Woke up to a cold winter day and as we proceeded to have breakfast at the hotel, snow fell ever so slightly outside, powdering the pine trees and covered our car. Did some snow graffiti before using the wiper to clear the windscreen, something that we would never had experienced in summer all year long Singapore. Onwards to the town center of Munich, to return the car and for a walkabout.
Deco at the restaurant.Snowing outside the window.Erdinger hotel.Town of Erding.
The whole town was ready for Xmas, everywhere we could see Xmas decorations and Xmas markets were were around, busy selling off the accessories and the crafts and Xmas foodstuff. There was a market selling real Xmas tree too.
Statue of Ludwig in Munich.Early morning walk.Real Xmas trees for sale.
There was Xmas markets set up at the popular Marienplatz where the musical Glockenspiel in the tower could be seen. Again I have seen it before and thus was just happy to introduce it to my first time visitor friend.
Marienplatz.Rathaus-Glockenspiel
The markets had a tremendous variety of crafts on sale, to buy and place on your Xmas trees. Unlike mass produced accessories from China, these most likely were hand made and thus were slightly pricier than what could be bought in Singapore. Got myself a candle holder though.
Xmas Deco galore.So many to pick from.Crowded street walking the markets.Hot choco in a refundable Santa boot.Many Xmas markets.Park on a winter’s day.
The whole day was basically spent hopping from Xmas markets to Xmas markets, since they were everywhere. Of course we did some window shopping as well in the hope to see if there were cheaper deals that we could score compared to back home.
Trying out some German food.Not sure what this is anymore.Crowded with shoppers.Sweet choco stuff on a stick.Hofbrauhaus in the day.Just walking around.Deco made it christmasy.Even trams were decorated.
Day turned to night quickly during this winter period and the Xmas lighting illuminated the streets and the markets, bringing some warmth to the people.
Day got dark quickly, another Xmas village.And places were lighted up.
As we had a dinner date with the hosts from Erdinger, we had to get back by train to the hotel. At the hotel restaurant, we met up with the Erdinger representatives and sat down for a lovely dinner of Bavarian food completed with tasty Erdinger beer and complemented with interesting conversations. We ended the night with promised arrangements for the factory tour the next day and a last good night sleep at the hotel.
Awesome company from the staff of Erdinger!Great food and smooth German beer.
Memory refreshing in progress… article not complete! Only photos for now…
I had been joining travel related contests in a bid to win free escapes but hadn’t been successful. The big break came about in December 2011 when I received an email from a representative from Lufthansa for winning a trip through a joint contest for Lufthansa and Erdinger. It was a 3D2N trip to Munich which included the flights tickets and accommodation at Erdinger hotel, a dinner at Erdinger restaurant and a tour of the beer factory. It was a nice surprise but due to the short 3 days notice from the email to the date of flight, I managed to grab a friend (as my wife couldn’t make the trip) and we were off!
It was my first time on Lufthansa and it was a pretty comfortable midnight flight to Munich, with a nice big screen for watching movies and if not, asleep most of the way.
Aboard Lufthansa.Widescreen tv.Nicely packed accessories.Arrival at Munich International airport.Picking up the luggage.
After picking up our luggage, we met the Erdinger representative who drove us from the airport to the Erdinger hotel in the pretty little town of Erding. It was a nice cosy hotel within a historical building and we enjoyed the buffet breakfast spread after checking in.
Room.Shower.Erdinger stuff.Room 114Breakfast buffet.What a spread.Salads.Warm setting.Eat to our fill.Town of Erding.
No time to waste, we took the decision to visit Neuschwanstein castle since it was just an hour and a half from Munich. Some 5 minutes walk and we found ourselves at Erding station, with the train taking us to the Munich main train station, a 40mins ride.
Erding station.Trains to Munich.Me in the almost empty train.Munich main station.
To get to Neuschwanstein Castle, we rented ourselves a car, from Avis, amongst one of the many big car names in car rental. Soon we found ourselves cruising on the Autobahn, with some snow fall, a first experience for me. It wasn’t highway throughout as we broke off into one of the smaller roads (following the GPS) as we got closer to the castle. Views of small towns backed with snow capped mountains welcomed us. We had to stop to take in the view and exchange seats.
My first time on the Autobahn.Snowing as we drove on the Autobahn.Getting blurred by snow.Scenery along the way.Past through small towns.With mountainous backdrop.
Soon we could see the signs for free car park where we left the car and proceeded to purchase tickets for the visit. There were quite a number of visitors though not insanely many, managed to get tickets on a certain scheduled tour, as there weren’t free and easy walk within the castle.
Parking at Neuschwanstein.Map around the area.Ticketing counter.Horse carriage, for that fairytale castle visit.
There was some time to go so we took a slow walk through the path lined with snow towards the entrance. We got ourselves some icecream to eat along the way which ended as lunch as there weren’t anything else affordable to eat near the entrance.
Hohenschwangau CastleReal Xmas trees.Gotten have ice-cream in winter.
As groups of visitors started to stream in at their allotted time slot, we bore the cold ( my friend was actually shivering from the lack of cold wear) standing with a crowd on the outside, taking photos to pass time. Then with a English speaking guide, we entered the “Castle that inspired The Sleeping Beauty Castle”.
Neuschwanstein castle.Front of the castle.Within the castle compound.Before entering castle.
The tour was pretty straightforward as we moved from place to place, rooms to rooms with the explanations coming from the guide, accompanying the visual of how Bavarian royalties lived. It’s a pity no photography was allowed.
Lonely Planet suggested a bridge to where we could get a nice view of the castle and so we walked there after the tour. The snow came down more furiously the more we walked and thus could only make do with the blurry photo.
View from the castle.Neuschwanstein Castle from the bridge.
On the bridge we made acquaintance with a Chinese solo traveller offered her a ride back to Munich.
Since I had been in Munich previously in 2005, I recommended we visit one of the more popular beer houses, Hofbräuhaus to have dinner, drink some beer and be merry. Since the last visit as far as I could remember, the same old atmosphere was there, nice and warm with lots of singing and drinking. Had the pork knuckles and the giant size beer and was filling very full.
Pork knuckles and Sauerkraut.Within Hofbräuhaus.
Left the Hofbräuhaus and drove back to Erding, tired but satisfied. Upon arrival, we were surprised by some Xmas gifts left on our beds, Erdinger windbreaker!
Didnt stay awake much longer as I knocked out soon after…
Munich at night.Pressies from Erdinger.Erdinger windbreaker.
Total duration 4D3N Singapore is 6hrs ahead of Munich. Flight time is 12hrs on Lufthansa from Singapore to Munich.
Morning flight is on Lufthansa on 17th December at 11.59pm and arrival in Munich at 6:05am. Return flight is on Lufthansa on the 20th December at 7:05pm and arrival in Frankfurt at 8:15pm and transfer to 10:05pm flight and arrival at 4:55pm in Singapore on the 21st December.
This escape plan was a free trip that I won over a Facebook contest jointly held by Erdinger and Lufthansa. A trip to Erding a couple of days before Xmas to get the Xmasy feel with snow and a drive to Munich and Neuschwanstein was a perfect end to a great year of escapes.
Budget nature: Affordable in this particular escape.
With the tickets and accommodation already taken care of, its just some of the beers that we would need to pay for.
Complexity: Easy to get around with public transportation and driving on the Autobahn.
It was very simple to get from Erding to Munich using the train and driving on the Autobahn even during snow was not difficult, though it was a first. Of course, we had free transfer to and from the airport.
