Detail of the ceiling of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Passau, Germany. When visiting old churches, be sure to always look up!
Germany
Travel Tuesday photo: Detail of the ceiling of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Passau, Germany
Categories: Europe, Germany, Picture of the Week
Tags: Europe, Germany, Passau, Picture of the Week, St. Stephen
Leave a comment
Travel Tuesday photo: Fruit Stand in Bonn, Germany
A colorful fruit stand in Bonn, Germany
A colorful fruit stand in Bonn, Germany
Categories: Europe, Germany, Picture of the Week
Tags: Bonn, Germany, Picture of the Week
Leave a comment
Travel Tuesday photo: Church of St. Paul in Passau, Germany
The Church of St. Paul in Passau, Germany. It’s the oldest church in the city and was built on parts of the old Roman wall.
The Church of St. Paul
Review: Hilton Munich Airport
Trip Report: Amsterdam, Iceland and Munich
Review: Iberia A340-600 Business Class
Review: Kimpton DeWitt Amsterdam
A Brief Tour of Amsterdam
Review: Sheraton Amsterdam Airport Hotel and Conference Center
Review: Radisson Blu 1919, Reykjavik
Review: Center Hotel Plaza, Reykjavik
A Week in Iceland
Review: aloft Munich
Visiting Dachau
A Brief Tour of Munich
Review: Hilton Munich Airport
Let me say right off the top that this is not going to be the most comprehensive hotel review I’ve ever done. We arrived in the evening and had an early morning flight out so our priority was sleep.
We took the train to the airport from the main train station and from there followed the signs to the Hilton. It’s well-marked but be aware that it is a bit of a hike and you will be going outdoors at some point. If you have a lot of luggage you may want to use a baggage cart to make your journey go faster.
Hilton Munich Airport
(photo courtesy Hilton Munich website)
As we followed the airport signs we were eventually directed to this hallway. Lit up like this it’s kinda hard to miss, right? At this point you’re still outside.
From the Munich Airport Terminal follow this hall to the Hilton’s elevators
We walked through the doors at the end of this hall and the elevators to the Hilton’s main floor were on the right.
Categories: Europe, Germany, Hilton, Hotel, Lodging Review
Tags: Europe, Germany, Hilton, Hotel Review, Lodging Review, Munich
Leave a comment
A Brief Tour of Munich
Trip Report: Amsterdam, Iceland and Munich
Review: Iberia A340-600 Business Class
Review: Kimpton DeWitt Amsterdam
A Brief Tour of Amsterdam
Review: Sheraton Amsterdam Airport Hotel and Conference Center
Review: Radisson Blu 1919, Reykjavik
Review: Center Hotel Plaza, Reykjavik
A Week in Iceland
Review: aloft Munich
Visiting Dachau
A Brief Tour of Munich
Review: Hilton Munich Airport
We had two afternoon/evenings and one full day to see Munich which I’m sure was not enough but we did a lot of walking and took the hop-on/hop-off bus around the city to get a feel for the area. I’m sure we could go back for several more days and still not run out of things to do and see! But here are the sights we saw:
Karlstor
In the late 1700s the elector, Karl Theodor, had the old city walls torn down. This created space for a number of new plazas. Three of the original city gates were preserved, including this one that was previously known as Neuhauser Tor when it was built in the 14th century. It was renamed Karlstor after the Bavarian elector and in 1899-1902 was integrated into the semi-circular wing of Rondell am Sacchus to give it the look seen today.
Karlstor – Karl’s Gate
Visiting Dachau
Trip Report: Amsterdam, Iceland and Munich
Review: Iberia A340-600 Business Class
Review: Kimpton DeWitt Amsterdam
A Brief Tour of Amsterdam
Review: Sheraton Amsterdam Airport Hotel and Conference Center
Review: Radisson Blu 1919, Reykjavik
Review: Center Hotel Plaza, Reykjavik
A Week in Iceland
Review: aloft Munich
Visiting Dachau
A Brief Tour of Munich
Review: Hilton Munich Airport
I must admit I was originally a little hesitant about visiting Dachau, a former Nazi concentration camp. I was concerned the horror of what had occurred there would be too overwhelming. But I decided it was something important I needed to do and I’m very glad I visited.
