Covid-19: News and information in English about the situation in Munich and Germany

by Know Before You Go

The Corona pandemic changed the world and travel in particular. It’s not as easy as it was before 2020 to just hop on a plane and sunbathe on sun-kissed beaches or visit the sights of cities. New terminologies and daily routines have entered our lives due to Covid-19. We are dealing with lockdowns, entry restrictions, mandatory tests, quarantine regulations, and the discussion of compulsory vaccinations for travel.
To complicate things further, each country and in Germany sometimes even each municipality has different rules regarding restrictions.

For travelers ( regardless of whether they are traveling for tourism or business) who do not speak German, this creates significant barriers in a jungle of regulations, information, and often daily news updates.

To bring a bit of light into the darkness, I show you where to find the best (and most trustworthy) information and news about Covid-19 related activities in Munich, Bavaria, and Germany.

Munich before Covid-19

Understanding the Situation in Germany

Perhaps you have already noticed it on the sidelines. In Germany, there are no uniform regulations on lockdowns, school closures, and other restrictions on the Corona pandemic.

But why is that?
Simply put, a lot has to do with the federal structure of the Federal Republic. Many competencies have been transferred to the individual states since the founding of the Federal Republic. The federal government is often only able to make recommendations, not regulations. This regularly leads to the fact that there are sometimes significant differences in the fight against the covid virus between the individual federal states. While schools are closed in one federal state, they remain open in another. One state imposes a lockdown, while another relaxes its regulations and reopens stores. Especially during the relaxation phase of the summer of 2020, it was noticed quite quickly that Germany is a patchwork of regulations.

As a traveler who has not usually studied and internalized the structure and historical genesis of this patchwork, this can lead to a great deal of confusion.

Where you can still get good information, even if you do not speak German I show you now.

Information on Covid-19 in Germany

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is the most important German institution concerning the covid pandemic. The institute is the German counterpart to John Hopkins University in the USA.

All information from the RKI is highly official and reliable. Therefore, as a traveler, but also as a person living in Germany who does not speak German (e.g. expatriates), you should check the RKI website frequently, as it also provides the latest information in English.

What can you find on the RKI website?
– Daily reports about the current infection situation
– An interactive dashboard with figures and data history
– Information about the German Covid warning app for mobile phones
– Information about the vaccination strategy
– Studies

Visit the RKI website

The Integration Commissioner’s website provides a variety of information on the Corona pandemic in up to 20 different languages. Of course, also in English.

What can you find on the website?
– Information about the Corona warning app
– Information about vaccination
– FAQ about Covid in Germany
– Information about work and study during Corona
– Basic information for travelers

Visit the website

The website of the Federal Foreign Office provides information in English on entry requirements and travel restrictions.

What can be found on the website?
– Information about entry restrictions
– quarantine regulations
– Travel information regarding entry and transit

Visit the website

Information on Covid-19 in Munich and Bavaria

Travel-related news on Covid-19 for Munich and Bavaria

German news ressources on Covid-19 in English

6 tips to find a perfect hotel in Munich

by Know Before You Go

If you are looking for accommodation in a city, you will certainly check many internet resources. Many online travel agents (OTAs) offer a variety of offers and deals. But especially when it comes to choosing a convenient hotel, the question of whether you have chosen the perfect hotel is often asked.

Here I have picked out 6 tips for you on what to consider when booking your accommodation in Munich.

1. Is a centrally located hotel really central?

I often read, especially on websites that offer travel deals, headings like „Stay in a central hotel Munich during Oktoberfest for just XX USD“. But how central is actually central?
Many cities in the world are so enormously large that the central city centre extends over several kilometres. Therefore, the term „central“ becomes relativ. Munich is not a metropolis like New York, Tokyo, Paris or London, that’s clear. But also in Munich, the term „city centre“ has a relatively large extension.
In Munich, everything that is located within the ring shaped city expressway „Mittlerer Ring“ is called city centre. But from this expressway to the city centre (Marienplatz) it can take up to 30 minutes by car or public transport. On foot, it normally takes almost exactly one hour. Many hotels that are quite far away from Munich’s Old Town still say they’re „centrally located“ as they refer to a subway or tramway station nearby which will shorten the time to reach the city centre.

The best way to find a really centrally located hotel is to specify your search.

Most OTAs offer to do a perimeter search around a specific location. But for this, you have to know where the locations are. So if you want to find a really central hotel in Munich, I recommend using the following search parameters

Expedia:
The website of the worldwide known OTA Expedia offers the filter option „Area“ or „Popular locations“ in the hotel search on the left side. Here you should select one of the following options for very central hotels:


Area Filter
– Munich City Centre
– Munich Central Station (located about 1,000 meters west of the city center)
– Altstadt-Lehel (This district is the most central and consists of the Old Town and Lehel (directly east of the Old Town)
– Maxvorstadt (still very centrally located west and northwest of the old town)

Popular Locations Filter
– Marienplatz
– Hofbrauhaus
– Viktualienmarkt
– English Garden
– Residenz
– Odeonsplatz
– Sendlinger Tor
– Ludwigs-Maximilians-University of Munich

Trivago:
The website of the OTA, or rather OTA search engine, which also operates worldwide, is structured differently. Below the search mask, there is an option „Hotel location“. In the window that opens, you can determine the proximity of the hotel to „popular sights“. You can also specify how far away the hotel should be from this sight. Choose the following „popular sights“ for a really central hotel and add a maximum of 1 mile (1.6 kilometres):

