Christmas markets

Arrival

We arrive in Munich on an Alitalia flight from Rome. The flight was on time, a calm journey without jolts thanks to the good weather along much of the route. Once in Munich, we're greeted by grey weather and -8 degrees. Not exactly a beautiful day, especially considering that the whole city has 20 cm of snow due to the heavy snowfall of the previous days. To get to Munich's central station, Münchner Hauptbahnhof, I definitely recommend the train. There are two options: the S8 and the S1, which take roughly 25-40 minutes to reach the centre, making numerous stops along the way. The train costs 9€ per person. Don't queue at the station but use the automatic machines, it's quicker, pay cash or credit card and the display is multilingual, including Italian. Once at the station we headed straight to our hotel booked on booking.com, Arthotel di Monaco.

A few words about the hotel are in order: Close to the central area, well connected to public transport with a superb breakfast included in the price and with little touches that are surely always appreciated, it left its mark. The room is very spacious with a living area with a large sofa and a low table. The double bed is positioned in front of a comfortable and useful desk with an LCD TV positioned in a corner and the minibar in the lower shelf, a fridge stocked with both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks (reasonable prices). The wardrobe is sufficient for two people but certainly not roomy enough for two mega suitcases or for a stay that isn't a weekend. A pleasant surprise is the bathroom, truly large with a sink with mirror and shelf, hairdryer and mega bathtub with shower.

There's also a toiletry kit for washing and some useful gadgets (needle and thread for example, as well as a hair cap, essential for the ladies). Two notes: the first is that in the bathroom the heating, considering that the radiator isn't very large and the room is instead very big, in my opinion isn't sufficient. The second note is much more important: there's no extractor fan in the bathroom and obviously there isn't a window either. How is that possible!! The room overall, although new, is certainly not designer and one certainly can't say it's tied to the concept of "art" as the name of the establishment would suggest. There are metal deer sculptures hanging on the wall (of questionable taste) but otherwise nothing. So I wonder why the name. Meh, German mysteries... Useful instead is the free wi-fi throughout the hotel, room included.

Just ask at reception for the password and you're set. Truly to be appreciated. The hotel in general can't be said to be inefficient but it certainly doesn't stand out for the beauty of the structure. The lift is microscopic and if you have luggage you have to take the one reserved for service staff. Overall the structure is nonetheless hospitable but not warm, let's say impersonal and a bit aseptic. The reception has German staff, that is, perfect. Perfect English, manners at the highest level and great willingness to give information and maps, the usual things for clueless tourists, in short. There's never any waiting because when there are people queuing, other receptionists come to lend a hand, appearing out of nowhere. The bar is next to reception, very nice and colourful.

The prices are acceptable and from what we saw it seems to be used also by people who aren't staying at the hotel. The offering is extensive and in line with German bars (beers of all kinds and cocktails also at interesting prices thanks to happy hour). It's certainly not a hotel for businessmen as there are no offerings for meeting rooms or anything like that and I absolutely didn't see any wellness services, like a SPA, pools or anything else. The restaurant area is dedicated only to breakfast, which we took advantage of since it was included in the price. It was a grand experience, truly excellent. The buffet lives up to expectations, in line with 5-star hotels. There's everything: cooked and raw foods, sweet, savoury, international, local, dozens of jams, cold cuts, eggs and so many types of bread, tea... impossible to describe it all.

Obviously everything fresh and always refilled by the diligent waitresses. There's a large two-level room and an additional small room that is opened depending on the crowds. There are lots of people because the rooms aren't very big but the turnover is fast and the waitresses anyway help everyone find a seat. Obviously, in the classic German style, it's possible to share a table with diners you don't know. The hotel is located a 5-minute walk from Munich's central railway station. So you get off the train arriving from the airport and in a few steps you reach the hotel. With a walk of 10 minutes or a little more you reach the city centre at Marienplatz and in the heart of the city's social and night life.

