The view from the 2nd floor of Löwenbräukeller as the Starkbierfest celebration was underway in Munich! Photo by: Evan Berman
Next up was a brief visit to Munich– the first of two definitively not Eastern European destinations. While I was in Germany for under 20 hours, I managed to have a fantastic time. The highlight was the Starkbierfest at Löwenbräukeller, which I review in full in the next article, but I also made time for the terrific art museum. While under 24 hours is much less time than such a rich cultural area deserves, my time in Munich only serves to make me want to return soon and get a fuller experience!
The review of my time in Munich is part of the Eastern European Experience. For more information on the trip, follow these links:
Flight: United Economy Class B737-800 CHS-ORD-SEA
Centurion Lounge, The Club SEA, and United Club: SEA Lounges
Flight: Turkish Airlines Business Class B787-9 SEA-IST
Istanbul Airport’s Famous Turkish Airlines Business Class Lounge and IGA Pop Up Lounge
Flight: Turkish Airlines Business Class B737 MAX 8 IST-BUD
Hotel: Ramada by Wyndham Budapest City Center
SkyCourt Lounge, Plaza Premium SkyCourt, and Platinum Lounge (Schengen): BUD Lounges
Flight: Lufthansa Economy Class A321-200 BUD-MUC and MUC-ZAG
24 Hours in Munich (This Article)
Starkbierfest Munich
Hotel: H+ Munchen (Wyndham)
Lufthansa Business Class Lounge MUC
Flight: Croatian Airlines Economy Class Dash 8 and ATR 72-600 (Twin-Prop Plane) ZAG-SPU-ZAG-SJJ-ZAG-BEG
2 Days in Split, Croatia, the Beauty of the Adriatic
Delicious Food in Split
Hotel Vestibul Palace in Split, Croatia, Small Luxury Hotels of the World (Hyatt partner)
Primeclass Lounge ZAG
6 Hours in Zagreb
Wine Tasting and Learning about Croatian Outlook
2 Days in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Restaurants in Sarajevo
Hotel Aziza Sarajevo (AABooking)
Business Lounge SJJ
Air Serbia Premium Lounge and Business Club: BEG Lounges
Flight: Swiss Airlines Economy Class Embraer E190-E2 and A220-300 BEG-ZRH-LJU
2 Amazing Days in Ljubljana, Slovenia
Food Scene in Ljubljana
Day Trip around Slovenia: Postojna Cave, Predjama Castle, Bled Castle, and Lake Bled
Hotel Emonec Ljubljana, Slovenia (Rocketmiles)
Flight: Air Serbia Economy Class ATR 72-600 and A319-100 LJU-BEG-SKP
1.5 Days in Belgrade, Serbia
Restaurants in Belgrade
Hotel: Hyatt Regency Belgrade (Hyatt)
3 Hours in Skopje, North Macedonia
Primeclass Lounge SKP
Flight: Wizz Air Economy Class A321-200 SKP-MXP
14 Hours in Milan and Monza, Italy
Hotel de la Ville Monza, Italy, Small Luxury Hotels of the World (Hyatt Partner)
Sala Montale and Emirates Lounge MXP
Flight: Emirates First Class A380-800 MXP-JFK
Conclusion
Trip Summary:
Munich, Germany is the most famous city in Bavaria. Most people associate the city with German food (pretzels, sauerkraut, wursts, spätzle, etc.), beer halls, Oktoberfest, and traditional dress such as lederhosen. While I had previously visited Berlin, this was my first time in Southern Germany. Although I was only in Munich for roughly 20 hours, I was still able to accomplish the following:
- Experience a true German beer hall environment and festival
- Eat traditional German food
- Explore the art and architecture of Munich
Flight Info:
I flew Lufthansa Economy Class from Budapest to Munich (and onwards to Zagreb) on flight LH 1677. This flight flight was just over 1 hour– a very quick jump. The seat was decent and service was unsurprisingly non-existent, though the price (in points at least) was reasonable.
Read more details about the flight from Budapest to Munich and Munich on to Zagreb here.
