It was Day 6 in Germany and we had already covered the provinces of Hesse, Rhineland Platinate and Baden Wuerttemberg and onwards we went into one of the most exciting regions of Germany – the region of Bavaria. Grüß Gott – well, that's how they greet in Bavaria and its bustling capital, Munich.

We boarded our train at Freiburg and after changing at Mannheim, the second largest city after Stuttgart in the region of Baden-Wuerttemberg, we were in Munich in less than 5 hours. The good thing about travelling in Germany is the excellent train connections which are always on clock work precision and extremely comfortable and quick and you enjoy a lovely view from the comforts of your compartment as you chug along to the next destination.

We were lucky as May is an ideal time for travel to Germany. The peak holiday season is July and August, thus we had an exclusive compartment to ourselves. Munich is the southern most of the 10 Magic Cities of Germany and there are direct non-stop flights from Mumbai and Delhi. Munich is in fact the second busiest airport in Germany after Frankfurt and in 2009 was ranked as the best airport in Germany and amongst the top 5 airports in the world for the high quality of service and standards it offers to its passengers. With fares starting at Rs. 27204 inclusive of taxes on Lufthansa, you can get to see the centre of Europe by staying in Munich and exploring the nearby regions including the Bavarian Alps of Zugsptize, the amusement park of Legoland and do a castle tour of the Neuschwanstein Castle along with the Linderhof Palace and as the last leg of our itinerary, we fitted all the aforementioned attractions. One can easily stay a week in Munich and also visit nearby Salzburg and Innsbruck in Austria or football fans can go to Allianz Arena and watch the Bavarian Team playing or enjoy beer and true Bavarian hospitality in one of the Biergartens. It is not surprising that Bavaria is the most visited German State and you can combine visits to Bavaria along with France, Switzerland, Austria and the Czech Republic.

The city of Munich is the best starting point and has plenty to offer. You need at least 3 days to explore the city and the best way to get started is by doing a city tour on the hop-on hop-off bus which gives you an overall glimpse of this wonderful city. The best way to explore Munich is to take the CityTour Card which is valid from 24 hours to 72 hours and if you are travelling in a group, you can opt for a group card which is valid for 3 days and costs 48 Euros and gives access to 5 persons or less travelling together on metro, public transport including bus, tram and suburban railways as well as discounts for various attractions too.

On our day of arrival as we came into Munich we walked to the heart of the city – Marienplatz and Glockenspiel which is bustling with activity and is barely 15 minutes walk from the train station. Munich is a great place for a wide choice of cuisine as you will find over 80 Indian restaurants and several vegetarian specialty restaurants too besides traditional Bavarian food which you will find everywhere. Ralf Zednik, Director -Sales of the Munich Tourist Office and a hardcore Bayern Munich fan, took us to Prinz Myshkin – a vegetarian specialty restaurant which serves only vegetarian cuisine from across the globe including choice of Indian meals as well. The restaurant is one of the well known restaurants and a must-visit for pure vegetarians and is located in the heart of the city centre – Marienplatz. Thereafter, we took a short stroll to the FC Bayern Fan House. Football fanatics will be overawed by visiting the Allianz Arena as well.

Munich is located on the Isar River, north of the Bavarian Alps, and is the third largest city of Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich and the region of Bavaria host many events all year round, the major one being the Oktoberfest which this year will be held between September 19 and October 4. Another major event is the Oberammergau Passion Play which is held in Oberammergau once in 10 years, the next one scheduled between May and September 2010. In fact 2010 is the year that Oktoberfest will celebrate its 200 years.

When one is in Munich, a visit to the city is incomplete without a visit to the Hofbräuhaus – a brewery in Munich owned by the State Government. The brewery owns Hofbräukeller, the second largest tent and they brew and serve their own beer, but naturally!! Here you are served beer in litre-sized beer steins by women clad in Bavarian dress and the brewery located at Am Plaztl 9 is a fun place worth a visit where you can enjoy your beer with a salty pretzel or a German specialty from the menu, whether it is liver dumplings or the Bratwurst – the delicious sausages. This most famous Beer Hall of Munich was once used by the Nazi Party to declare policies and hold functions and it is here that Adolf Hitler proclaimed the 25 theses of the National Socialist Program in the 1920s. The inn was originally built in 1607 and has gone through a lot of changes, whether the bombings or refurbishment and even a song on the Hofbräuhaus was composed in 1935 which is played even today. Open to public during the last decade of the 19th century, the Beer Hall can easily sit 1300 guests and is indeed one of the famous icons of the city of Munich.