– City Center

You will get the same results (possibly shifted by less than 100 m) for:
– Old Town Hall
– Bavarian State Opera
– Dallmayr
– Cathedral of Our Lady
– Hofbräuhaus
– Court Garden
– Marienplatz
– New Town Hall
– Residence
– Viktualienmarkt

2. Is "near" Munich really "near" Munich?

Hotels located in the suburbs outside the city limits are often described as „near Munich“. And if you look at a map, in most cases this is correct. But also the term „near Munich“ is relative, because even if there is a hotel near Munich, this does not mean that you have a good and comfortable connection to the city or that you are rapidly in the city centre.
If you are looking for a hotel in the suburbs, always check first if there is an S-Bahn station in the immediate vicinity. If you have a (rental) car, this is, of course, less important.
However, before you book, you should check with a route planner how long it will take you to get to the city centre. Especially if you only have a few days or even hours in Munich.

3. Make a bucket list first

In big cities, unfortunately, one gets nearly knocked out by hotel offers. This leads to the effect that one is always on the search for a perhaps even better, cheaper, or more central hotel. One spends hours or days searching for the perfect hotel (which may not even exist, because the desired hotel is too expensive, too far away, or something similar).
Some of you may enjoy this long day-long search. But those who have to or want to quickly find a good hotel are soon annoyed. And that spoils the expectation or can even change your attitude towards Munich, Bavaria or Germany – although it’s not the country or city’s fault that you spend a long time looking for hotels.

So, if you have chosen a city district, a place of interest or something similar, in which area the hotel should be, then take a short look at all hotels in this area (maybe filter out hotels that are too expensive or offer too few amenities). It is only necessary to look at the pictures and read a few opinions to get a first impression. Of course, you should also define things that are absolutely important for you, such as included breakfast or a wellness area, in the filters of the website.

Based on these hotels, you will then generate a bucket list of potential hotels for you to choose from. And exactly these hotels you then look at in detail and finally decide which one you book.

4. Don't stick to the well known hotel chains

If you are not from Europe, when looking for a hotel, you will probably turn to a well-known chain that you liked in your home country or other countries you have already visited.
Examples of these chains are (alphabetically): Accor, IHG, Hilton, Hyatt, or Mariott.

But in Munich, there are also hotels or even hotel chains apart from the big chains and their brands that offer an equal or even better product or price-performance ratio.

5. Find information about the district first

As a traveler, you should always research a little about the district in which the desired hotel is located, especially if the city is unknown. Particularly women who are travelling alone should do a little more research in this field.

Munich is a very, very safe city and even districts that are not considered to be very good are far from being a no-go area as you might know it from other countries or cities.
Nonetheless, you should know a little bit about the social milieu of the district in which you reside.

But be careful if you search the internet for the terms „no go area Munich“. First of all, there is no such thing in Munich and secondly, you can quickly find websites that are solely for political purposes and possibly spread fake news.

For Munich, I will soon create a neighborhood guide, so that you can check the districts and quarters in detail and see what to expect.

But to avoid the corners that don’t feel so nice, I have made a map for you:

[AcuGIS mapid=“6″]

6. Don't rush for rooms

Travel websites try to convince you that you should quickly book the desired hotel or flights at the offered price. Some psychological tricks are used for this. A rather well-known trick is the (artificial) shortage.
You have probably seen travel websites where pop-ups or similar hints appear like „only 1 room left“ or „55 people are watching this“.
This will psychologically put you into stress, as the room you might want to have could be booked by someone else at any moment. So you may tend to accept a higher price just to be first to book.

Don’t be fooled by these tricks. Even if there is only one room available, it is unlikely that anyone will book the room you are looking at right now.

Stay calm and focused and just ignore the appearing pop-ups and hints about a shortage. 

Tested: The Eurostars Grand Central Munich 4*

by Hotels

At the end of 2019, I had the opportunity to test the Eurostars Grand Central Hotel in Munich. At that time there was a very attractive offer for the presidential suite, so of course, I took the opportunity immediately. So here is my in-depth review of Eurostars Grand Central Munich.
Note: I’m testing hotels in Munich myself (I pay for it myself) and I’m not invited by the hotels. The reviews are therefore not a paid advertisement but honest opinions. 

Location

As you probably already read in the article Munich Hotels: The Eurostars Grand Central Munich, the hotel is centrally located in Munich. All in all, it would still be counted to the so-called city center. In Munich, the term „city centre“ is basically used to describe what is located within the so-called Mittlerer Ring (also named B2R in maps), a busy ring road around Munich’s city centre.

The hotel is located in the western part of the „Neuhausen“ district, more precisely in the „Arnulfpark“ quarter. The quarter is rather upscale and renowned companies like Google are based here as well. All in all, the location is still quite good for Munich travelers to rapidly reach the most important sights and hotspots of Munich. Also, if you don’t mind a 25 to 30-minute walk, you can reach the old town or the Oktoberfest grounds on foot.

[AcuGIS mapid=“4″]

What I found interesting was the fact that Eurostars named the hotel „Grand Central“. Grand Central implies for many travellers that the hotel is located at the main station of the city. Probably because many of them have the term „Grand Central Station“ in mind. In fact, the hotel is located about 950 meters (~1,038 yards) from the main train station down Arnulfstr..