Price: The one way flight from Budapest to Munich cost 6,000 United Miles (1,000 points transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards) and $35
Points Earned: 170 AmEx Membership Rewards Points (5x on Flights with the AmEx Platinum Card)
Lodging Info:
I stayed 1 night at the H+ Muenchen, a Wyndham property near Karlsplatz in Munich. This hotel was perfectly adequate for my short stay– I only dropped my bags, changed into proper attire, and slept in the room so it didn’t matter that this was a small, plain hotel with minimal amenities. Had I needed to get work done while staying here, it may have been more complicated as the desk was small. And then there’s the earnings aspect…!
Price: $97.63 for 1 nights
Points Earned: 16,953 Wyndham Rewards Points (16,172 from the stay, including an extra 15,000 points for a promo that was running at the time– stay 3 total nights and get 15,000 points!– and 781 from 8x earning on the Wyndham Earner Rewards Business Card). For context on how valuable this is, remember that 13,500 points is all that is required for a 1-night stay in a 1-bedroom Vacasa property! I earned more than enough points for a free night at a beachfront villa in Hawaii by staying at this sub-$100/night hotel in Munich. What a deal!
Airport Details:
As mentioned above, I flew into MUC, the airport serving Munich. This international airport has 72 gates, all in 1 terminal, though they are grouped in domestic or international wings.
I will review MUC in a separate article. Per Flight Connections, the main airlines that fly there are unsurprisingly German carriers Lufthansa (with a whopping 147 destinations) and Condor with 29 destinations. Additionally, Eurowings (32 destinations), TUI Fly (19), and Air Dolomiti (16) have strong presences while SunExpress (9), Croatia Airlines (6), and United Airlines (6) have presences as well. In total there are flights to 217 international destinations in 16 countries and 14 domestic destinations.
There are many lounges at the airport, though only Lufthansa Lounges in the Star Alliance Terminal 2. I visited the Lufthansa Business Class Lounge near Gate G28 prior to my flight. Stay tuned for that review. The access was courtesy of my AmEx Platinum Card– flying Lufthansa Group Airlines Swiss, Austrian, or Lufthansa, you can access the Lufthansa Business Class Lounges even in Economy or the Senator Lounges when in Business or First Class. Note this only applies to Lufthansa Lounges, not Swiss or Austrian Lounges.
Transportation Details:
Uber is available in Germany. One of the advantages of many German cities (Vienna, Munich, Berlin, and Zurich included) is that they are relatively compact and have excellent public transportation. However, when I am in a city for a short time and want to get from Point A to Point B as quickly as possible, I will sometimes pay more for the convenience of being driven rather than taking the train.
As such, while I took the train from MUC to the station nearest my hotel for a mere $13.91, I ended up taking an Uber from my hotel to the Art Museum and to the airport the next morning which were much more expensive at $12.22 and $74.69 respectively. I purposely chose a location where I could walk to and from several of the main beer halls– priorities!
Price: $100.82
Points: 302 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points (3x on Travel with Chase Sapphire Reserve)
Food & Drink:
Breakfast was not included at the hotel, one weakness of Wyndham elite status compared to other chains. I arrived in the afternoon and only planned what I would do for dinner while in Munich as I knew I would be eating breakfast/lunch at the lounge the next day. As dinner and beer was just part of the main event, I will list the highlights before diving into the full Starkbierfest experience in the next article.
Löwenbräukeller:
Germany is often used as a proxy for beer and beer halls, especially Munich. One of the famed beer halls of Munich is Löwenbräukeller. During the month of March, every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night the establishment sells tickets to the Starkbierfest celebration. As part of that, there is a limited menu for these days. Unfortunately, there was no schnitzel available, though thankfully I was able to have other (excellent) food!
As the famous saying goes: when in Germany, eat bratwurst! Or something like that. 🙂 I opted for the iconic sausage which came with tasty sauerkraut and two delicious slices of bread.
The food was excellent, but I’m sure you are wondering about the beer. I know I was! My preferred beers are generally lighter– Belgian/Flemish sours and ales, weiss beer in Germany, or IPA/APA in the US and UK. That being said, the English translation of Starkbierfest is Dark Beer Festival and the winner of a Miss Bavaria contest “tapped” the 2023 Special Edition, which I had to try. The verdict was excellent, even for someone who normally prefers light (color, not lite) beer to dark beer!
