Hot Topics

In this section we want to inform you about the hot topics going on in our wonderful München. Always firstly have a look here if you should be bored and you just don’t know what to do today – there is no excuse from now on!

29 April 2020: Event Cancellations – Wiesn, Auer Maidult, Summer Tollwood, Radlnacht etc…

Some time has passed since we published an article here in our section Hot Topics. Ironically the last article is about the Wiesn…as most of you might already have heard, this year’s Oktoberfest has been cancelled due to the Coronavirus. The last time it didn’t take place was in 1948, in total it has been cancelled already 24 times since it’s inauguration in 1813.
Besides the Wiesn, all major events in Germany until 31 August have been cancelled. The Auer Maidult  which would have started last Saturday , the Tollwood Summer Festival, the Radlnacht 2020, all concerts, fairs  etc. It is not quite clear yet if the Jakobidult which is scheduled from 25 July until 2 August will take place. I think we all have to get used to the idea that this year will be like no year we have experienced ever before with restrictions in all areas…

21 September 2019: Wiesn starts tomorrow

It’s again crazy time in München – the Oktoberfest starts tomorrow, 21 September. Well, I should have said Wiesn because only tourists call it that way – locals or experienced Wiesn visitors call it – correct – Wiesn.
So many things written about it already on our lovely website, what should I write…well, don’t forget that you are not allowed to bring large backpacks with you and a ground rule – you don’t wear sneakers to your Lederhosn or your Dirndl – wear traditional shoes that fit your outfit or go casual but no sneakers please 🙂
IMPORTANT for all new visitors: the Festbier (feast beer) is stronger than normal beer, ca. 6,5% alcohol so be careful! 2 Maß beer already show quite a good effect, for women already 1 Maß can be a damager. Nevertheless – have a fabulous time on the Wiesn – oans, zwoa…gsuffa! Auf a friedliche Wiesn.

27 July 2019: Jakobi-Dult starts tomorrow

We are back with the accouncement of the summer edition of our beloved Auer Dult, the Jakobidult. It starts tomorrow, 27 July and runs until 4 August. I already had the chance to greet Auer Dult legend Georg Huber aka Der Billige Jakob yesterday morning when he was setting up this boot. Like every time, Mr Huber managed to park his Mercedes transporter on his favorite parking space just some meters away from the location of his booth. I forgot to ask him how long he had to wait this time to get this spot – I remember last year he waited full 5 hours until a space was free – this beats our record in parking space search by far…You find him as always on the South Eastern part near the Schaustellerstraße. So don’t miss to visit him there, he is always in a good mood and ready for a joke!

11 April 2019: Best Beer Gardens in Munich

Well it has been quite some time that we published our last article on our website…so we pick it up with something very delightful – beer gardens! We already had some very nice days and some beer gardens are already open by now like the Olympiaalm (in fact open all year round) and the Biergarten am Viktualienmarkt – hope you already had the chance to have the one or other delicious beer…we just updated our article Best Beer Gardens in Munich so you know where to go. By the way – there were some constructions going on in the Augustiner Keller Beer Garden, on 1 May the official grand re-opening takes place with live music and some golden Augustiner Beer from the wooden barrel – the garden is already open already.PROST.

23 November 2018: Tollwood Winterfestival starts today

And again it’s time – the Tollwood Winterfestival starts today, 23 November! As always it runs until 31 December and closes with the traditional New Year’s Eve party. Be aware that on Sunday, 25 November the Tollwood is closed as it’s the Sunday in commemoration of the deads (Totensonntag). For the ones of you who never been to the Tollwood and maybe even don’t know what it is, have a look further down here in „Hot Topics“.

19 October 2018 – Auer Dult – Kirchweihdult

A third and last time this year the Auer Dult opens its doors, starting tomorrow 20 October and running until Sunday 28 October. The autumn edition is always the Kirchweihdult and starts every year on the Saturday before Kirchweih. The weather will be quite nice this weekend so be sure you don’t miss these last late summer days. As usual, we will have a delicious Steckerlfisch at the Fischer-Vroni and a golden Augustiner. And after that, we will visit Georg Huber aka „Der Billige Jakob“ at his booth and chat with him a little bit – this man is a real legend and he has stories to tell , unbelieveable!! He will soon be reaching his 90’s but he still has this youth grin, just have a look at the picture above from this years Jakobidult…see you at the Dult all!

21 September 2018: – It’s that time of the year again…Wiesn time!!!

And another year has passed – too fast but what can you do?! Make the best out of it! We are counting edition 185 this year since the Wiesn took place the first time in October 1810. It started as a horse race which was held for the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig I. and Princess Therese. In the following years, the Oktoberfest (it’s official name but never say that when you talk to someone who lives in München) has been moved to September for weather reasons but the first weekend of October still is  Wiesn-time! Hopefully Petrus will bless us with good weather this year!
What should we write here what hasn’t been written before…for more info have a look at our article about the Wiesn in the section Best Things to see in Munich.
As always, the first barrel of beer will be opened by the major of Munich in the Schottenhammel tent at noon – this tradition is not that old, first time a major – Thomas Wimmer – opened a barrel in 1950. The record is 2 hits, only former major Christian Ude and current major Dieter Reiter managed to do so –  it’s not that easy as it might look. After the barrel has been opened successfully, 12 gun shots are fired – that’s the signal for all other tents that they can now start serving the liquid gold. Ah, you didn’t know that?! Even though you can enter the tents already at 9 o’clock in the morning, no beer is served until the „Anstich“ as the opening is called. This year the price for Maß (that’s how you spell it correctly, not Mass or Maas or anything else) for the first time reaches over 11 €! Well, that hurts but who said that a day on the Wiesn is cheap anyways…
If you are planning to go tomorrow and only stroll over the Wiesn but not visit a tent (you have to be early there to get in without a reservation, queueing at 7 at the latest is highly recommended), then the „Einzug der Wiesnwirte“ (the entry of the hosts of the Wiesn, the bosses of the tents so to speak) should be on your list. It starts in the Josephspitalstraße tomorrow at 10:45h. Also very nice is the move of the „Trachten- und Schützenzug“ (the move of the clubs of the traditional costumes and gunmen) which starts at the Maximilianeum on Sunday at 10h – for the exact route please click here. This year’s Wiesn runs until 7 October.
So maybe see you at the Wiesn, „Oans – zwoa – drei – gsuffa, PROST! 