Public Transport & Getting there

The hotel is very conveniently connected to public transport. There is a tramway station in the immediate vicinity of the hotel. The tramway will bring you directly to the gates of the old town. Only a 5-minute walk takes you to the S-Bahn (urban rail) station „Hackerbrücke“. From here you can also go to the city centre or explore more distant sights or tourist hotspots (e.g. Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial). The station is also a stop for the two airport lines, which take you directly to and from Munich International Airport (approx. 45 minutes journey time)

Directly in front of the hotel, there is also a taxi stand, in case you do not want to use public transport.

In case you arrive with a (rental) car, there is always the question of a parking space.

At the hotel, there are two options. Either you park in front of the hotel on the street or use the hotel’s underground car park (for a fee of 18.00 EUR / ~20 USD / ~16 GBP / ~29 AUD).

I came by car for the review. The parking situation is, unfortunately, a bit limited. There are parking lots directly in front of or opposite the hotel, but they are also available for residents or business people. Especially in the Arnulfpark quarter, directly behind the hotel, it can get a bit crowded and you have to be lucky to find a parking space. This is especially the case as there is no parking fee to pay.

You should also familiarize yourself with the traffic signs (especially if you are not from Europe), because Arnulfpark has some important special signs which do not exist in this form in other countries and which are not immediately obvious if you are from the USA or Australia, for example.
On the sign above, for example, you can see a lot of important information:

1. Height clearance. This sign means that somewhere in this street there is a passageway with a maximum height of 4.1 meters.

2. in Germany, the sign „Fahrradstraße“ (Bicycle Road) refers to roads in which only bicycles are allowed to ride. The sign directly below, however, removes this restriction for motorcycles and cars. The term „frei“ (free) does not mean that motorcycles and cars are allowed to park here free of charge, but that they also have the right to use this bycicle street. Anyway, bicycles always have the right of way here.

3. last but not least we find one of the most important signs in Germany. The „no stopping“ sign. This sign says that from this point on to the right, you are not allowed to park or stop your vehicle.

Lobby & Lounge

You enter the Eurostars Grand Central through a large sliding door and find yourself in a hall-like lobby. This is where you will find the rather spacious reception, the entrance to the bar and restaurant, the lifts to the rooms, and the entrances to the conference rooms.

To the left of the reception in the lounge you can sit down and plan your excursions, have a snack or a sundowner in the evening.

In summer you can also sit in the inner courtyard and enjoy the peace and quiet there. When I was there, it was already too cold, but as you can see in the following picture, one could still have sat outside.

The Check-in process was normal. There was not much going on (we were the only guests who checked in at that moment) and the young gentleman at the reception was not exuberantly friendly but also not impolite.

We received our room keys (cards) and the young man told us that on the left was the restaurant and on the right the elevator to the rooms.

Rooms

As mentioned at the beginning, there was a good offer for the presidential suite at that time. After having booked this, the highest room category, I would have wished for a more obliging reception, but ok. I was looking forward to the big room with living room, bedroom, and two bathrooms.

On the way to the room that was located at the corner of the building on the first floor, I noticed a slightly musty smell. Where it came from I could not determine, but I guess it was from the carpet, as the hall carpet has already seen better times and was quite stained in front of some rooms.

After I entered the room, I immediately took a look at it. I liked the layout, the enormous living room, and the bedroom. As I like design hotels, the bathroom and/or the guest toilet also fascinated me. These rooms are kept in dark red and black.

But when I took a closer look at the bathroom, I noticed that the shower was covered in limescale. Yes, I know in Munich the water is very hard. I live here myself and I always have to scrub my shower to prevent lime stains. I also don’t say anything if there is a lime stain here and there. But here it looked as if the shower was completely forgotten to clean. Also the bathroom door had a lot of white stains.

I am usually quite tolerant here and do not shy away from wiping up myself when the cleaners have forgotten something. But here, they probably completely forgot to clean the bathroom, as the floor and the bathtub were a little dusty, too.

Thus, I went to the reception and explained the situation. The now a little annoyed-looking receptionist said that he would inform the cleaning team.

After five minutes three men knocked at the door and told that they would like to fix the problem of cleanliness. Interestingly, two of them only took pictures of the stains with their smartphones and told the third guy to clean the bathroom.

He got down to work immediately. He was very friendly and hurried. In the meantime, we sat down in the living room and had a coffee.

After he left, I went to the bathroom again… The real problem, the limed shower and the stains on the door were still there. But now the bathtub and the floor were spotless. Well… thanks for mopping the floor, but this was a complete miss. I was not in the mood to go to the reception again, as I wanted to enjoy the late afternoon and test the hotel further.

The bathroom with shower and bathtub was very spacious and directly accessible from the bedroom. I found that very comfortable. There were also miniature toiletries from the Spanish brand „Hierbas de Ibiza“. Shampoo, shower gel and body lotion were provided. Besides that there was hand soap and a care set. Also the guest toilet in the entrance area was in top condition and nicely designed.

In total, the bathrooms were very nice and also the big rain shower was very pleasant. Maybe a little too dark. An additional light would not have been bad here.