The highlight of this “dining experience” was the live music and entertainment. I found the prices quite reasonable, it was 5€ for a ticket (a fully reserved table was between 100€ and 500€ depending on number of people from 5-20 and where the table was located relative to the main stage and floor) and beers were 11.5€ each. My entrée was 12.5€ but none of the options were more than 17€. You had to pay in Euro both for a ticket and for each beverage and meal.
This turned into an minor issue as I received only 20€ notes from the ATM. I tried to give the waiter 15€ for a beer (keeping the rest as change) but he would not accept it as “anything more than 10% tip is too much!” I knew this, of course but had no use for Euro as I would not be visiting anywhere else where that currency was accepted save for Milan– and 5€ won’t get you very far in Milan! After some back and forth, I eventually was allowed to give him the tip split over two beers thus accomplishing the same thing, just in a more accepted manner for the fastidious German!
Price: 73€ ($79.92)
Points Earned: N/A, Cash only
Activities:
In my short visit, I only experienced the two most important activities: culture and carrying-on!
Alte Pinakothek:
Alte Pinakothek is the main art museum in Munich (and Bavaria). I was impressed by both the structure of the building and the content. The beauty of a large building without a limitless amount of art such as at the Louvre (no discounting one of the great art museums in the world of course!) is that the positioning of the art can be just as important as the depiction in the canvas. Sometimes a painting standing by itself can seem bigger than it first appears, the colors more impressive, etc.
The collection of art was terrific– everything from works by famous German artists to the traditional Renaissance and Impressionist works that are common in many European museums. I unfortunately was a bit rushed going through (as the story below shows), but this is certainly a place to spend several hours marvelling at both the architecture and works of art.
The museum closes at 6pm daily and I arrived at 5:30pm on the dot. In an unsurprising turn of events, I was told that the museum promptly closes at 6pm as in “at 6pm the doors are locked so you should be out no later than 5:50pm.” The staff did not want to let me in but when I told them I would be leaving Munich the next day and would not have time to visit, they let me in free of charge! With another warning about the need to leave before 6pm of course! As such, I only had about 20 minutes in the museum. While this is better than nothing of course, it was certainly not enough to see everything that is available. The normal price is 9€ for adults, 6€ for students and those over 65, and free for anyone under 18.
One other item of note was that there were many people enjoying the warmth outside near the museum. The building is located in between two large fields with people playing soccer and volleyball as well as lounging and enjoying their Saturday. I thought it was a wonderful sign of spring truly having begun and a great omen for the incredible weather that followed me throughout the trip!
Price: N/A, free admission due to time
Points Earned: N/A
Starkbierfest:
The most important activity that I engaged in immediately followed leaving the art museum. I headed to Löwenbräukeller to experience their version of Starkbierfest, or Dark Beer Festival in English. The next post will talk about the full experience but suffice it to say that this was incredible! Oktoberfest gets a lot of press, but this may be the better festival (disclaimer: I have not had the privilege of going to Oktoberfest yet). I was the only American and most people who were not speaking German did so because they were originally from another country before moving to Germany. Talk about authentic!
I ordered food and beers as noted in the food and drink section and enjoyed watching my fellow revelers get more and more animated as the night (and beer count) progressed! The band was terrific, though strangely played many American songs. I am told that the songs they played, which included famed German staples such as Take Me Home Country Roads, Sweet Caroline and Zombie (2x), are quite popular in Germany and that was the reason we were hearing these renditions. Between the food, beer, and atmosphere, this was everything you could hope for in a German beer hall and I highly recommend attending a Starkbierfest event if you find yourself in Germany in March!
Photo of the Trip:
You have to love the dedication to the craft– beer that is ;)– of having advertisements for the most important cultural beverage in Germany!
Total:
Price:
Food and Drink: $79.92
Transportation: $100.82
Flights: 6,000 United Miles (1,000 points transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards) and $35
Hotel: $97.63
Activities: $0
Total Price: $313.37 and 1,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points
Points Earned:
Food and Drink: N/A, paid in cash
Transportation: 300 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points
Flights: 175 American Express Membership Rewards Points
Hotel: 16,953 Wyndham Rewards Points
Activities: N/A
Total Points: 300 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points, 175 American Express Membership Rewards Points, and 16,953 Wyndham Rewards Points
I had a blast in Munich. Next up: a full review of the incredible Starkbierfest!
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