I seem to be doing lots of both private tours and Neuschwanstein lately, but that pays the bills, so that’s fine by me. Since the Oktoberfest is over the crowds have settled down quite a bit and that is certainly a good thing.
Today I had a private tour, a group of older Americans, and it was great. It really is nice when everyone on the tour actually is interested in what they’re seeing and don’t just want to click and run. Also, since it was a private tour, I had a little extra time to show them things that I always like to include, but rarely have the time for. *sigh*
Here’s a couple recent pictures taken in the last week er so:
Well, for years I’ve been doing tours to Neuschwanstein, always by train/bus. Yes, Petra and I have driven down there a few times also, but by far I’ve found it the easiest to go by train. Friday, I’ll be doing a tour with seven cars down to Neuschwanstein and even less time than I normally have…which is a major concern. Cross your fingers for me.
In other news, train works have been a lot of fun recently. For Neuschwanstein I’ve been impressed that despite doing the train, train, bus, bus, (optional bus), bus, bus, train route to Hohenschwangau and back, it’s worked quite slick and we actually get to Hohenschwangau 5 minutes faster than normal and back to Munich exactly on time. Weird how these Germans work.
Salzburg is a little different, the train we want to take physically isn’t going at the moment, so the tour has been delayed until an hour later. This means an hour less in Salzburg, but everyone seems to be fine with it and I’ve had happy customers.
Both of the train problems stop about the 15th or 16th (gotta check on that…it’s coming up…hmmm)
[Listening to: On the Ave. – Pinhead Gunpowder – West Side Highway VLS (2:43)]
Today I had a typical Neuschwanstein tour, well sort of. It happens for a few weeks every year and a few other random times throughout the year where I have to go one hour, switch trains, go another half hour, go to a bus, go another half hour, go to another bus, then then make it to Fuessen 5 minutes later. This is what happened today…and of course the same thing in reverse to get home.
Everything works out, it always has. During the world cup here in Germany in 2006 was the worst version of it. At the time, the trains were at absolute maximum capacity, standing room only, and no attempting to breathe. Of course, they would only send two buses for the extremely full bus…and I’d have to warn the group at the office before boarding the first train that it would be like that…and how they’d need to run, etc….but ya know what? It really did always work, even with the number of elderly people I get on my tours…it always worked, everyone was always happy, and at the end of the day, we all got back home. (er, at least my home, Munich)
So, we had to switch to buses in Marktoberdorf (market over the village…they’re creative with the names around here). On the corner of the train station is a lil statue of Saint George and since I take pictures of georgie boy wherever I go, here he is in Marktoberdorf:
…and here he is in one of my favorite churches in Paris, Saint Severin:
…and here he is in my favorite church altar that I’ve ever seen, in Kloster Weltenburg, which is up near Regensburg…and done by the Asam bros. :
Anyways, tomorrow I get a day off…then launch into another 7-day run with nearly all Neuschwanstein or Salzburg tours. More fun.
[Listening to: Tornado Love – Kepi Ghoulie – American Gothic (3:38)]
Apparently the train we normally take to Salzburg literally is non-existant for a week or two, and so yesterday we took a bus instead. Despite years in this business, I’ve never done a bus tour, so it was weird…and nice. First of all, we had air conditioning, which is amazing for this country. Second, the bus driver was nice and it went very slick as far as the tour was concerned. Unforunately, to use the bus regularly, I’d need to find at least 30 people a day, and that’s just not possible. Also, groups of 30 in Salzburg really suck anyways, so I guess I’ll just be happy with the train-bus-bus-train method I normally use.
Today, on the other hand, I have to start the tour an hour late…which means after the walk around with me, they might only have about 2 hours in town…which I doubt is enough time, but I’m going to try skipping a couple of the lesser sights that they wouldn’t notice anyways, even if I do enjoy showing them normally.
