Author Archives: NOFXmike

Back in Munich

I’ve been on vacation for pretty much all of August, but I’m back now.  I know what you’re thinking:  “A tour guide can take off a month in the middle of the high season?”….well, yes, I can and do every year…it’s the best time to take a trip in my opinion…and so I do.

Anyways, I’m home and available again…not sure if I’m looking forward to the Oktoberfest…

August Tours are a no-go.

Hi everybody,

Every few years I need to visit friends/family/decent beer/mexican food/the sun, so tomorrow I’m going to head across the Atlantic to do just that.  I’ll be back in late August…but I’m already booked every day of that week.  September I’m relatively open, though.

Have a good one

Private Tours

I’ve been doing a lot of private tours lately and I really need to change the text of my private tour section here.  Basically what I need to change is to scare away the crazy people.

1.  I can’t drive you around Bavaria as I don’t have a commercial driving license (and YES, that is required).  Some guides will do this, but it is breaking the law and really not worth it if they get caught.  I live in Germany, a very rule-abiding society…and that’s just how I roll.  I do have a German driver’s license, but that is irrelevant.

2. I don’t own a helicopter or a jet, it’s impossible to do all of that in one day.  What’s that?  Google says you can?  Okay, try it yourself and tell me how that went.  I once had a crazy tour leader from Stanford University who would not listen to reason…in the end they rented like 16 BMW’s to drive to Neuschwanstein because they said it’d be faster.  In the end it was a very tight schedule with a lot of illegal driving…they barely made their tour time inside the palace and they missed their dinner reservations in Munich.  All because they believed google over their local guide who has done it hundreds of times (literally).

3.  Mainly for private tours I do Munich city tours, by foot, which can be tailored to whatever length you want or day trips by public transportation.  If not on foot, public transportation REALLY is the way to go.

I dunno…I just ran out of steam, noticed the time, and I gotta go to work.  I’m heading down to Neuschwanstein again today.  should be a high of 66 with a 30% chance of rain…HMMM…

Current price for walking tours of the city: €120 for a standard 3-hour tour.  Free if you are a member of a band I love.  (good luck with that one)

Neuschwanstein track repair…

The track works between Munich and Neuschwanstein end on Wednesday….it’s been fun watching the tourists struggle, but that’s over….thank god. I’ve got a massive group today, but it’s nearly summer so I suppose it’snormal.

Planning the trip to NYC tomorrow

It appears my photo-uploading abilities on here have hit a hitch…working on a work-around.  There should be photos below…I’ll fix it this week…

Summer Tours

Summer?  okay, it’s not quite summer yet, but we’ve certainly had weather as if it were summer (for Munich).

This month looks like a busy one…I’ll be going back and forth between Neuschwanstein and Herrenchiemsee mainly, at least according to the schedule.  I’ll probably throw in some Munich city tours of course.

This week we’re going to a Jupiter Jones concert…next week we’ll go to Lagwagon….then Flogging Molly…then…

Seven weeks or so until our vacation.  If anyone needs a tour in late July or the first 3/4 of August…sorry, I’m out of the country.

Last week it was snowing…now it’s about 70F…

Hi everybody.  I’m going to get back into updating regularly, I swear.   I’ll still blame Nileguide responsibilities primarily, but I’ve exchanged those for writing for The Munich Times!  I’ll be doing regular concert reviews, interviews, and all sorts of other writing primarily in the culture section.  It is an online newspaper, but also a print newspaper (soon).  Anyways…Last night I saw John K Samson again…always a fun show.  Tomorrow I’ve got a city tour around Munich…and then Wednesday and Thursday I’ll be down at Neuschwanstein.  Speaking of Neuschwanstein, I had the tour there last Wednesday and it was a goddamn blizzard.  Yesterday’s tour there it was about 74F…so…yeah, I’m not a fan of the spring really…manure is in the air…but at least summer is coming soon…

Spring is in the air…

Hi everybody, sorry for the long delay in posting lately.

Believe it or not, I have written quite a few things that should have been here, but eventually made its way to Nileguide.com instead.  This month I’ll be posting a lot of pictures to their site, but soon I’ll be off to different pastures…

It looks like I’ll be contributing to a new and exciting English language newspaper called The Munich Times specifically about the music scene in Munich…reviews, interviews, etc.

Anyways, for now I’m sick as hell…coughing, headache, the works…..spring is here.