Bedroom
The bedroom was also spacious with indirect lighting and a large flat-screen TV in front of the bed. In addition, there was a quite large wardrobe with a safe (laptop size) as well as a place to get dressed or to read something. On the king-bed there were bathrobes and it was covered with artificial rose petals. All in all the bedroom was really great. I could also sleep very well.

Livingroom
The livingroom was quite huge and featured a seating area with large table and a lounge area with couch, lounger and huge flatscreen TV. All was nicely designed with the dominant colours black, brown, chrome and red. Unfortunately the furniture had really seen better times and some of them were actually really worn out.

The huge table in the living room had a big stain on it. I don’t know how it came there, but it seemed a can opener which was covered with a liquid (alcohol?) was placed here. The liquid corroded the wooden surface. The same happened to the actually nicely designed black marble coffee table. I wanted to see if I could remove these stains with some water, but it looked like these stains are here since a long time. The stains on the coffee table looked a bit like spilled and dried milk, but it was also not removable.

Such things can happen and it is ok to not replace the tables immediately. Especially marble tables are quite pricey. But what really annoyed me was the fact there was a totally worn out lounge chair in the room. And I don’t mean there were a few scratches in the leather or some wrinkles of years of use. The lounge chair slowly crumbles into dust.  You can’t put that in a living room of a 4-star hotel. Especially not in the Presidential Suite, the biggest and most luxury room category!

I tried to forget the chair and the stains and went back to further explore the room and its equipment.

Room Equipment

In the room there were a sideboard with coffee making facilities. These were provided free of charge.There was also a radio on the sideboard which looked like a design-media centre. A closer look told me it was a Grundig Oviation 7000 – an early 2000s design radio with CD-Player and a futuristic, UFO-like remote control. After my early-2000s flashback, I tried to listen to some radiostations. They were not programmed, so i had to search the FM band. As I’m a Munich local, I actually know the frequencies of my favourite radio stations, so I found a good station quickly. But the quality was rather poor. A lot of interferences on many frequencies. I then realised there was a small room antenna with tiny cable right behind the player. I tried to move the antenna a bit closer to the window, but the quality improved just a bit. I decided to switch it off and listen to music via the huge smart TV in the living room. The radio player looks nice, but is actually quite useless.

There was also a screwdriver and bottle-opener, which is great if you want to open a bottle of sprakling wine or a bottle of soda, lemonade or beer. Also the provided hairdryer was good and quite new. I also liked the view from the room. From the living room and bedroom you can see Arnulfstrasse, a main road leading to Munich Main station and the city centre. 

As a special feature I booked the „Romatic Package“. This package is bookable through the official website after you choose your room. It consists of a bottle of sparkling wine, chocolate strawberries, rose petals and late check-out if available. The package costs additionally 21 EUR.

As we checked in, I asked if late checkout is possible and immediately got the answer: No!
And here is what the „Romatic Package“ looks like:

Presented on a worn out black tray you could find 6 tiny strawberries and 6 blueberries along with three uncompassionate placed artificial rose petals.

The strawberries were only half-covered with chocolate and it was nearly impossible to actually eat the chocolate as you would have to scratch it off the slate-dish.

The sparkling wine was good (Scavi & Ray Prosecco)

Wellness & Spa facilities

After another coffee we decided to check out the swimming pool, the fitness facilites and the sauna, all located on the fifth floor. Unfortunately there was no rooftop patio or something.

As there were people everywhere, I could not take pictures. All in all I was a bit disappointed. The fitness room was quite tiny as well as the sauna.

The (indoor) swimming pool area was more spacious, but not really big. We went in but realized there were two families with kids making a water-fun-park out of the whole area. So we decided to leave and sit in the sauna.

When we walked into the sauna area, I was again disappointed of the dwarfishness of the wellness area. There were only three loungers. We decided to just go to have a few sauna sessions and then go back to our room to relax. So we took a shower and walked in the rather small sauna cabin (suitable for approx. 5 people) and looked in the shocked faces of an elderly couple. As I looked at them surprised, he waved away his shocked face and said in a broad British slang. „Sorry mate, we’re not used to naked people.“. We all laughed and I explained a bit about using a sauna in Germany.

All in all, the wellness area was disappointing. All was quite tiny and I don’t want to imagine how packed everything is during the high season or Oktoberfest.

Restaurant & Breakfast

We did not try out the restaurant, because we went downtown to have dinner. But the next morning we could try the breakfast in the quite spacious restaurant.

The breakfast is served in buffet style. As you know by now, I wasn’t that gruntled because of what happened the day before, but I have to tell you I became reconciled with the Eurostars Grand Central. 

The breakfast was huge and there were not only options for continental breakfast or English breakfast but also a lot of Spanish things (Serrano ham, olives, tapas). Also the breakfast manager – a guy looking like a bearded Enrique Iglesias – did a really great job. He was everywhere at the same time. Greeted guests, refilled coffee beans, carried empty dishes, told the staff where to clean the tables, refilled the buffet and greeted guests again. This guy has my deep respect.

Unfortuantely it was not possible to take pictures of the buffet or the breakfast room, as there were too many people, but you can find some on the German website holidaycheck.de.

Conclusion

The stay in the Eurostars Grand Central Munich was good. I think we had a rough start and I also think mistakes can happen.

But I hope the hotel management will replace the worn out furniture soon Especially when you have to pay a room rate over 250 EUR/night for a presidential suite this is a no go.

