Did you feel how cold it gets when you walk down the stair into the churh or really crypt... it was about 28C out that day 85F and we went in and it was very cold down in there.... the place is in the city of Kutna Hora... where there is a very old church there worth seeing..

Unfortunately all the images below are the only copies i have them... the low res..:cry :cry :cry :cry :( :(
i lost all of the high res digital files on my computer from this trip to visit wife's family in Czech from my computer hard drive frying... i backed everything up but the one folder from this trip to Czech... at least i got the fronze Crustifix photos still...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/OutbackUfo/Photo/Skullsbalcany.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/OutbackUfo/Photo/ArchAngle.jpg

Main chuch in Kutna Hora
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/OutbackUfo/Photo/TheChurchswaytoheaven.jpg
castle ruins about 10mins west of Hrance' (south of Ostrava)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/OutbackUfo/Photo/pagginighost.jpg

Praha (Prague)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/OutbackUfo/Photo/PrahaStreet.jpg

[franze]

Hey Outback, yes there is a funk about the air temp and aroma going down those stairs into the crypt. At first I was over sensitized by what I was seeing but eventually got over the fact that everything was made of human bones and then I began to acknowledge the incredible craftsmanship finding the right symmetry of different bones, especially in the matching "identical" 3ft high chalices at the top of the staircase. The one time I really got creeped out was when I was looking at the raven pecking out the eye of the skeleton and I was trying to ID the various bones. There was a group of very delicate and small bones that I couldn't figure out where they came from. Finally realized they were the ribs of a young child.

Thanks for posting your pix, mine came out like crap.

This thread may resume to it's original programming................

[rinty]

+1 on Dachau.

You're going to have to book another month off, Ted.

[OUTBACKUFO]

Hey Outback, yes there is a funk about the air temp and aroma going down those stairs into the crypt. At first I was over sensitized by what I was seeing but eventually got over the fact that everything was made of human bones and then I began to acknowledge the incredible craftsmanship finding the right symmetry of different bones, especially in the matching "identical" 3ft high chalices at the top of the staircase. The one time I really got creeped out was when I was looking at the raven pecking out the eye of the skeleton and I was trying to ID the various bones. There was a group of very delicate and small bones that I couldn't figure out where they came from. Finally realized they were the ribs of a young child.

Thanks for posting your pix, mine came out like crap.

This thread may resume to it's original programming................

My wife's photos were quite fuzzed also... eventhough she was used the same model camera.... i did have a tripod... it was qutie dark in there even with a lot of day light coming... quite weird place...

[tghsmith]

to understand the ins and outs of prague, grab the rick steve's book lots off good advice, take some food and water(pack a lunch) with you for the train ride to prague, can be longer than posted and didn't offer to much along those lines..