27 July 2018: Auer Dult starts tomorrow

Yes, it is again time for the summer edition of the Auer Dult, the so-called Jakobidult – how fast time passes…the Dult starts tomorrow 28 July and runs until 5 August. And what a perfect weather to get started! What we can absolutely recommend is having a delicious „Steckerlfisch“ (a fish on a stick) at the Fischer Vroni’s and of course a cool beer to flush it down your throat : ) And be sure to give the „Billiger Jakob“ (Mr Huber himself) a visit – this institution is on the Auer Dult since the early 50’s being in his 80’s already! And if you would like to see the carillon in action and also see the Au from above, drop by at the entrance of the church and get one of the few tickets for the visit of the tower.

7 July 2018: Münchner Radlnacht

Tonight this year’s Münchner Radlnacht (bike night) takes place. Starting point is the Königsplatz. The route first takes you over the Brienner– and Nymphenburger Straße over the Hackerbrücke. Next stages are the Bavariaring, Theresienwiese, Implerstraße, the Flaucher and Candidplatz. After passing the Corneliusbrücke and Prinzregentenstraße the corso is approaching the highlight of the tour, the Altstadtringtunnel – via the Oskar-von-Miller-Ring and Karolinenplatz we are reaching the start point again.
The framework programme starts at 17h with some live music, food and drinks. The tour itself then starts at 20:30h, up to 15.000 participants are expected. Be sure to bring something to drink with you, ideally in a bottle which can easily be reached while biking AND: if you have a helmet, put it on!

3 July 2018: Tollwood-time

We are back again! Sorry for being offline for over 2 months. Holiday season and then some technical difficulties with our WordPress account were the reason …there were some events though and we also planned an article about public viewing of the Football World Cup but let’s don’t talk about that anymore. The article also has been cancelled. Back to something more delightful, the Tollwood Festival. This year is a great anniversary for the Tollwood celebrating the 30st edition of the summer edition – if that isn’t something to celebrate!!! It all started back in 1988 and took placein the Olympiapark already. The festival was quite short with only 11 days and was quite small compared to the enormous Tollwood which we have these days.
this year’s Summer Tollwood started already last week (sorry again for the delay) 27 June and runs until 22 July. Until now the weather has been perfect, fingers crossed that it stays like this the upcoming weeks. So see you there.

20 April 2018: Frühlingsfest and Flohmarkt Theresienwiese

Today, the Frühlingsfest starts on the Theresienwiese – it runs until Sunday 6 May. Aaand: on the first Saturday of the Frühlingsfest – so tomorrow – the biggest flea market of Germany takes place, just besides the Frühlingsfest. Like always, vendors have already started camping on the Theresienwiese to assure the best places (even some spending the nights on the Theresienwiese since Monday)!
Info for all vendors: you don’t have to register in advance, just go there early enough with your stuff and start selling your treasures – the small fee is to be paid to the volunteers of the Bayerisches Rotes Kreuz, the Bavarian Red Cross. And such perfect weather predicted, how kool is that.

19 April 2018: The Auer Dult season is about to start – finally

When you walk past the Mariahilfplatz and you see the the busy workers setting up wooden boots, you know what time it is – the time of the Auer Dult season has finally arrived, yes! We hope that Mr Huber aka Der billige Jakob will have his mobile shop opened in this year’s season as usual. He can be found in the Southern corner of the Mariahilfplatz near the Schaustellerstraße. Little funny story: he always arrives in a Mercedes delivery van and his mobile shop two or three days before the Dult starts. He once told us, that he is always aiming at a certain parking space to be as close as possible to his mobile shop – one time he had to wait 5 hours to get this special parking space but he got it : ) Well, when he told the story to my wife Petra and myself it sounded way more funny…ah, the Maidult as the first of the three Dults is called starts on Saturday, 28 April and runs until Sunday, 6 May.

07 April 2018: Beer Garden season officially  declared open

Well, we hope you have already been to a beer garden this season just like us (ok, we are hardcore beer gardeners but anyways) but with the first „summerly weekend“ this year the beer garden season should finally be opened even for the ones among you who always feel cold. Luckily, we do have this very interesting article Best Beer Gardens in Munich where you get info about all our favorite beer gardens here in Munich.

23 March 2018: WeinMünchen 2018

There is a very nice exhibition coming up this weekend for all wine lovers – the WeinMünchen 2018. Most of the exhibitors are from Germany and Austria but you also find exhibitors from Spain, Italy and even from Chile and Argentina. You can either get your ticket online (10.- €) or you buy it at the box office (13.-€). With the entrance fee, you are entitled to try out each and every single wine available so bring thirst with you if you know what we mean : )
The exhibition takes place at the Praterinsel near the Deutsches Museum. If you arrive by car you can use the garage of the Gasteig or the Parkgarage Böhringer. You can also look for a parking space around the Deutsches Museum (6 .- € for 24 hours). But it’s better to go by public transport of course. The WeinMünchen 2018 just started today at 13h and closes Sunday 18h.