Also the wellness area could be improved, but is ok when the hotel is empty. I also wished for a warmer greeting, and a less annoyed look when a guest has a complaint.

The close proximity to the city centre and the Oktoberfest grounds makes the Eurostars Grand Central a great basecamp for exploring the city.

I recommend this hotel to couples and families who like to come to Munich for Oktoberfest or during the summer months to explore the main sights but also do day-trips with the urban rail system or by train.

Do you have any thoughts you want to share? Contact me (see footer).

Ratings

The Eurostars Grand Central Munich has very good ratings throughout the Internet:

Google: 4.3 (of 5)
Booking: 8.4 (of 10) „very good“
tripadvisor: 4.0 (of 5) „very good“
Holidaycheck: 5,1 (of 6)
Expedia: 4.3 (of 5) „Excellent“
trivago: 8.5 (of 10) „Excellent“
Agoda: 8.4 (of 10) „Excellent“

Wheretostayinmunich.com Rating

Public transport connection?

5/5

Hotel facilities:

3/5

Staff (friendly? helpful?)

3.5/5

Cleanliness:

3.5/5

Airport-connection (Munich Intl. Airport):

4/5

Room size:

5/5

Breakfast:

5/5

Value for money:

3/5

Overall rating:

4/5

How not to embarass yourself when using a German Sauna

by Know Before You Go

A few decades ago, visiting a sauna or a wellness area was only something for luxury travelers who could afford hotels with corresponding facilities. In the meantime, a large number of hotels have saunas and wellness areas. This has even developed into a separate sector of tourism and some regions of the world specialise specifically in wellness and relaxation. A visit to a sauna is an essential part of cleaning and relaxing your body. But also here, different rules apply from country to country. Particularly in German-speaking countries, it can happen to tourists from other countries that they step in faux pas during their visit to the sauna. So to avoid being one of those travellers, read the following article and you will be perfectly prepared for a sauna visit in Germany, Austria, and (most parts of) Switzerland.

1. The different sauna types

Not all saunas are the same. Many tourists who come to Europe and want to go to a sauna think mainly of a hot room with benches and a sauna oven. But in reality, there is a wide variety of different saunas. In each one there are benches or seats and a stove that produces heat.

The Finnish Sauna
The Finnish sauna is probably the quintessence of the sauna and the most common type. As the name suggests, it comes from the birthplace of the sauna – Finland. In the Finnish sauna, you will find a dry heat between 80 and 110 degrees Celsius (176 – 230° F). The vast majority of these saunas are heated to exactly 90° Celsius (194° F). However, the air humidity is only 13% at most. This also has its sense, because at a higher humidity the heat is perceived as unpleasant and burning on the body. Nevertheless, the Finnish sauna is not for everyone. Especially newcomers should (if possible) first try the so-called „Biosauna“

The Biosauna or Sanarium
The Biosauna is ideal for beginners. It is not as hot as the traditional Finnish sauna and yet you can sweat very well here. As a rule, the bio-sauna, which is sometimes also called „Sanarium“, is heated to around 60 to 75 degrees Celsius (140 – 167° F). The humidity can be higher than in the hot Finnish sauna due to the lower heat and is usually around 20 to 30%. Organic saunas, in particular, are used for infusions with a wide variety of fragrances.
Biosaunas often have their own terms, such as „meditation sauna“. These names are given by the company that runs the sauna

A small finnish sauna

The Caldarium
The Caldarium is an invention from ancient Rome. Even the Romans knew that a visit to a hot room has a good effect on health. However, the Caldarium is one of the coldest saunas there is. In total, only around 45-50 degrees Celsius (113 – 122° F) are reached, with a comparatively high humidity up to 100%

The Steam bath
the steam bath is also known as „Hamam“ in many countries, although in the German-speaking world the term „Hamam“ usually refers exclusively to a Turkish steam bath with a corresponding cleaning ceremony and washing. The steam bath, which is also known as „Roman steam bath“ is similar to the Caldarium. The boundaries between the steam bath and Caldarium are fluid. In the steam bath, there is almost 100% humidity with relatively high heat (around 50° C / 122°F). Steam baths are often also used for infusions, which has a positive effect on the respiratory tract. Mostly salt is also evaporated, but other mild fragrances are also used. These special steam baths are then called „salt grotto“, „salt gallery“ „herbal bath“ or similar

The Infrared-sauna or Infrared-cabin
Infrared saunas are a relatively special type of sauna, since infrared lamps do not heat the air in the sauna, but the body itself. Usually, you sit under or next to infrared lamps that are directed at you. These produce a temperature of around 50 degrees Celsius (122° F) on the surface of the body, which makes you sweat. Infrared saunas, sometimes also called infrared cabins, are similar to a Biosauna, but in my opinion the gentlest form of sauna, so ideal for sauna novices

2. Who should not got to a sauna?

Even though a visit to the sauna is generally considered to be positive for health, there are certain groups of people who should not go to the sauna.

These include people who suffer from cramp veins in particular. Although it is possible to go to the sauna if you have varicose veins, you should then put your feet up in order to increase blood circulation.
Also, people suffering from high blood pressure, heart problems, or chronic diseases should always consult their doctor before visiting the sauna. Especially high temperatures and the switch between hot and cold can severely interfere with the blood circulation.

Is it ok to go to the sauna with a common cold?

