Pops' Travel Guide, Munich Day 1

After a six hour train ride from Prague we arrived in Munich at the Central Station. My son wanted to stay at a Youth Hostel so we had reservations at the Euro Youth Hostel. I didn't know what to expect and I was pleasantly surprised. To start, the hostel was about a block from the train station. The hostel is secure, with large and clean rooms, and there was a nice bar as part of the hostel. We had booked a four bed room with a private bathroom for the three of us.We had one other person staying in our room and they were very nice and shared their travel experiences.

The bar in the hostel is a gathering place for travelers from all over the world. The drinks are inexpensive and there is also a happy hour every day with very cheap drinks. Even though I was older than almost everyone else I had a great time talking to people from other countries. Although we didn't take advantage of it, the hostel offers activities for the travelers, most alcohol related, and it would be a great way to meet fellow travelers and see the city. Young or old, staying at a hostel is a travel option you should consider. My son traveled Europe for two months staying at hostels. I'll get him to write about his experiences.

After checking into the hostel we decided to go for a walk. The Euro Youth Hostel is also about three blocks from the Marienplatz and the heart of Munich. From there we saw the Glockenspiel in the New Town Square. The Glockenspiel was constructed in 1908 and commemorates two events from the 1600's. The Glockenspiel goes off every day at 11am (12pm and 5pm also in the summer). Although we missed it this day we did see it go off on another day. It is truely a site worth seeing as it has bells ringing, knights on horseback and dancers. The entire show lasts about fifteen minutes.As we continued walking we came across the Hofbrauhaus and stopped for a couple one liter beers each. We would have had dinner there but the wait was too long. We did find a very nice restaurant close to the Hofbrauhaus to eat at.

After dinner it was back to the hostel and more drinks in their bar. By then it was really busy and we shared a table with fellow travelers and got to meet a lot of people from all over the world. This was another late night and it felt good to get back to the room for a good nights sleep.