17 March 2018: Hader plays Hader

If you already have crossed the visit of the Circus Krone off the list yesterday, then what do today? We have the answer – Josef Hader himself is in town playing himself, Josef Hader. You don’t know Josef Hader, then you most likely aren’t Austrian or you aren’t married to an Austrian : ) Josef Hader is one of Austria’s most popular comedians with very black and sarcastic humor. It’s like with the Bavarian Weißwurst – you either love him or you don’t. I could write pages about him but would like to leave it to you to inform yourself about this funny Austrian. His beak through was the movie Indien…besides that, his most famous movies are: „Der Knochenmann„, „Aufschneider“ and „Wilde Maus“ which is his debut as director and was in cinemas just last year. Besides today, he will do a second show tomorrow; location is the Audimax of the LMU (Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1).

15 March 2018: Circus Krone Winterprogramm III (until 8 April)

The Circus Krone – Europe’s biggest circus – is just one of the best things to do in Munich in winter! Every year from 25 December until beginning of April the Circus Krone Winterprogramm is on air. Three totally different shows are performed during the winter season in the Circus Krone-Bau in the – guess it – Circus-Krone-Straße.
The special thing of this year‘s winter program is the fact that this program is the last one which has been made up by the legendary Christel Sembach-Krone, the Grande Dame of the circus world. The likable lady died last year after a short illness but she could finish the selection of the artists for the upcoming „home game“ season in München.

Don’t miss the last chance to see an unique program which bears the signature of Christel Sembach-Krone. Her daughter Jana with husband Martin Lacey Jr. (yes, THE Martin Lacey Jr.) and even already their kids will be continuing the circus in her sense! The third program is currently on air and runs until 8 April. Tickets are available online and also directly at the cirucs. For interesting info about the beginning of the circus and its history check out the section Top 10 Things to do in Munich. And if you somehow can’t make it there in time, you have the chance to give the circus a visit on its tour which starts in spring.

11 March 2018: St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Well, the „real“ St. Patricks Day is on 17 March but who really cares when the weather is predicted to be nearly as good as on last year’s parade this coming Sunday. The huge parade with more than 50 groups and 3.000 participants starts at 12h at the Münchner Freiheit and goes down the Leopold- and Ludwigstraße and ends at the Wittelsbacher Platz where an after-party with many music and dance performances will take place.
The first St. Patrick’s Day Parade in München took place back in 1996 when just 300 people grouped up and started a spontaneous parade. The Leopold- and Ludwigstraße was closed down for traffic as spontaneously as the parade happened – the foundation of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade as we know it here in Munich was laid. Be sure to wear at least a green shirt. Slán go fóill!!

28 February 2018: Starkbierprobe and Derbleck‘n at the Paulaner Nockherberg

The Paulaner Nockherberg is also used as synonym for the Starkbierfest (stout festival) which takes place every year after the carnival season and is an absolut must-see here in München – generally you can say it’s like the Wiesn (Oktoberfest) but in a building (the recently renovated Paulaner Festhalle) and even stronger beer. Only the opening of the stout festival is more or less „civilized“ – the Derbleck‘n.
The Derbleck‘n can best be described as deriding and is the traditional opening of the Starkbier-season. At the opening, all important (or at least the ones who think they are important) Bavarian politicians including the Bavarian Prime Minister (for a last time this year Horst Seehofer) are present and are being made fun of by a comedian – since 2011 Luise Kinseher starring as „Mama Bavaria“ has the honour to do so. The „Politiker-Derbleck‘n“ as it‘s also called is transmitted live on the BR (Bayerischer Rundfunk) – this year on 28 February from 19h onwards. The next day, everyone in Munich who is interested in politics discusses about the Derbleck‘n – have the politicians got away too good or have they got their come-uppance…

Some facts about the Starkbierfest:
– The Nockherberg Starkbierfest happens from 2 – 25 March 2018 in the Paulaner Festhalle which is located in the Hochstraße 77 in the lovely Au
– the beer which is served is called Salvator and is the first Paulaner beer ever brewed
– the Salvator was invented by the Paulaner monks in the 18th century only for their own consumption during the lent – the strong beer is rich in content and helped the monks throughout the lent, you could say a trick against the famine
– It contains 7,9 % alcohol so be careful – you will notice the effect after the 2nd Maß and before you realize how drunk you are it’s often already too late then!
– The Salvator is not served in a conventional Maßkrug but in a so-called Keferloher, a jar made of clay. Advantage: it keeps the beer longer cool; disadvantage: you can’t exactly see if the server poured enough beer into it – if you think it’s no enough, you can ask the waiter/waitress to fill it up a little bit more, don’t be shy!
– The first Starkbier-Maß is handed over by the boss of the Paulaner brewery to the acting Bavarian Prime Minister with the words: „Salve pater patriae! Bibas, princeps optime!“ (Sei gegrüßt, Vater des Vaterlands! Trinke, bester Fürst!) – this sentence originates from the occasion when the first Maß was handed over to the Elector of Bavaria

23 January 2018: Opening of the Seilbahn Zugspitze

First of all – a late happy New Year – but better late than never. It has been a quite busy December (like always) and we really didn’t manage to publish one single article here on moving to munich – shame on us. So let’s start the New Year with some news about Germany’s highest mountain, the Zugspitze!
Well, more precisely we start with news about the opening of the new „Seilbahn Zugspitze“ – that’s the official name of the new cable car of the Zugspitze.