The question of whether a sauna visit with a common cold is possible or not is discussed frequently and in detail. In principle, you should not go to the sauna if you have a cold. On the one hand, you could infect other sauna visitors and on the other hand, you could make your cold even worse, depending on the stage it is in. Basically, doctors say that you can still go to the sauna when a cold starts and possibly even stop it, but if an infection has already broken out, you should not sweat any more in order not to put additional stress on your body. All in all, you should avoid going to the sauna when a cold is on its way.

3. Rules in a German sauna

Nudity

in German-speaking countries, the Netherlands and Scandinavian countries it is completely normal to go completely naked into a sauna, even in mixed-gender saunas. In this nudity, there is absolutely nothing sexual to it and those who have been in a German sauna more often will notice that the other sauna visitors are not interested in your body or even staring at you. However, especially for visitors from English-speaking countries (UK, USA, Australia, Canada), undressing completely always requires some effort.
As a tourist, you should nonetheless bite the bullet here, as otherwise, you run the risk of catching attention even more if you are the only person in a bathing suit in the sauna. It can even happen that you’re thrown out by the bath attendant or the „Saunameister“.

Of course, while you are not in the sauna, you do not walk around completely naked but usually put on a bathrobe and slippers that you have with you.
Of course, it is also allowed to walk around naked for a short time, especially if you go straight from the sauna to the shower in order to take a quick shower and rinse off sweat.

No skin on wood

But even if you are completely naked in a German sauna, there is a special rule that everyone observes. A disregard of this rule can lead to harsh comments. So under all circumstances, follow this rule:

No skin on wood!

The benches and walls of a sauna are usually made of wood. Unfortunately, wood has the habit of absorbing moisture like a sponge, especially when it is warm and dry. This also happens with human sweat. Therefore, avoid under all circumstances that your sweaty skin comes into contact with the benches and walls. For this reason, you usually have a pretty large bath towel with you, on which you sit or lie.
Please also note that if you are sitting on the wooden bench, the towel is placed in such a way that your feet are also on it… because you won’t believe how much you will sweat on your feet.

This rule does not apply to steam baths. Here it would make no sense at all to go in with your towel because it would be dripping wet in no time. In steam baths you don’t sit on wooden benches but rather the seatings are usually made of stone or ceramic tiles.

She doesn't obey the "no skin on wood"-rule. Other guests will definitely tell her

Never use a wooden pillow as footrest

Wooden pillows are available in nearly every sauna. They are placed on the benches and are made of (you guessed it already) wood. You might think that this is a footrest, because it looks similar. But this is not the case. So never never never put your feet on it, not even if you put a towel underneath. This would immediately attract looks and comments.

Only use the wooden pillow for your head when you lie down on the bench (if there is enough space) and always put a towel under your head (see ’no skin on wood‘-rule).

Never wear slippers inside the sauna

When you enter the sauna area, you should wear slippers. This not only helps to prevent you from slipping, but also prevents the spread of foot mycosis.

However, when entering the sauna, you should take them off. You will quickly notice this if there are already some slippers in front of the entrance door to a well frequented sauna. Just add them to it too and go barefoot into the sauna.

Pro tip: Keep in mind where you have left your slippers. If you notice that there are a lot of identical slippers and there is a danger of confusion (for example in hotels where every guest gets the same looking slippers), try to mark them beforehand (e.g. with a pen). If it’s already too late to mark, try to place the slippers in a way that you recognize them (e.g. put them in each other, put them on top of each other).

Take a shower before using the sauna

Before you enter the sauna, you should always take a shower. And I don’t mean that you should take a shower at home or in your hotel room, but right before entering the particular sauna cabin. Therefore, there are enough showers in every sauna area, usually only a few steps away from the sauna cabins.
Whether you use shower gel or just clear water is up to you. When using the shower prior to your sauna session, the point is to open the pores of your skin so that you can sweat more easily and more effectively. It also helps to wash off any sweat that may already be present, as this can smell unpleasantly, which would then intensify in the heat of the sauna and quickly scare off the other sauna guests.

Never enter the sauna cabin completely wet

Even if you take a shower directly before using the sauna, you are not allowed to enter the sauna when you are still dripping wet. Dry off first! Of course you don’t have to dry yourself so much that you could slip into clothes, but you should be towel-dried. This is not only true for your body but also for long hair.
If you were to go into a sauna room dripping wet, the sauna guests would most likely immediately ask you (more or less politely) to dry off first.

Try not to talk inside the sauna cabin

The sauna is a place of well-being and relaxation. For this reason it is usually quiet in all saunas. The sauna guests speak as little as possible and concentrate on themselves. In German saunas this rule is strictly observed.

When you visit the sauna with your partner or friends, try not to talk in the cabin or try to talk as little as possible. If you need to talk, use your inside voice, whisper and postpone conversations for a few minutes.

Take a shower after using the sauna

Right after you come out of the sauna cabin, you should take a shower. This will rinse off the sweat and also refresh your body. Whether you take an ice-cold shower or a warm one is up to you. The ice-cold shower, however, stimulates the circulation. In many saunas, cold plunge pools or cold splash showers are available. Use them when you need a boost of refreshment.
After you shower, dry yourself off and rest a little before you take your next sauna session.

The timeline of a sauna session

Munich, München or am I in Monaco?

by with No Comment Know Before You Go

Munich, München or am I in Monaco?

