Welcome back to When Wine Calls “The Winter Grape Tour” of the UK and Europe.
The train from Berlin to Munich was fast and uneventful but given that it was Christmas time I was very glad that we had pre-booked the seats as it was very crowded and chaotic. While the service on the train was certainly not as good as what we experienced on the Italian trains during “The Summer Vintage” Tour we nevertheless managed to secure bubbles for Pauline and Portia, for me it was a local red wine which we certainly enjoyed over the course of the 4-hour journey.
It was so good to finally arrive in Munich where it felt that our white Christmas journey was really commencing.
We had booked a 3-bedroom aparthotel for our stay in Munich with William flying in from Australia the next evening to join us for the Austrian leg of the trip. The apartment was centrally located although walking from the station to get there using the GPS took us pass some interesting shopfronts that we decided was clearly not the best route, even in daytime. After settling in the three of us went for a walk to get our bearings and locate the main shopping malls located between Karlsplatz and the main historical square, Marienplatz.
Throughout the square were the most gorgeous array of market stalls all selling unique Christmas items – these were the markets we had travelled across the globe to experience, and we relished in the opportunity to explore all of them. As night came and all the stalls lit up, we located one serving Hot Aperol that we just had to try given how we had fallen in love with the cold version when travelling in the summer. I have to say that the “cold” version is by far the better one.
We then headed back to Marianplatz where a local choir appeared on the balcony of the New Town Hall adjacent to the famous Glockenspiel in St Peter’s Church singing Christmas carols as the crowd wandered throughout the Christmas markets – it was such a magic and memorable experience.
It was then off to a quaint local restaurant “Bricelta” serving mediterranean food for a fabulous dinner to complete a wonderful first day in Munich.
The next day was a short day of exploration for the three of us walking through the various historical areas including the Kalrsplatz area as well as around the Deutsche Museum. Naturally, we also purchased many Christmas trinkets during the day not concerned about how we were going to fit them into our suitcases for the trip home,
Our very good friends Jane, Dougal and our god-daughter Miranda were arriving in Munich in the late afternoon so we contacted them to arrange the meeting time in the Marienplatz which is where we would also meet William who was coming in by train directly from the airport later that evening. It was dark as we all embraced each other together again in such a beautiful setting adjacent to the large Christmas tree adorning the square and walked around the markets all fabulously lit up.
We then headed for a traditional German restaurant for dinner while we waited to meet up with William and enjoyed local wine and Munich’s famous schnitzel. It was then back to Marianplatz to meet Willam at the train station entrance and then find a local bar to catch up on all the news on everyone’s respective travels to get to Munich. With us all coming together the evening was always going to be a dangerous night catching up in a city renowned for its fabulous food and drink, so we all were a bit slow to get moving the next morning.
The next day it was back onto the horse, but first we needed to head to the shops and finish our shopping, in particular so I could purchase an FC Bayern Christmas jumper that had caught my eye the previous day although it did not receive rave reviews from the girls when I wore it but I love it.
We then met up with the others and headed to a famous beer hall for lunch with an oompah band on hand playing traditional German and Bavarian folk and beer drinking songs enthusiastically throughout the restaurant. We easily could have stayed there all afternoon enjoying the atmosphere, reflecting also on our last visit to the same beer hall back in the 1980’s and how little has changed since then, other than both of us getting older and now having our children with us.
What another great afternoon we had – this is a must do experience if your visiting Munich at any time of the year but requires great self-discipline when there let me assure you.
At night we walked through the shopping mall and found a local restaurant and bar and then back to Marianplatz where we stopped at a stall serving white and red-hot wine in brightly coloured ceramic boot cups which you can refill and then keep if you choose – a novel idea that was being embraced by all the tourists including ourselves.
The next day it was travel day again and time to leave Munich to head for Austria and our Christmas destination in the Austrian Alps. We had enjoyed Munich immensely and it was everything, and more we had hoped for when planning this trip to hopefully experience a white Christmas. Only our daughter Melinda, son in law Darren and grandchildren, Trinity and Lincoln to join the group now and the family will be complete for our Christmas celebrations. They were currently sightseeing in France and will be joining us in Austria in a few days – we cannot wait.
We will see you again soon.
Pauline and Bruce
When Wine Calls 
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