It was opened on 21 December 2017 and replaces the old cable car which had its last ride on 2 April 2017 after nearly 54 years of operation. Just like the old cable car, the new Seilbahn Zugspitze is a triple world record holder holding this most important record: no aerial tramway in the world conquers a bigger difference of height within one section – exactly 1.945m from the foot of the Zugspitze where the valley station is located to the mountain station at nearly 3.000m above sea level.
Insider tip: If you are planning to check out the new cable car, combine it with a day of skiing. The ticket for pedestrians costs as much as a day ticket of skiing which also includes the ride with the cable car to the top of Germany – currently 45.- €. In fact you get a day of skiing for free. If you shouldn’t have a car, you can also go by train. The Deutsche Bahn offers a combi ticket including ride from München central station to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the ride with the Zuspitzbahn to the Zugspitzplatt – the center of the skiing area of the Zugspitze – and a skiing day ticket. The Garmischer Ski-Ticket (Zugspitze) costs 56 .- €. If you prefer to go skiing in the area Garmisch-Classic, you have to leave the Zugspitzbahn at station Hausberg already where you take the Hausbergbahn to the skiing area. This combi ticket costs 50.- €. There are special rates for youths until 18 years. So look forward to a fantastic day including a thrilling ride, beautiful views and a day of fun on the ski slope.

27 November 2017: The Christmas market season in Munich starts today

A little bit late but just in time for the start of the Christmas market season here in our wonderful Munich we have updated the dates of the Best Christmas Markets in Munich. Today all major Christmas markets will be opened and some already even are…at 17h so just right now (!) Mayor Dieter Reiter will open the biggest Christmas market of Munich at the Marienplatz, the Münchner Christkindlmarkt (or Nikolaimarkt 🙂 as it was called back in the days) This Christmas market spreads out into the Neuhauser/Kaufingerstraße, Theatinerstraße and even the Rindermarkt. So don’t miss to visit at least some of the markets listed in our article about the Best Christmas Markets in Munich and of course our favorite one, the Pink Christmas in the Glockenbachviertel.

23 November 2017: Tollwood Winterfestival starts today

Many of you – just like us – have awaited this day longingly: finally magic returns to the Theresienwiese, and we are NOT talking about the magic of beer and drunken tourists, we are talking about winter magic : ) . The Toolwood Winterfestival will open it’s gates today at 14h. Well, it might not be the perfect conditions today for having a Glühwein or Feuerzangenbowle with the thermometer reaching 15 degrees but at least for making a first stroll and eat something good – and BIO of course!! For the ones amongst you who don’t know: all food sold here is BIO-certificated so you can order a Döner with good conscious. Also don’t miss the numerous events happening the upcoming weeks until 31 December when the Tollwood closes with its annual New Year’s Eve Party.

13 October 2017: Auer Dult (Kirchweihdult)

What should I say about the Auer Dult which hasn’t been said before? I think even this sentence I already said before : ) Each time we are so looking forward until it starts and brings some life on the Mariahilfplatz which usually – besides the market on Wednesday – is quite deserted. The exhibitors are finalizing their booths and the weather is predicted to be just perfect. I don’t want to think of last years bad weather…This year’s third and also last Auer Dult starts tomorrow 14 October and runs until 22nd, after that we have to wait for nearly half a year until the Dult season starts again but let’s don’t shead a tear but enjoy the Dult this weekend. And next year Mr Huber aka Der Billige Jakob will also certainly be back, as well as the missed Fischer Vroni tent.

15 September 2017: The Wiesn (some call it Oktoberfest) starts tomorrow on 16 September and runs until 3 October

We are back, once again…sorry for our absence in the last weeks, it were busy times : ) And just on time for the Wiesn (others call it Oktoberfest). Tomorrow, Saturday 16 September, finally the so-called 5th season starts in Munich!!! What should we write about the Wiesn which we haven’t already published here on our website before…so good occasion to tell you about the latest developments regarding security measures and the effects. We surely can’t guarantee 100% correct information as you read so many different things about the new security concept these days but the core point is, that delivery traffic and especially trucks are now only allowed until 9 o’clock in the morning on the Theresienwiese.
So before the ones among us without a reservation (thanks to my wonderful wife Petra, this year we have one on a Saturday evening hell yeah) can enter the Wiesn area and head towards the tents, the last truck must have left the area. This will mean, that the tens of thousands of people who usually queue directly in front of the tents before they open in the morning, are being hold back on the main entrances to the Theresienwiese and only once the last truck has left, they open the doors. Like last year, each and every single visitor will be controlled – we really wonder how this will work without causing huge delays and a bad mood among the waiting people. Please don’t forget that big bagpacks aren’t allowed anymore, only until a size of 3 liter – just like last year.
Besides the negative news, we also have some positive news for you: the price for one Maß of beer has not broken the 11 .- € so far haha – but like most of the times it’s more expensive than last year…how poor the Wiesn inkeepers must be. But most important thing is, that it will be a peacuful Wiesn – auf eine friedliche Wiesn! Oans, zwoa, drei, gsuffa!

28 July 2017: Auer Dult starts tomorrow

Hi together, we are back again! Due to some technical issues with moving our website to another server and upgrade it to the latest website technic (we are now ranging under the first 1% of the world’s fastest websites) we were offline for the last 4 weeks. A lot of things happened in Munich of course like the Christopher Street Day, the cycle night etc. but with one of the summer’s most important events we are back on track : )
Tomorrow starts the Auer Dult and the best – the weather is going to be perfect, what a luck when you think of the last rainy days which low „Alfred“ brought us. The Auer Dult runs until Sunday, 6 August.

Don’t miss to grab one of the few tickets for the visit of the tower of the Mariahilfkirche and most important thing to do on the Auer Dult of course to visit Mr Huber aka Der billige Jakob for a chat and listen to his jokes – and if he likes you, you will maybe be offered a pinch of snuff or two. By the way: if you are looking for the Fischer Vroni, you will find a small booth in the corner of the Paulaner Biergarten.

29 June 2017: Miscellaneous

Two highly important news reached us this week.
The first news will delight especially all the beer garden lovers. The KVR already allowed that beer gardens and open-air areas of restaurants and cafes are open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays and days before national holidays in the months of June, July and August. This rule has now been extended by the months of April, May and September!!!