What does „Munich“ actually mean? It can be quite confusing for tourists as there are several names in different languages for Munich. So here’s a comprehensive explanation of the term „Munich“ and it’s meaning.

Munich Pronounciation

Munich is the term used in the English language, as well as in French and other languages. In German, Munich actually is called “München” [mʏnçən]. For native English speakers it is quite hard to pronounce the name of the city right. This because of the use of the so called German „soft ch“ and then there’s an so called Umlaut (Ü) just in front of it. So pronouncing München right is really challenging if you never learned German. So usually you will call it „myn-shen“ or „myn-cken“. No worries, everybody will get you want to say „München“. And you’re not alone. Even some guidebooks tell it’s spoken “myn-shen”. As mentioned it’s very hard to produce a sound that phonetically barely exists in your own language. Just think of Germans not being able to produce the „th“-sound and substituting it with „s“ or „z“. Same here.  So to pronounce the „soft ch“ correct, just think of the English word „Loch“ but the ch more like a harsh „h“ like in „huge“ and not like „ck“.

In Italian, by the way, Munich is called “Monaco”. To avoid any confusion about “Monaco”, the small, wealthy state in France’s south, Italians often call Munich “Monaco di Baviere” (Monaco in Bavaria).

Augsburger_schied_01.jpg: Friedrich I. Barbarossa derivative work: Bjs [Public domain] - Original "decision" of Emperor Frederick naming Munich for the first time in history (red box), June, 14th 1158.

Munich - The origins

Now you know how to pronounce München, but what does this weird name actually mean? It’s now time to go back to the year 1158.

It’s the era of knights, maids, farmers and merchants. Bavaria consists of huge forests and medieval towns and cities. Emperor Frederick Barbarossa rules the Holy Roman Empire, an area consisting of what today is Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, nearly complete Belgium, half of Italy, and quite many parts of Poland and France.

A rather young relative of Frederick Barbarossa named „Henry the Lion“ was Duke of Saxony, a dukedom in northern Germany. As he supported Frederick becoming Emperor, Frederick gave him the Duchy of Bavaria as present.

Henry found out, that there was a quite rich bishop, the bishop of Freising, who controlled the salt trading routes from the Alps to western and northern Germany. All salt traders had to pay a toll to the bishop to get over the bridge of River Isar in the town of Freising. So Henry built another bridge just a few miles south of Freising town, near to a Benedictine monastery and a small settlement. Then, Henry went to Freising, burnt down the bishop’s bridge and rerouted the trading route to the small settlement. So the traders had to pay a bridge toll to Henry. As you can imagine, the bishop was really upset and complained to the Emperor. The Emperor confirmed the trading rights for Henry’s settlement, but also forced Herny to pay an annual compensation to the bishop of Freising.

This decision of Emporer Frederick in the year 1158 is known to be the first official mention of Munich. At that time every text was written in ancient Latin language and the settlement was named „forum […] apud munichen“ which can be translated to „market/settlement where monks live“. So „munichen“ is actually an old latin word for monks. Over the years the word changed to „München“.

 

Tested: The Super 8 Munich West (by Wyndham)

by General

Tested: The Super 8 Munich West (by Wyndham)

Is the Super 8 Munich-West (by Wyndham) a good choice? Find it out here in my hotel review.

I had the opportunity to test a standard room (double) for one night, including breakfast. Read on the following hotel review to see what I experienced in the Super 8 Munich-West.

Location

The Hotel is located in Munich’s Laim district, about five kilometres (ca. three miles) from the city centre (Marienplatz). The Super 8 Munich West is situated about 200 metres (ca. 220 yards) from Laim urban rail station where nearly all Munich S-Bahn lines stop.

On the picture above, the hotel is a few steps to the right. Above the tunnel in the centre of the picture, the S-Bahn (urban rail) station „Laim“ is located. Right next to the station, you can find a steak-restaurant, a starbucks-style coffeeshop and two supermarkets (ALDI, REWE) reachable through the tunnel. From Laim station it’s just one stop to „Pasing“ by urban rail. There, many regional and also national trains stop, so it is ideal to make a daytrip for example to Augsburg. Laim station is also great if you need a good connection to Munich International Airport (Franz Josef Strauß Airport), as it is operated by the urban rail S1 and S8 line. Especially S1 line gives you a direct connection without changing lines between the hotel and the airport.

The hotel is quite new and it’s location is great, especially for travellers coming to Munich for business, people trying to get a good middle class hotel for a rather low rate and budget travellers.

The entrance can’t be missed and is easy to find in Landsberger Street in Munich’s Laim district. Of course I have to mention Laim district isn’t a district known for its nightlife or specific quarter-culture. Laim was a worker’s district and is primarily used as residential area. You’ll hardly find fancy coffeeshops or hip bars in the quarter around the hotel. Also the Landsberger Street is one of Munich’s main arterial roads leading to the city centre, which is great for people coming with their own car or rental for a stopover or using the hotel as a basecamp for daytrips.

Lobby & Lounge

When you enter the Super 8 Munich-West you will find a small but very nice designed lobby or lounge, the reception and a small snack shop/café where you can have a bite and a hot or cold beverage. I liked the design and how they managed to produced a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Right next to the reception there is the breakfast room and the elevator. This hotel has 6 floors where the rooms are located.