Getting There
It’s quite easy to reach the city of Dachau from Munich, especially since we were already at the main train station. We took the S2 train to Dachau, which is about a 25-minute ride. Then we caught the 726 bus to the camp entrance. The site is open from 9 AM to 5 PM each day except Christmas Eve. If you’re using public transport, I would try to arrive either right at 9 AM or wait until midday. We arrived in the city of Dachau mid-morning as did several tour groups. They filled up the first bus that arrived so we had to wait awhile for the next one on the route. But the bus does let you out right at the front entrance to the camp.
Services
In the Visitors Center you’ll find the ticket counter, restrooms, the cafeteria and the bookshop. We had a snack in the cafeteria after we toured the site and found that not only do they have typical snack foods, they also had hot meals available.
If you’re not with a group you can join a 2.5 hour guided tour for just €3.50. Tour times depend on which language the guide will be speaking. Audio guides come in a number of languages and are available for €4. Along with the guide booklet, you can go at your own pace and as you come to an exhibit that interests you, just enter the exhibit’s number into the guide and it will tell you about what you’re seeing.
There is a free film included with your admission. The theater is located in what was once the maintenance building and is now the exhibition space. The film runs about 20-25 minutes and is shown every half hour. Check the times to be able to view it in the language of your choice. Minimum age for the film is 14 (excluding babies) as there are, obviously, disturbing images of the camp victims. Continue reading
Categories: Europe, Germany, Historical Site
Tags: Dachau, Europe, Germany, Historical Site
Leave a comment
Review: aloft Munich
Trip Report: Amsterdam, Iceland and Munich
Review: Iberia A340-600 Business Class
Review: Kimpton DeWitt Amsterdam
A Brief Tour of Amsterdam
Review: Sheraton Amsterdam Airport Hotel and Conference Center
Review: Radisson Blu 1919, Reykjavik
Review: Center Hotel Plaza, Reykjavik
A Week in Iceland
Review: aloft Munich
Visiting Dachau
A Brief Tour of Munich
Review: Hilton Munich Airport
After wrapping up our tour of Iceland we took an early-morning Icelandair flight to Munich where we’d spend the last few days of our trip. With the time change we arrived in Munich in the early afternoon. We took the train to the city center.
You know the old real estate slogan “Location, Location, Location”? That’s absolutely true of the aloft Munich. It’s literally across the street from the Hauptbanhof, or Main Train Station. This makes it not only easy to get to anywhere the train goes, but it’s also a stop for the intra-city tram system and the hop-on/hop-off buses have their offices and stops nearby as well.
aloft Munich location in relation to the Hauptbanhof
aloft Munich
(photo courtesy marriott.com)
We reached the front desk and were greeted by a friendly clerk who seemed to be working almost the whole time we were there. He noted that my Gold status did not qualify for a free breakfast. We were given keys to our room on the first floor (and since we’re not in the US, that’s the floor above the ground/current floor). The elevators are right beside the front desk so they’re hard to miss. Continue reading
Categories: Award Travel, Europe, Germany, Hotel, Lodging Review, Marriott, Starwood
Tags: Award Travel, Europe, Germany, Marriott, SPG, Starwood Preferred Group
Leave a comment
Trip Report: Amsterdam, Iceland and Munich
Trip Report: Amsterdam, Iceland and Munich
Review: Iberia A340-600 Business Class
Review: Kimpton DeWitt Amsterdam
A Brief Tour of Amsterdam
Review: Sheraton Amsterdam Airport Hotel and Conference Center
Review: Radisson Blu 1919, Reykjavik
Review: Center Hotel Plaza, Reykjavik
A Week in Iceland
Review: aloft Munich
Visiting Dachau
A Brief Tour of Munich
Review: Hilton Munich Airport
The genesis of this trip was a friend telling me about a group tour of Iceland that several friends were going on and asking if I wanted to go or not. Of course the tour wanted to sell us airfare and options using points and miles aren’t all that plentiful, especially if fixed dates are involved.