The second news is not less exciting: the tunnel will come! For the ones amongst you who already live some time in Munich will immediately know which tunnel is meant – exactly – the Englischer Garten tunnel. The construction will start in 2023 and once it’s finished, the Northern and Southern part of the Englischer Garten will be united again. This is the result of a small citizens‘ initiative of the couple Grub-Lejeune, who started the initiative some years ago. Maybe even they had their small doubts if the two parts will ever be reunited but now it’s really official! What an effort, many thanks to them!

21 June 2017: Today starts the Tollwood Festival

Long time not seen. Very busy times the last two months, sorry for the long absence, hope you did some things on your own : ) Ok, so now back to our topic: this year the summer edition of the Tollwood Festival starts rather early on the longest day of the year, 21 June, and runs until 16 July. As always, a lot of concerts take place and as usual the food and drinks are only bio-certified products – where else can you eat a Bio-Döner.

28 April 2017: Auer Dult starts tomorrow

Just a quick reminder: tomorrow starts this year’s Auer Winterdult. Oh sorry, I was wrong: it’s not the Winterdult, it’s the Maidult : ) If you have a look at the picture from this morning you feel like winter, that’s why I mixed it up.
Two good news:
1. Weather is predicted to be quite nice this upcoming long weekend (don’t forget, 1 May is national holiday in Germany) so a perfect start for the Auer Dult tomorrow.
2. We just received the news that the Fischer Vroni will be on the Auer Dult despite the news before. It won’t be in the well-known tent though but in a little booth in the beer garden of the Wurst- und Hühnerbraterei Heinz – the two owners are cousins and family helps each other, that’s how it works and thank you again to German bureaucrac(z)y…See you all on the Dult!

21 April 2017: Flohmarkt Theresienwiese, Frühlingsfest and Auer Dult

A lot of things happening in the upcoming days in our beautiful Munich. Today the Frühlingsfest starts – it runs until 7 May. As always on the first Saturday after the start of the Frühlingsfest, the biggest flea market of Germany takes place on the Theresienwiese just besides the Frühlingsfest. People already have started camping on the area to assure the best places for setting up their booths. If you also want to sell you don’t have to register in advance, just go there with your stuff and sell happily – the small fee has to be paid tomorrow during the day to volunteers of the Bayerisches Rotes Kreuz, the Bavarian Red Cross.

Last but not least this years Auer Dult season also has started silently…you know that spring (well, if you can call that spring these days) is knocking on the door when you see the city is starting to set up the booths on the Mariahilfplatz. The picture on the left is some days old by the way, when you have a look at the Mariahilfplatz today, most booths are already completely built up and today the sun is shining from a blue sky if you should wonder where it has disappeared. And if you should wonder then where the Fischer Vroni tent is – it won’t be on the Auer Dult this year as the owners have applied too late for their space. You always apply for all 3 Dults of a year so if you apply too late, you won’t be on any of the 3 ones taking place throughout the year – what a shame! The same happened to Georg Huber, better known as „Der billige Jakob“ some years ago when he missed the deadline for the application because the had to undergo a surgery in hospital – long lives German bureaucracy.
The dates this year are:
Maidult: 29 April – 7 May
Jakobidult: 29 July – 6 August and
Kirchweihdult: 14 October – 22 October

So let’s hope for the temperatures going up soon and have a nice weekend all.

30 March 2017: LTE mobile phone coverage now finally available in the U-bahnen of Munich from tomorrow

Long awaited and desired by many people, Munich as the 2nd city in Germany is now introducing LTE coverage in the entire underground train system. I am personally also looking forward as on my way to work I won’t have the bad connection between Giesing and Trudering anymore. Regarding complete coverage, Munich will even be the 1st German city as the Berlin network doesn’t offer it everywhere. It’s live tomorrow, 31 March, our mum Andi’s 60th birthday : )

28 March 2017: Skiing trip to the Zugspitze

For all of you who haven’t closed this year’s skiing season yet, then why not closing it this week? The weather on the Zugspitze – with 2.962m Germany’s highest mountain – is predicted to be superb until Friday with a quick break on Thursday. Last weekend it felt like minimum 10 degrees Celsius when we had our 3 hour lunch break on the terrace of the Sonn Alpin restaurant : ) Why the Zugspitze? Because it’s the top of Germany : ) Just joking…

Main reason is easy: the snow situation in most skiing areas of Tirol like the Zillertal is not ideal and it’s also just too warm so a glacier is where you want to go. Second and nostalgic reason: the old Eibsee cable car („Eibsee-Seilbahn“) will have it’s last ride this upcoming weekend on 2 April. It was opened back in 1963 and after 54 years it’s time to let the old lady go into her well deserved retirement. The capacity of around 45 people is just not enough to cope with the herds of people who arrive at the parking lot especially at the weekends. Also being rather slow (a ride takes you 10 minutes to go from 1.005m – to 2.955m) it’s still a world record holder since it was opened over 50 years ago: no funicular in the world overcomes a bigger height difference in one section so between two lift pylons than the Eibseeseilbahn – currently ca. 1.900m.

The ride is quite impressive and nothing for people who are afraid of heights. You literally go up a the very boarder of the Alps – the Zugspitze rises steeply up near Garmisch-Partenkirchen from below 1.000m to nearly 3.000m (damn, why couldn’t she make the „3“ : ). The view during the ride and also from the view terrace on top of the mountain station is just astonishing.
Last weekend we drove off at 6:15 and arrived at 7:45h at the parking lot. Already then we had to wait 20 minutes as one nacelle just had left the valley station and due to the people already waiting missed the following one as well. „Ski heil!“ – that’s an expression used to wish someone a nice and safe skiing day.