The hotel area obviously suffers a little from being near the station, as usually happens in all big cities, it's not exactly the best: there are numerous arcades, venues run by foreigners, a few tramps and some strip clubs. But there was never a feeling of insecurity or, least of all, fear, but it's certainly not the top for views. The city is very nice, tidy and the historic centre relatively small. In my opinion you can easily get around on foot and take the very efficient German metro only to move outside the centre, perhaps towards the Olympic village area or towards the big parks or the Allianz Arena. Christmas markets. If you go like us, during the Christmas holidays, the city is literally invaded by the stalls set up in the famous Christmas markets that pop up everywhere in every square and everywhere.

They're always packed with people, they normally sell food of all kinds (obviously sausage sandwiches) and mulled wine but also items to decorate the Christmas tree, candles, small craft gifts and lots of other things. The most famous and certainly the most crowded are: Karlsplatz (where there's also an ice-skating rink), along Neuhauser Strasser, Marienplatz (the town hall square). We also found them at the English Garden (a big park north of Munich) and also in the smaller squares; these out-of-the-way ones are definitely worth seeing because the prices are certainly lower than their famous cousins. Viktualienmarkt. It's a historic open-air market located right after Marienplatz heading south. Very large, it's famous and very busy because it's one of the few markets in Munich that are open 6 days a week (it only closes on Sundays).

Food products of all kinds are sold, from organic and French cheeses to dried meat, from fish to cucumbers, from jams to honey. There's truly an important variety of agricultural products along the 140 tidy stalls that make up this market. Of course the prices are high but the quality and service are also those of a 5-star restaurant rather than a neighbourhood market: in summer there's also the opportunity to eat a sandwich or whatever you've bought in the small but cool biergarten, with long wooden benches, where you can rest and sip a good Bavarian beer.

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Food. You eat decidedly well in Munich, without spending a fortune. There's the chance to eat pork knuckle (Schweinshaxen) the enormous breaded cutlet (Schnitzel) pork meatloaf (Leberkase). But you can't leave Munich without having tasted the famous sausages with Sauerkraut (sauerkraut) but the really famous one is the weisswurst, which is a sausage made with veal meat rather than pork and is served in its cooking water. It's to be eaten after removing the skin, with fresh Brezel, senf (mustard) and of course with a good fresh wheat beer Weiss. There are lots of places to taste these delicacies but among the many I'd point out two that struck me. The first, in my opinion the best, is Augustiner Bräustuben (Landsberger Strasse 19) and the other is the Wiesses Brauhaus (Tal 7).

The first is in the west area about 10-15 minutes on foot from the central station, the second is right behind Marienplatz. The service, get used to it right away, is notoriously rude, surly and in some cases you'd feel like getting up and leaving given how little patience they have with tourists especially, but I have to say that the food is good and you never spend more than 15-18€ per person eating well and drinking plenty. Things to see. Obviously in the central area starting from Karlsplatz to arrive at Marienplatz you cross the whole historic part of Munich with the Old and New Town Halls (Altes e Neues Rathaus), the Church of St. Peter (Sankt Peterskirche) and the Cathedral (Frauenkirche).

During the Christmas period in the New Town Hall square at 5 pm there are also some rather nice Christmas carols (if it weren't for the Siberian temperature in which you attend the little concert) and of course there's the carillon (Glokenspiel) of the tower, very famous and one of the most important attractions of the city: it plays with its 43 bells and 32 figurines every day at 11 and at 12 and also at 5 pm in summer. For lovers of luxury shopping I highly recommend Maximilianstrasse, a luxurious street with the best world brands. Honestly it didn't say much to me, and it's far from the pomp of other European streets dedicated to fashion. Among the interesting things and not particularly historic I'd point out the Englischer Garten, that is the English Garden, the second largest city park in Europe (after the one in Dublin) and bigger than Hyde Park and Central Park.

Very beautiful also in winter, it has some nice attraction elements like the Chinese Tower (Chinesischer Turm) where there's also an old Biergarten open also in winter, obviously with an attached Christmas market. For lovers of football and sport or simply of architecture and engineering I can't fail to point out the Allianz Arena (you get there comfortably by metro) and the Olympic village area (nearby there's also the BMW headquarters with its museum). A weekend is definitely well spent going to visit this tidy, beautiful, sumptuous but also noisy city frequented by very cheerful people. I recommend visiting during the Christmas markets because they're truly beautiful.