At the Marienplatz you also have the famous Glockenspiel which was built in the 19th Century and it chimes 4 times every day and delights the visitor. The centre of the square has a statue of Virgin Mary after which Marienplatz (or Mary Square) got its name. The other famous icons around the square are the cathedral, the Frauenkirche - Church of Our Lady, the Town Hall and you can easily spend half a day here either shopping, eating or visiting the interesting sights around the square.

The next day we took a full day escorted tour to see the castles built by King Ludwig II – Neuschwanstein Castle and Linderhof Palace - and Oberammergau, famous also for its woodcarving. Our first stop on the full day tour was at Schloss Linderhof or Linderhof Palace, about an hour away from Munich in southwest Bavaria, located near Ettal Abbey. It is the smallest of the three palaces built by King Ludwig II, in French Rococo style and the only one of which he lived to see its completion. Built in the 19th century as a hunting lodge, the castle has a grotto and a Moorish pavilion and the interior of the palace is simply spectacular with the hall of mirrors, the chambers such as the Eastern and Western Tapestry Chambers, Audience Chamber and the Dining Room with the pink and blue cabinets, are some of the highlights of this castle. After spending a couple of hours in and around the castle, we headed towards Oberammergau for a shopping stop as it is world famous for its wood carving centre. The famous Passion Play originated here in 1634 and was first presented by the inhabitants in gratitude for the end of the bubonic plague. The play is performed every 10 years and involves 2000 actors, singers, instrumentalists and technicians all from the area.

Our next stop was one of Germany's most famous icons – the Neuschwanstein Castle which is approximately 95 kilometres from Munich and can be reached by road or by train upto Füssen and thereafter it is 5 kilometres from Füssen, very close to the Austrian border. This 19th century Bavarian palace has been the inspiration for the Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle. The castle is on a hill near Hohenschwangau and was commissioned as a retreat by King Ludwig II as homage to Richard Wagner. It was open to the public after King Ludwig died in 1886 and is one of the most photographed buildings in Germany besides being one of the top destinations of Germany. Also known as the “castle of the fairy tale king”, over 1.3 million visitors come every year to see the castle. The castle is open for visit between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. until September and between October and March between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Located in the Schwangau region, you get a picture postcard view of the castle from Marienbrücke or Mary's Bridge. It was from this historical bridge itself that King Ludwig gazed in admiration of his own castle. As a child Crown Prince Ludwig had already grown to love this beautiful region including the dramatic waterfall of Pöllatschlucht above Neuschwanstein and as you walk along Mary's bridge you can get stunning views of the gorge with its steep rocky walls and the view from this bridge is simply enchanting. You also get a view of the Hohenschwangau Castle nearby which was built in neo-Gothic style and where King Ludwig spent his childhood. However, as we were doing a day trip we did not have the opportunity to go inside Hohenschwangau but visiting Neuschwanstein was well worth it including climbing of the 165 steps to reach to the top from where you get a lovely view of the entire region.

The Legoland is not only an attraction for children but also for the parents as well. It would take you 12 hours to ride on all Legoland attractions, watch all the shows and 4D films and take part in various workshops and to cover the park size as large as 26 football pitches. Your kids can test drive at Legoland Driving School or even participate in the Lego Mindstorms Centre where you can program your own LEGO robots, erect skyscrapers to dizzying heights and also visit the LEGO factory where LEGO bricks are produced. The highlight no doubt is the MINILAND which appeals to both young and old and is the centerpiece of all the Legoland parks where you can see eight different worlds of wonder including European cities and landscapes through Gulliver's eyes. From Reichtstag of Berlin to Doge's Palace in Venice to the Frankfurt skyline as well as the Munich airport, you can walk round miniature Europe which is recreated by Legoland model designers. Whether it is cars, trams, street side cafes – all of course are made of LEGO bricks. It was simply amazing to know that more than 25 million LEGO bricks were used to create the MINILAND which amongst attractions also include an Airbus A380, Neuschwanstein Castle, Netherlands, Switzerland and the Allianz Arena Football stadium with 30000 mini football fans. The Allianz Arena is incidentally, the world's largest LEGO building.

After one of the most amazing days of our entire trip that we spent at Legoland, we were back in Munich and the following day we were all set to go to the TOP OF GERMANY

To be continued

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