22 March 2017: Demolition of the old Paulaner brewery in full swing

Some of you not living near our area in the Au might not even have heard of it: since over one year ago, the old location of the Paulaner Brauerei has been completely shut down and the demolition of the old location is in full swing. In February 2016, the new brewery outside Munich in Langwied has fully picked up brewing and the locations in Regerstraße and Ohlmüllerstraße are no longer used for brewing. Soon afterwards, the demolition has been picked up. Once the area is cleaned, new apartments and businesses will find their place on the historic ground. Though Paulaner not being my favorite beer, I will miss the smell of hops and malt when standing on our balcony when the wind was blowing in our direction…

17 March 2017: Traditional Bachauskehr 2017

This year’s „Bachauskehr“ will start tomorrow, March 18, and will last until likely 7 April. Like every year, the Isar will be partially dewatered to clean its ground from rubbish and also to check the walls and buildings besides it regarding potential damage. Therefore the watergates of the weir plants opposite of the Lukaskirche and the weir near the Prater will opened.
As a consequence, the right river-channel of the Isar will nearly completely dewater between the Maximilians- and Wittelsbacher Brücke. The streams running through the Englischer Garten will also nearly completely dewater, perfect time to look for lost treasures which can now easily be found and for the ones among you with a fishing license a catch has never been easier!

22 December 2016: Bahnwärter Thiel @Märchenbazar Weihnachtsmarkt

Today, we want to give you the chance to visit – maybe for one of the last times – the Märchenbazar Weihnachtsmarkt on the area of the old Viehhof, one of the last spaces of urban culture here in Munich. Especially to mention is the Bahnwärter Thiel, an old railway wagon from the 50s which has been converted to a bar where you can warm yourself up with a cool Augustiner. The Bahnwärter Thiel is a cultural project from the artists collective around the Wannda Circus and was first seen last year on the same spot. Besides functioning as a bar, the wagon is used for lectures and „special“ events.

Currently it’s discussed (well, the discussion is already nearly over and worse: to the disadvantage of the Viehhof) to use the vast open space of the old Viehhof for building more expensive flats  — as we don’t have enough of them here already. So don’t miss to visit this pearl in the heart of the Schlachthof when it’s still possible and watch out for more Christkindlmärkte in our article about the Best Christmas Markets in Munich.

25 November 2016: Starting shot for the Christmas markets season in Munich

Today is the starting shot for the Christmas market season in Munich. Luckily, the temperatures are beginning to fall a little bit as a hot wine punch even tastes better with a little bit of winter feeling if you know what I mean : ). See our article Best Christmas markets in Munich for more information about some of the Christmas markets which our beautiful Munich has to offer.

23 November 2016: Tollwood Winterfestival starts today

To all Tollwood-lovers (like we are): The Tollwood Winterfestival starts today on the Theresienwiese. This year’s winter edition runs until 23 December just like every year. On 31 December, a huge New Year’s Eve party – just like every year – will take place, tickets are already available online! And like always, ALL food and beverages are bio-certified, where else can you find a bio-Döner : ) How to get there and some further information can be found in the Tollwood Winterfestival article in our section Best Christmas markets in Munich. For concert and event dates please visit the official Tollwood website.

15 October 2016: Auer Dult (Kirchweihdult)

Yes, it’s time again – the Auer Dult will start tomorrow!!! Somehow it feels like the Auer Dult is all year long. The reason might be that the booths are being build up and dismounted one month before and after the fair so if you count three fairs a year and the time for setting up the booths and demounting them, round about half of the year is already covered. This year’s autumn edition of the Dult runs from tomorrow, 15 October until next weekend, 23 October.

17 September – 3 October 2016: Wiesn

Just three days and the world’s biggest fair – the Wiesn (or Oktoberfest, as it’s called from unknown tourists) – will begin. What shall I say about the Wiesn that hasn’t been said before? Not much – maybe just the little hint that this year due to enormous security actions you can enter the area only through special entrances. The first time ever, the whole Theresienwiese is surrounded by a fence. It’s also not allowed to bring backpacks or bags in general larger than 3 liters with you. As the German national holiday is a Monday this year, we have a lange Wiesn which means it runs one day longer than usual. Some last words: we won’t let us spoil the party!!! PROST and auf a „friedliche Wiesn“.

03 August 2016: Auer Dult (Jakobidult)

The Auer Dult just started yesterday. Normally it should have started on July 31st,  but due to the horrible gun rampage 2 weekends ago, the city of Munich decided an 1 weeklong city-wide mourning. Nevertheless, today is the first sunny day so don’t miss it. The Dult runs until the upcoming Sunday and if you shouldn’t have the time for a visit don’t worry – there is another Auer Dult coming up from 15 – 23 October.

29 June 2016: Tollwood-Festival

It’s time again for the magical Tollwood-Festival in the Olympiapark. This year’s summer edition runs from today until 24 July. As every year, numerous concerts and events take place during the festival, amongst them big names like Anastacia or Deep Purple (tickets for both are still available!). For more information also have a look at last year’s Hot Topics entry on the bottom of this page. See you at the Tollwood tonight!