The floors can be accessed with your room-keycard. Just scan your keycard inside the elevator and press your floor number. I realized it is only possible to choose the floor where your room is located (or the lobby). So if you’re a group and you have different rooms on different floors, you have to walk the stairs to see your fellow travellers, as the elevator won’t allow you to go to a different floor.

Rooms

The room I got was quite nice. It had twin beds (pushed together, so it was actually a king-size-bed), a really nice photo wall showing Munich’s Siegestor (Victory Gate) in Schwabing district. Right next to the bed in front of the window stood a table with chair and a bench for luggage.

I had a street-view room on the first floor, which I do not recommend for those in need of an open window during the night. As said, Landsberger Street is a major arterial road to the city center with lot’s of traffic. When the window is closed, it’s very quiet. The architects did a good job to to put in anti-noise windows. Fortunately it was a calm sunday, so there was much lesser traffic than during the week.

The Bathroom was very good. It had everything I needed. A nice, quite big shower, towels, shampoo/shower gel and hand soap (dispensers). It is also big enough to fit two people, at least when one of them is taking a shower.

All was very clean. The cleaning staff did a very professional job. Only downside is the toilet, as there is no extra door inside of the bathroom to have some privacy. Also the bathroom has a huge frosted glass wall in the shower which is nice to have daylight also in the bathroom, but reduces the privacy again (maybe inconvenient for colleagues sharing a room).

Room Equipment

The room was also equipped with a telephone, a hair dryer, a safe, a wardrobe, air condition and a flat smart-TV. I also liked the hall with the wardrobe, as there were collapsible shelfes right next to the long mirror. Unfortunately a closet is missing. Therefore a longer stay could get a bit annoying living out of your luggage.

WiFi is free of charge in the entire hotel. The flat-TV was the hotspot, meaning every room has it’s own WiFi hotspot and therefore a very good connection. A very smart idea in my opinion. Unluckily the safe is quite tiny. It is not possible to lock a laptop or a tablet, but it will work really fine for wallets, passports, jewellery, smartphones etc..

An iron was missing as well as a kettle or other tea/coffee making facilities. When I read through the information of the hotel, I saw it is possible to borrow an iron or a kettle from the reception for a deposit of 20 EUR (ca. 23 USD, 17 GBP). That’s nice they offer this.

I also liked the smart-TV. Through the TV you can access all hotel based information but also watch TV (also some English programmes, mainly news channels like BBC or CNN) or even surf the internet. The Welcome-screen also has a „Discover Munich“ site, but unfortunately there was no content on this site when I was there. I hope they added content by now.

I slept very well in the bed and had a nice warm shower before heading down to the breakfast room. When you check in and opt for breakfast (9 EUR/person; ca. 10 USD, 8 GBP) you will be given credit-card sized vouchers. These you have to hand over to the breakfast staff. This system was quite new for me, but everything worked out as described.

Breakfast

The breakfast room was quite huge. I didn’t expect such a big buffet-style breakfast in a budget-hotel. There were lots of things to choose from and start your day either with a continental breakfast or an English/American breakfast. Breakfast is available between 6:30 am and 10 am (11 am on weekends).

Ham, sausages, eggs, baked beans, toast, frankfurters, Bavarian white sausages, cold cuts and different types of cheese were on the savoury side while on the sweet side you could choose from different jams, nutella, honey, fruit salad, yoghurts, chocolate croissants, warm belgian waffles and more. But my favourite was the fact you could mix your own yoghurt. You could take plain yoghurt and add different cereals as well as jam or three types of fresh fruit puree (white peach, mango and strawberry). This is something I never saw in a budget or business hotel. Thumbs up!

All in all the breakfast flashed me a bit. It’s very seldom to see such a huge variety of different breakfast items. Also the staff on duty was extremely friendly and helpful and did a very good job. Only one minor thing is to improve. There are just two coffee machines. So during the breakfast rush hour between 7 am and 9 am, you will sometimes have to wait in qeue with 5 people in front of you waiting for the machine to produce coffee, cappucino or other coffee varieties.

Conclusion

The stay at Super 8 Munich-West was really nice. Especially the breakfast was outstanding. I would recommend this hotel to business travellers, travellers looking for a fair price and those who do not necessarily need to stay in the city centre.

As the urban rail station Laim is just around the corner, it is very convenient to take the S-Bahn to the city center (ca. 10 minute ride with the S-Bahn). Also Laim station is very convenient for travellers heading from or to Munich International airport.

Very convenient is also the fact you have to check out by noon, which is quite late compared to other hotels where check out is at 11 am or even 10:30 am.

Do you have any thoughts you want to share? Contact me (see footer).

Ratings

TheSuper 8 Munich-West has very good ratings throughout the Internet:

Google: 4.1 (of 5)
Booking: 8.3 (of 10) „very good“
tripadvisor: 4.0 (of 5) „very good“
Holidaycheck: 4,4 (of 6)
Expedia: 4.1 (of 5) „very good“
trivago: 8.2 (of 10) „very good“
Agoda: 8.3 (of 10) „Fantastic“

Wheretostayinmunich.com Rating

Public transport connection?

4.5/5

Hotel facilities:

3/5

Staff (friendly? helpful?)

4.5/5

Cleanliness:

5/5

Airport-connection (Munich Intl. Airport):

4/5

Room size:

3/5

Breakfast:

4.5/5

Value for money:

4/5

Overall rating:

4/5