The group tour was only a week and since October is when we we usually take a two-week vacation anyway, my travel companion and I decided to use our miles to get to Europe, enjoy a few days there, then buy tickets to Iceland, do the tour and then fly to another city in Europe where our miles could get us back to the US in business class. Continue reading
Categories: Award Travel, Europe, Germany, Hilton, Hotel, Iberia, Iceland, Icelandair, IHG, Marriott, Netherlands, OneWorld, Radisson, Starwood
Tags: Award Travel, Europe, Germany, Hilton, Hotel Review, Iberia, Iceland, Icelandair, IHG Hotels, Kimpton, Marriott, Netherlands, OneWorld, Radisson, Sheraton, SPG
Lounge Review: Lufthansa Lounge, Cologne-Bonn Airport
Introduction
Lodging Review: Novotel Torino Corso Giulio Cesare
Attraction Review: Museo Egizio
Lodging Review: Hilton Bonn
Lounge Review: Lufthansa Lounge, Cologne-Bonn Airport
United 777-200ER Old Style vs. Polaris Business Class
I had a very early start to the day for my return trip. My flight from Munich to Chicago departed at 11:25 AM so I wanted to be sure I had plenty of time to connect – and even to catch a backup flight should my original flight get canceled. So I was booked on a 6:20 AM flight from the Cologne/Bonn airport to Munich. I booked a ride with Suntransfers and my only complaint was that they were non-negotiable as to pickup time and that was at 3:55 AM. At that time of day, with no traffic and it’s a short drive anyway, I was at the airport around 4:30 AM and the Lufthansa ticket counter didn’t even open until 5 AM so I had to stand there for half an hour with my bags. Ah well, certainly better than being late.
CGN airport is quite small. In fact, on their website, the motto is: so simple. There are two terminals. Terminal 1 handles Lufthansa, Germanwings, Austrian and Star Alliance partners and Terminal 2 handles all other airlines. Each Terminal has a lounge. In T2 it’s a generic business lounge for all the airlines while in T1 it’s a Lufthansa-branded lounge.
As the airport is small, so is the lounge. However with Lufthansa being the dominant carrier I can see that it might get crowded with elite travelers gaining access even if they’re on an economy ticket. It opens at 5:30 AM so I had to wait a bit for entry.
The lounge is circular in shape and one side of the room has the comfortable lounging chairs while the other side has tables and chairs for dining.
Lufthansa Lounge CGN Casual Seating
Categories: Europe, Germany, Lufthansa, Star Alliance
Tags: Europe, Germany, Lounge Review, Lufthansa, Star Alliance
Leave a comment
Lodging Review: Hilton Bonn
Introduction
Lodging Review: Novotel Torino Corso Giulio Cesare
Attraction Review: Museo Egizio
Lodging Review: Hilton Bonn
Lounge Review: Lufthansa Lounge, Cologne-Bonn Airport
United 777-200ER Old Style vs. Polaris Business Class
One of my co-workers and I took a taxi from the Cologne/Bonn airport to the Hilton Bonn. It’s a lovely yellow building located right on the Rhine River. The Viking River Cruise we took on the Rhine a few years ago would have sailed right by this hotel after we spent the day in Cologne, just a few miles away. It’s in an area very convenient to a pedestrian-only section of shops and even the train station is not a far walk away. I liked the hotel itself, with one GIANT caveat about my stay.
Hilton Bonn
Categories: Europe, Germany, Hilton, Hotel, Lodging Review
Tags: Europe, Germany, Hilton, Hotel Review, Lodging Review
2 Comments
2B Traveling 
Recent Comments