30 April: Auer Dult (Maidult) on Mariahilfplatz

Finally it’s time, the Dult season in the Au is about to begin! The Auer Dult takes place three times a year on the Mariahilfplatz in the quarter Au. First day is the upcoming Saturday and the weather forecast promises sunshine so mark this day red in your calendar. This year’s dates are:
Maidult: 30 April – 8 May
Jakobidult: 30 July – 7 August and
Kirchweihdult: 15 October – 23 October

16 April: 25th Flea Market on the Theresienwiese and Frühlingsfest

The flea market on the Theresienwiese organized by the Bavarian Red Cross is the biggest flea market in Bavaria with over 2.500 vendors and up to 80.000 expected visitants if the weather is nice. It takes place every year on the first Saturday of the Frühlingsfest which runs from Friday, 15 April to Sunday, 1st May. The market opens at 7h and closes at 16h.
You have to be fast to get a good place, the run on the best places has already begun last weekend when we spotted people “marking their territory”. Setting up your booths/tables is only allowed from Friday 16h onwards though. Last year we even have seen a guy who reserved his place some days ago actually spending the whole time until the market started on the Theresienwiese! Costs are quite low and will be paid to members of the Red Cross on Saturday during the market. For pricing see here. So fingers crossed that Petrus will be with us this year and that the weather will be dry at least.

2 February: Visit of the Circus Krone

It’s never too late so first of all Happy New Year to all our readers : ) Second of all it’s urgently time to come back to you with more tips about Munich. This time something for the child in us, the wonderful Circus Krone. I don’t know when you visited a circus for the last time but for myself it was the first time in 20 years! Even better to see the show of Europe’s biggest and one of the best-know circus in the world then, the Circus Krone.
Each winter between end of December and end of March/beginning of April, the circus has set up his tent in the Zirkus-Krone-Straße corner Marsstraße in the Kronebau. You have three different winter programs, each program with a completely different show and artists – only a few shows like the impressive elephants are being presented throughout the complete winter season. Read more about the Circus Krone in our article about the Top10 things to do in Munich.

29 December: Go skiing on the Zugspitze

Hi folks, a last time a quick bulletin this year. If you should have holidays the next days and you are bored and wanna do some sports as Christmas days have left its marks on your body or bally ; ), why not going skiing or snowboarding? In most Austrian skiing areas including the close Zillertal, conditions for winter sport aren’t let’s say ideal these spring days. If you want to enjoy the white, then the only real option is skiing on a glacier like the Hintertuxer Gletscher, the Stubaier Gletscher or the closest one the Zugspitze. Take your time to read our article about skiing on the Zuspitze. You will find the article at the bottom of  the mentioned section. The big plus compared to the other glaciers: you don’t even need a car as you can leave by train from Munich central station, change at Garmisch-Partenkirchen and take the Bayerische Zugspitzbahn from there on to the top at 2.962m. So now get up the couch, prepare you skiing stuff and join the ride – „Ski Heil“ as you say in Tyrol.

All the best for 2016 and see you next year, your Moving to Munich team Achim and Nikolai.

2 December 2015: Today Mireille Mathieu live on stage at the Pink Christmas market

If you shouldn’t have had the possibility to visit our favourite Christmas market in Munich – the Pink Christmas in the Glockenbachviertel – so far, then today is the perfect time for it. The Pink Christmas market is hosting different show acts every day until 23 December and today Mireille Mathieu – the Sparrow from Avignon as she is also called – will be live on stage. Who doesn’t know her should just google her. Mireille Mathieu started her career in 1962 and is active (obviously) until today. A special thing to mention: Mireille is a real language talent, she has published songs in many different languages during her career like of course French, German, English, Spanish and Italian. If you shouldn’t have the possibility to see her today, then mark 16 December red in your calender as she will perform a second time then so be sure not to miss her! Show starts at ca. 19h. I am dreaming of a pink….

22 November 2015: Christmas markets in Munich opening this upcoming week

Munich gets ready for this year’s Christmas market season. The first one of the Christmas markets in Munich, the Christmas Village in the Kaiserhof of the Münchner Residenz, already opens up its gates tomorrow, 23 November at 11h.
Just in time first snow of the winter has arrived here in Munich today, let’s hope it lasts until tomorrow. See our article Best Christmas markets in Munich for more nice Christmas markets which our beautiful city has to offer.

17 November 2015: Tollwood Winterfestival starts in just one week

In exactly one week’s time the Tollwood Winterfestival will start on the Theresienwiese. Just like the summer edition, you have numerous tents, uncountable food booths and the magical atmosphere which makes you feel like being in 1001 nights so don’t miss to make a red cross in your calendar. How to get there and some further information can be found in the Tollwood Winterfestival article in our section Best Christmas markets in Munich.

19 September 2015: Wiesn

After nearly one year of waiting in pain and endless thirst for the good Oktoberfestbier, it’s finally time for Munich’s 5th season, the Wiesn!!
As I already wrote about it in detail in the section „Best things to see in Munich“, here now some crucial information about how to perfect your drunkenness. Wiesn starts tomorrow 19 September and runs until 4 October. I assume the fewest amongst you have a reserved table (in fact you should have applied for one already last year shortly after the Wiesn ended so now it’s a little bit late) so we all have to do it the hard style.
To assure your entrance into one of the big tents on a weekend’s day, be sure to queue already in morning at latest 7:30h in front of a tent. Yes, you read correctly, 7:30h in the morning! You will be surprised about the masses of people which you will see…
Tents then open between 8 and 8:30h – this is now the hardest part: Once you have passed one of the entrances, be careful which table you pick. ALL the tables in the so-called „Boxen“, the place on the side of a tent, and also most tables on the balconies are for guests with confirmed reservations which means at one time of the day, latest at 16:30h you will be (not often) asked politely by the security guys (and sometimes security girls who most likely look like men) to free the table as they have to be prepared for the upcoming guests who got a reservation.
The tables in the „Hauptschiff“, the huge middle part around the band, in contrast are the ones you are looking for – but also attention here: Small signs on the table with a time indication on it tell you that these tables are also reserved for people with reservation from a certain time onwards. The ones we are looking for are the ones without any sign/reservation, mostly the tables near the band.
There are some tents though where the complete Hauptschiff is free of any reservations. In the last years, the tent „Bräurosl“ for example was one of those drink-friendly ones so any table you find in the main part can be taken here without worries.

