If I had only 1 day in Munich...

Having only 1 day, start early and courageously by learning to suck Weisswurst out of the skin following it with beer or two (well, the Müncheners do). Actually weisswurst is very good, and served everywhere. If you don't like beer with breakfast, have a couple of glasses of champagne instead (with which the Munich Board of Etiquette will strenuously disapprove - it really should be beer). Whatever you do, start your one day in Munich with a light heart and maybe a tiny buzz. You'll be right at home with some of the most friendly people in Europe. Just make sure that you have your weisswurst before noon (that's the weisswurst witching hour).

After your weisswurst experience, start your day at Marianplatz, home of the Altes Rathaus (Old City Hall), Neues Rathaus (New City Hall), and the Glockenspiel. There is a Metro stop right at the square as well as a Tourist Information Center in the lower level of the Neues Rathaus. Look up and get your first glimpse of this wondrous thing (Glockenspeil) that you have journeyed so far to see. As soon as the excitement wanes (10 seconds or less), plan the rest of your morning. The first consideration is weather. If it is sunny, cloudy, or snowing, Munich is beautiful and you can do everything listed. German rain is pretty much like everyone else's - wet and boring. If you want to see the Glockenspeil in action, you will have to wait around the square environs until eleven AM or noon when the thing blasts off on its 15 minute performance or return at five PM for the evening execution. Next, do you want to see cathedrals and palaces, or does your interest lie in museums? If it is both, pick and choose from the attractions below, again based on the weather. Three of four hours walking around in the rain can become a bit tedious. Here is where a good Munich guidebook can be very helpful as can hotel personnel. Most people go for museums when it is raining, but that is your choice. There are no bad choices here, just wet or dry.

If old cathedrals and churches are high on your list, you have come to the right place. Those in Munich are all over 50 years old! This is not a misprint. Like many other German cities, the allied bombings toward the end of WWII left Munich and its environs (including the old city) in piles of rubble (you will see many photographs of this devastation all over Munich). The city has been literally rebuilt since 1945 which makes these marvelous edifices all the more meaningful. While there are many glorious churches in the old city, five are reasonably close to Marianplatz and are very different in size, period and architecture. They are: Frauenkirche (Cathedral Church of Our Lady), gothic; Peterskirche (St. Peter's Church aka "Alte Peter"), Munich's oldest 1180, (climb the tower for the best view of Munich); Michaelskirche (St. Michael's Church), Renaissance; Theatinerkirche (for the Theatine clergy), Italian baroque; Asamkirche (St.-Johann-Nepomuk Kirche), a small baroque/rococo fantasy and one of the most guilded and splendid churches in Germany if not the world. (Ask at your hotel for a route that will take you to all of these churches and back to Marianplatz in time for the noon spellbinding performance of the Glockenspeil followed by lunch at Viktualienmarkt, a few blocks from Marienplatz.) Information about the individual churches should be available at the hotel as well.

If you chose museums, Munich is home of some of the world's finest. The two mentioned here are world famous, and really require at least a couple of full days in each to reach full appreciation. The following gives you only the most basic highlights. Besides these, there are many others about which your hotel will have more information.

In the morning, then, after viewing Marianplatz, walk to the Deutsches Museum located on an island (Museuminsl) to the Southeast of Marianplatz. This six story museum of science and technology is huge and intimidating. It is also spellbinding. There are many inter-active exhibits that will even interest children. There is a floor of complete airplanes, for example. The Deutches Museum is the largest and one of the most important science and technology museums in the world. It is said that to see all of the exhibits, if only briefly, would take more than 4 weeks. Spend your morning here and return to Marianplatz for the aforementioned Glockenspeil dramatic spectaclar. Then, it's on to the Viktualienmarkt, a few blocks away, for lunch.

In the afternoon visit the Alte Pinokothek which is to the North of Marianplatz This is Munich's most important art museum and one of finest in the world. There are over 900 art pieces on display (thousands more in storage) and include many by Rembrandt, da Vinci, Rubens, Raphael, Dürer, and Brueghel to name only a few. This museum is very uplifting.

Both museums must be experienced to be appreciated and any further description would be superfluous.

