Welcome to Enchanting Journeys

Willkommen in Deutschland. Arrive in Munich, Bavaria’s capital.

After you exit in the Arrival Hall at Terminal? -  Munich Franz Josef Strauss International Airport, subsequent to Immigration & Customs, you will be welcomed by The Journeys representative who will ensure your comfort & transfer you to the hotel. He / she will provide assistance during Check-in & also discuss the program for the next few days.

The natural habitat of well-heeled power dressers & Lederhosen-clad thigh-slappers, Mediterranean-style street cafes and Mitteleuropa beer halls, highbrow art & high-tech industry, Germany’s unofficial southern capital, Munich is famous for its beautiful architecture, fine culture & the annual Oktoberfest beer celebration.

Tall tankards and high-tech cars, edgy art & Lederhosen - Munich is a city where traditional & modern sit side by side like few places on earth.

Munich’s various quirks, the things that make the city the place it is, might be what stick in the memory most. Whether it be the inebriated oompah band, that special knife for eating monster radishes, the Bavarians outrageous dialect, the mad hat traditions of the Oktoberfest or the surfers on the Eisbach wave - you are sure to discover some freakish aspect of Munich life every day. And then there is the local garb - nowhere else in central Europe do the locals don their traditional costume - the famous Lederhosen & Dirndl - as readily as the Munchners, so why not join them?

Munich has long been known as the ‘city of art & beer’, so before you head off to the pub, take some time to savour the local art scene. The Kunstareal, Munich’s art quarter, is the place to start, with four major venues displaying everything from Dutch masters to 1960s design.

The locals have a word for it - Gemutlichkeit - that untranslatable intermingling of cosiness, well-being & laid-back attitude. In Munich, you will sense it most under the fairy lights of a summer beer garden, people-watching in the English Garden & behind the wheel of a BMW heading south. It may be just the local character, but a large share of Gemutlichkeit must come from the fact that the Bavarian capital is one of the most affluent cities on the planet, it’s economy larger than most small countries, its infrastructure well-tended.

Check-in at the hotel.

Balance of the day at leisure or perhaps opt for one of the many options available (we will be happy to offer suggestions & make arrangements).

Morning, reach the Pick-up Point for the regular Bus tour & explore Munich (on your own) on a full day tour with an audio commentary.

You may hop on & hop off at the stops of your choice & take your time getting around the city (we will be happy to offer suggestions). Some recommended stops include the National Theatre, Marienplatz square with the City Hall, the Frauenkirche church & the bustling Viktualienmarkt.

Munich is rich in history, continental & local, and the architecture, streets, churches, gardens & public spaces reflect the best of centuries of competing cultures.

Munich’s walkable centre retains a small-town air but holds some world-class sights, especially art galleries and museums. Throw in royal Bavarian heritage, an entire suburb of Olympic legacy and a kitbag of dark tourism and it's clear why southern Germany’s metropolis is such a favourite among those who seek out the past but like to hit the town once they’re done.

Munich's cultural scene is second to none in Germany, with the Museums even considered by some to outrank Berlin in quality & many travelers to Munich are absolutely stunned by the quality of the architecture. If you are looking for Alpine cliches, they are all here, but the Bavarian metropolis has many an unexpected card down its Dirndl.

Return to the hotel & relax.

Balance of the day at leisure or perhaps opt for one of the many options available (we will be happy to offer suggestions & make arrangements).

Morning, meet the Tour-guide at 08.00 am & start the 8 hour full day excursion today with a visit to Neuschwanstein Castle, built by Ludwig II, the notorious “Mad King“.

Schloss Neuschwanstein is a 19^th century Romanesque revival palace on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau near Fussen (Entrance ticket not included, to be paid directly).

The setting of Neuschwanstein could not be more idyllic. Today, it is one of the most popular of all the palaces & castles in Europe.

Appearing through the mountaintops like a mirage, Schloss Neuschwanstein was the model for Disney’s Sleeping Beauty castle.

King Ludwig II planned this fairy-tale pile himself, with the help of a stage designer rather than an architect. He envisioned it as a giant stage on which to recreate the world of Germanic mythology, inspired by the operatic works of his friend Richard Wagner. The most impressive room is the Sangersaal (Minstrels’ Hall), whose frescos depict scenes from the opera Tannhauser.

Built as a romantic medieval castle, work started in 1869 & like so many of Ludwig’s grand schemes, was never finished. For all the coffer-depleting sums spent on it, the king spent just over 170 days in residence.

Completed sections include Ludwig’s Tristan & Isolde themed bedroom, dominated by a huge Gothic-style bed crowned with intricately carved cathedral-like spires; a gaudy artificial grotto (another allusion to Tannhauser); &  the Byzantine-style Thronsaal (Throne Room) with an incredible mosaic floor containing over two million stones. The painting opposite the (throneless) throne platform depicts another castle dreamed up by Ludwig that was never built (he planned many more). Almost every window provides tour-halting views across the plain below.

Seven weeks after the death of King Ludwig II in 1886, Neuschwanstein was opened to the public. The shy king had built the castle in order to withdraw from public life - now vast numbers of people come to view his private refuge. Every year 1.4 million + people visit "the castle of the fairy-tale king". On a single summer day, around 6,000 visitors stream through rooms that were intended for a single inhabitant.

The Castle Tour ends with a 20 minute film on the castle & its creator. There is reasonably priced cafe & the inevitable gift shops.

For the postcard view of Neuschwanstein & the plains beyond, walk 10 minutes up to Marienbrucke (Mary’s Bridge), which spans the spectacular Pollat Gorge over a waterfall just above the castle. It is said Ludwig enjoyed coming up here after dark to watch the candlelight radiating from the Sangersaal.