We close with some fun facts about last year’s Wiesn:
– 6.5 million Maß beer served
– 112 oxen and 48 calves eaten besides
– 500,000 fried chickens
– 1km of latrines
– biggest tent Hofbräuhaus with 10.000 seats,
– totally 119.000 seats in 13 tents
– only beer from Munich’s breweries is served (Augustiner, Paulaner, Hacker Pschorr, Hofbräu, Spaten and Löwenbräu)

As usual on the first day and tradition since the 1950’s, the current mayor of Munich will open the first barrel of beer at 12h in the tent Schottenhammel, before that time NO BEER will be served but only coffee and cola and the good Weißwurst (white sausage) so either have your first beer when queuing or wait until noon but believe us, it will be a looong time until then. To make sure that the other tents don’t even waist a minute for opening up the barrels, cannon shots countdown-like tell us it’s time to start drinking.
OANS, ZWOA, DREI, GSUFFAAA!

25 July 2015: Auer Dult (Jakobidult)

The Auer Dult is a fair which takes place three times a year on the Mariahilfplatz in the lovely quarter Au. The first one of the year, the so-called Maidult, always starts on the first Saturday of May. The second one, the Jakobidult, is around end of July/beginning of August and the third one, the Kirchweihdult, takes place in the week after Kirchweih – that’s the religious festivity when church buildings are consecrated once a year, very common in Germany and Austria.
The Auer Dult always lasts nine days (from Saturday until the Sunday of the following week). This year’s dates are (or already were):
Maidult: 24 April – 3 May (already over)
Jakobidult: 25 July – 2 August (starting just today) and
Kirchweihdult: 17 October – 25 October

The first Auer Dult took place in 1310 on the Sankt-Jakobs-Platz, the place where you nowadays find the Jewish Synagogue. In 1791 the Auer Dult was relocated in the Kaufingerstraße. Shortly after that, in 1796, Elector Karl Theodor granted the suburb Au the rights to arrange a fair two times a year and was moved to the Au – from this time also originates the name Auer Dult. Since 1905 ( except from 1943 – 1946) it takes places three times a year.

The Auer Dult is a very calm fair, not to be compared with the Oktoberfest in any way. You find some small attractions for kids including pony riding and a historical Ferris wheel, two small beer tents where Paulaner and Augustiner beer is being served and a huge market located on the south-western side of the church where all kind of goods and also antiquities are being offered – in fact the Auer Dult contains Europe’s largest tableware market.
A special featue is the so-called „Schaustellermeile“ which you can find on the most western part of the Auer Dult. Here vendors are offering and of course praising everything from vegetable slicers to bbq grills to the best detergents in the world to things you maybe might never need. Watch out for one of the vendors of a special vegetable slicer, that man’s show is absolutely worth a visit (we already call one of this supreme vegetable slicers our own by the way).

Unsurpassable is the show of „Der Billige Jakob“. You find him on the south-western part of the Auer Dult. Georg Huber, so his real name, is already selling his goods here since 1947, before him his father and his grandfather and whose father – his family even for ca. 200 years. This man is already in the mid-eighties and a legend on the Auer Dult and still not tired of selling his goods which range from suspenders to soaps, from brushes to clothespins etc. It’s the way how he is selling – a way each and every single merchant can’t  touch on their best day – and about the funny sayings he is making to his clients but you just have to visualize it by yourself!
During quite times, he always has some stories to tell (which I will not mention here as I promised him not to write about it publicly) and if my girlfriend Petra lets invite herself to a pinch of snuff tobacco by someone, then it’s from Georg Huber (or by myself)! We hope to see him on many fairs to come and wish him always good deals!

Insider tip: Only during the Auer Dult it’s possible to climb up the tower of the Mariahilfkirche and enjoy the astonishing views – on a nice day the views even stretch until the Alps. In the tower Germany’s 3rd largest carillons is installed. The number of visitants is very limited, no more than twelve participants. The tickets for the visit can be picked up at the main entrance of the church and are for free (a small donation can be made after the tour though). We recommend to get your tickets some hours before, each day up to six tours take place.

I close this article now as the Auer Dult already has started and we have to get our tickets for the tower visit, see you maybe there!

26 June 2015: Tollwood-Festival

Well first of all sorry for starting this „hot topics section“ a little bit too late but weekend is still fresh and today’s a perfect day for giving the Tollwood-Festival a visit, enjoying the delicious food and having a beer or two. If you are new to Munich as most of you probably are and you don’t have a clue what I am talking about, some words about the Tollwood-Festival:
The first Tollwood – as most people just call it – took place in July 1988 in the area of the Olympiapark South where you can still find it today. Back in the days you just had a music tent and some booths where food and handcraft were sold. Like nowadays, concerts have been arranged though only local artists like Konstantin Wecker performed whereas today the line-up consists of many famous international artists.
The festival was firstly initiated by a handful of artists who wanted to present their work to a wider audience always keeping an eye on ecology and the environment. The idea still survived until today and since 2003 only food which is bio-certified is sold at the Tollwood. Even the Crepes aren’t made with original Nutella but with bio-nougat-creme which has to have the bio-label. Food indeed is the main reason for a lot of people including us honestly 😉 for visiting the Tollwood so be sure to get there hungry! Food from all corners of the world is offered: from Africa to Asia to Greece…
The festival just started this week on 24 June and runs until 19 July. Each day concerts take place and for some of them there are still tickets available so be fast. You best go there by bike but if you are among the poor ones who don’t own one, check the official Tollwood homepage how to get there. Like in the past years, the number of visitors will reach nearly the million. We are already starving and looking out of the window tells me it’s time to head to the festival. By the way: there is also a Tollwood in winter so keep your eyes on our hot topics section. See you at the Tollwood!