Not all marketplaces are created equal. This is one of the largest and finest in Germany and indescribable to most Americans. Imagine, for example, a shop where you can buy 100 varieties of olives or 200 different cheeses. Locals shop here on a daily basis if they are looking for quality. Stroll along "Butchers' Row" and look at all the custom butcher shops all selling basically the same thing. Ask a local which is best and you will get as many answers as there are shops. There are many small restaurants surrounding the area which serve reasonably priced good food. The beer garden also serves a pretty full menu or you can purchase exactly what you want at the food stands and enjoy your meal at one of the tables in the garden. (Make sure that you sit at a table without a tablecloth if you are not eating the beer garden food.) It is self-service and only one brand of beer is available, changing in 2 week intervals. Wash everything down with a couple of liters of beer and your are ready for an afternoon filled with excitement (at least that is what trying to find a bathroom is like - or not finding one). You will also be ready to tour places in which you know that you were born to inhabit.

For those who chose churches and palaces, you have two choices: the Residenz or Schloss Nymphenburg. The Residenz is a short walk from the Viktualianmarkt, and Schloss Nymphenburg requires a tram or subway ride, or a taxi. Before going to either, read some of the hotel literature (or a good guide book) because there is so much to see in both places. At the Residenz, the most important exhibits are the Ancestral Gallery, the Antiquarium, the Porcelain Gallery, Cuvilles Theater, and the Schatzkammer (treasury) (do NOT miss the statue of St. George slaying the dragon).
Schloss Nyphenburg was the summer palace of the Wittelsbachs. This palace is more complete and sophisticated than the Residence and equally beautiful. The Galleries of Beauties, the Marstallmuseum, Nymphenburg Park, and Amalienburg are particularly stunning. This palace alone is guaranteed to make visitors promise themselves a return trip to Munich.

If the above has not filled the first eight hours of your day, there are lots of tours. Some require walking for 2-3 hours (with frequent educational stops), bus tours of various lengths and destinations, and a couple of different bike tours. Munich is built on flat ground, and the walking tours, while sometimes long, are not physically taxing. The most fun of the bike tours is from Mike's Bike Tours. The guides are fun, funny, and connoisseurs of every alcohol found in Munich. Between sips and guzzles, these guides really do know all facets of Munich life - past and present. The other tour is said to be slightly more informative, but not as much fun.

(On a personal note, I can, in truth, state that all of the tours that I have been on in the last 10 years (and that is most of those available in Munich) were either very good or excellent. Which tour(s) to take is up to personal desires and interests, as well as age and physical ability. The German (European) guides are very professional and extremely knowledgeable, and will only discuss American presidential politics if pressed. Remember that the tour is only as good as the group and that the guide alone can not make the tour fun. Many times I have heard people complain that the the tour we were on was not good, when I thought it was terrific. The truth is that the tourists were usually the problem - not the guide. Make it fun!)

If you are young, and physical exhaustion from dancing or arm bending is a goal, there are numerous night clubs in the city and suburbs. The most popular is P1. You can dance the night away and miss your bus. Your hotel will have lots of information about them. If you are more mature (please use the term loosely unless sleep and health are the ultimate goals), there are the beer halls and beer gardens. When it is warm outside, the beer gardens are the places to be. The volume of smoke in some of the restaurants, gasthauses, clubs, and beer halls can be overpowering to non-smokers. With that introduction, the most famous of the beer halls is the Hofbräuhaus am Platzl. There is live Bavarian music, liter steins of beer, buxom waitresses who can carry 70 or 80 steins at once (seems like it anyway), and lots of fun. If you want to see tourists having a good German time, that's the place! Others include any of the less touristy Augustiner bräuhauses, Löwenbräu Keller as well as the English Garden (not described because of the lack of time) in the summer. During the summer, all one has to do is walk around; you will find a beer garden where you can rest your weary body. If you have experienced a full Munich day, and if you can remember your hotel, sleep will not be a problem. You can always sleep on the bus in the morning. Hopefully, you have had one hell of a day!

American readers will notice that there has been no mention of shopping in this diatribe. First, as an American myself, I have never learned a thing when I was shopping. Second, true shoppers don't need directions. They can sniff the wind and walk directly to area shopping high spots. Any shopper who goes near Marianplatz will instinctively feel the tingle of Neuhauserstrasse, Kaufingerstrasse, and Maxmilianstrasse. Schwabing will be calling. Most tours geared for Europeans have free time for extra sightseeing or relaxation. On the other hand, American tours have built-in SHOPPING! I have never seen a German go to Ireland to go shopping. But that's just me. The least expensive shopping is after 7PM in the evening (when the shops are closed). For everything else there's ------card. I wish you GOOD SHOPPING on your own!