Drive on to the nearby Linderhof Palace.

Linderhof Schloss is the smallest of the three palaces built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria & the only one which he lived to see completed.

Ludwig II, who was crowned king in 1864, began his building activities in 1867 / 68 by redesigning his rooms in the Munich Residenz & laying the foundation stone of Neuschwanstein Castle. In 1868 he was already making his first plans for Linderhof. However, neither the palace modelled on Versailles that was to be sited on the floor of the valley nor the large Byzantine palace envisaged by Ludwig II were ever built.

Instead, the new building developed around the forester's house (designated as the "Royal Lodge") belonging to his father Maximilian II, which was located in the open space in front of the present palace & was used by the king when crown prince on hunting expeditions with his father.  Linderhof Palace, the eventual result of a long period of building & rebuilding, is the only large palace King Ludwig II lived to see completed.

There are plenty of walking trails & scenic spots perfect for lingering on the palace grounds. There are also a few food options near the parking lot where you can get pretzels, small flatbread pizzas, beer & pastries. 

Drive back to the hotel in Munich.

Balance of the day at leisure or perhaps opt for one of the many options available (we will be happy to offer suggestions & make arrangements).

Today, get up very early in the morning.

In time, you will be met by The Journeys Rep & transferred to Munich Hauptbahnhof, one of the largest in Germany, to board your non-stop train to Frankfurt.

On arrival at Frankfurt Main Hauptbahnhof - one of the largest in Europe, used by more than 350,000 travelers every day - you will be welcomed by a Journeys Rep & transferred to the hotel.

Glinting with glass, steel and concrete skyscrapers, Frankfurt-on-the-Main (pronounced ‘mine’) is unlike any other German city. A bustling metropolis & Germany’s commercial heart on the shores of the Main River, founded in the Roman era, it is home to major banks including the headquarters of the European Central Bank in the gleaming colossal 338 metres Europe Tower, the 259 metres Commerzbank Tower and one of the world’s largest stock exchanges. It also famously hosts some of the world's most important trade fairs, attracting thousands of business travellers.

The city on the shores of the Main River also boasts a fabulous cultural life. With its towering, futuristic skyline and beautifully preserved historic quarter, it is certainly one of Germany's most heterogeneous cities, not to mention one of its most populous with over 5.5 million inhabitants.

The birthplace of the man considered by many German's the greatest ever writer, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Frankfurt is still an artistic & cultural beacon for Germans and many others.

Yet at its heart, Frankfurt is an unexpectedly traditional & charming city, with half-timbered buildings huddled in its quaint medieval Altstadt (old town, reconstructed after the War, is the site of Romerberg, a square that hosts an annual Christmas market), cosy apple-wine taverns serving hearty regional food, village-like neighbourhoods filled with outdoor cafes, boutiques& street art, and beautiful parks, gardens & riverside paths. Its nightlife & entertainment scenes are bolstered by a spirited student population.

Most people associate Frankfurt with brokers, banks, stocks & shares - & they wouldn't be wrong, but there is much more to the city than just big business. Frankfurt does, after all, have an unrivalled museum scene. Its collection of galleries & museums, second in Germany only to Berlin’s,  is considered one of the world's finest, with contents which reflect this high standing.

Goethe’s former home is now the Goethe House Museum. You can retrace the footsteps of Frankfurt's most famous son for a glimpse of 18^th century Frankfurt. For example, at Goethe's House or in the slightly less poetic setting of the Gerbermuhle, a quaint beer garden on the banks of the river Main, where the great poet indulged in an occasional glass of cider in his day.

The museum embankment on the southern bank of the Main is a wonder to behold, in particular the magnificent Stadel Institute of Art with the Municipal Gallery. Situated in the heart of Frankfurt's museum mile, this is of one Germany's pre-eminent art galleries & features masterpieces spanning nine centuries of European art. The underground extension houses a collection of works from 1945 onwards, including such famous names as Joseph Beuys & Gerhard Richter.

To the east of the gallery you will find the Film Museum & the Architecture Museum, which in itself is an innovative & unconventional example of building design. And just a stone's throw from there stands the Museum of Applied Art (MAK). A thousand years of arts & crafts are represented in this striking building designed by American architect Richard Meier.

There are also a number of smaller galleries around the Cathedral, some of which are less mainstream but feature exceptional displays of art nonetheless. You can even admire art in the metro system. The Grenzland (borderland) project at the Dom / Romer station, for example, showcases works that blur the lines between art, architecture & design.

It might be more serious, but the financial district is well worth a visit too, for a true taste of Frankfurt. The towering banks & office blocks form Europe's most impressive skyline, and Frankfurt's ultimate landmark. But rest assured, the art found in this part of the city is also of international standing. Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank & DZ Bank own art collections any museum would be proud of, and these are opened to the public at certain times. Skyscrapers as art galleries ? Only in Frankfurt.

Check-in at the hotel & relax or walk around (on your own).

Later in the afternoon at 2.00 pm, meet the Tour-guide in the lobby & embark on a 3 hour ‘walking tour’ of the city. Visit the beautifully restored Romerberg, the bank of the Main river, the quaint “Fressgass” alley, the old Opera House, the elegant Goethestrasse street & the Paulus Church.

Return to the hotel.

Balance of the day at leisure or perhaps opt for one of the many options available (we will be happy to offer suggestions & make arrangements).

Finally, it is time to say good-bye.

Check-out of the hotel by 12:00 noon (if the departure time is later in the evening, we will request the hotel to allow the use of the hotel facilities & to leave the luggage at the Bell Desk if you have the time to walk out). 

In time, you will be met by a Journeys Rep, who will ensure your comfort & transfer you to Terminal? - Frankfurt International Airport, for your onward journey.  B

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