*sigh* Anyways, doing the bus tour was fun. I better head over to Salzburg by train in like 5 min…
[Listening to: Let’s Go To The Moon – Teenage Bubblegums – Let’s Go Ghoulie-A Tribute To (2:19)]
As I mention on all my tours down to Neuschwanstein, there are three ways to get up there: walking, a horse and carriage, or the bus.
I highly recommend the bus and am very worried if at least 70% don’t head for the bus. Lately, it’s been more like 95%, which is how it really should be…and so I’ve been really happy because then the tourists are happy and not dying on me. In fact, I’ve taken the bus myself about 4 times in the last two months…particularly on the really hot days. Tomorrow it should be well over 80F and so I REALLY hope the same holds true tomorrow and nearly everyone…or…for my sake…everyone takes the bus.
Either way, I’ve got the Neuschwanstein tour for Saturday too…so I’ll probably end up walking it both times. Then again, I rubbed all four lion’s noses out in front of the Residenz today…so maybe…just maybe…
Anyways, planning for Paris needs to get done, so I’ll go back to that for now. I’ll have a Weihenstephan while I do that. Cheers.
[Listening to: Fun In The Dark – The Accelerators – Let’s Go Ghoulie-A Tribute To (1:32)]
I had a Neuschwanstein tour yesterday…and since we REALLY need the money right now as expenses are seriously stacking up, I decided I would go for it. I have been sick for about a week now…though it really didn’t hit til last wednesday. Anyways, so I had to give away my tours for friday and Saturday, which is a big blow to the income…and then after a 3-day break in the action, I thought I would be OK. I was wrong.
So, today I got up at the crack of noon. I love tour guiding on days when things go smoothly, which is most of the time. In fact, yesterday everything went very well and the customers had a great time, I just felt like I was going to die the entire time. I’ll take a mental note not to do that again.
[Listening to: You’ve Got A Friend – Me First And The Gimme Gimmes – Have Another Ball (2:35)]
If you’ve been on a recent tour of mine you probably didn’t notice it, but I’m damn tired lately. My good friend Flipper will be visiting very soon and so I’ve been trying to make the $$ while I can. For a tour guide, that means as many day trips as you can back-to-back. (salzburg, Neuschwanstein, salzburg, Neuschwanstein…) There have been some very enjoyable tours lately, though, so it’s been alright.
Also, remember, we’re trying to pay for a wedding, rings, the honeymoon, etc. …and so costs are high at the moment.
So far we have one confirmed person at our wedding (not counting my brother, my mom, and her mom). Could be small.
On Sunday the most famous tour guide in the world visited Munich…and Brendan invited me to be his tour guide. (well, we shared the duty, as Brendan is an expert on 3rd Reich and Jewish history, where as my focus has always been pre-world war)
Anyways, I grew up watching Rick Steves on TV on PBS and it was very exciting to see and meet him here in Munich. We spent a few hours walking around town going through his book making certain that everything was right and correcting any minor errors. (they were all minor)
I was very apprehensive about meeting him as although he seems very nice and pleasant on TV, I figured there was a 50% chance that he’d be the opposite off camera. I was wrong. He really is like he is on TV…and happy to accommodate the odd tourist who asks for an autograph or picture with him.
Keep buying those Rick Steves guide books, he really is a nice guy with enormous amounts of experience touring Europe.
Well, ok, technically, tours get cancelled randomly all year round. However, I haven’t had a tour canceled since January, so I was planning on going to Salzburg today. Only one person turned up, so that makes for a bit of an awkward situation. This gives me a bit of time to write for travel plan idea and relax, I guess. I also was able to talk to my insurance agent about possibly adding dental…sounds expensive to me, hmm.
For the record: tours go with 2 or more people, so it’s really impressive if they don’t go, please don’t assume if you’re alone that no tour will go, because it is quite rare.
Also: if anyone here in Germany is looking for an English speaking insurance agent that can save you money: www.spectruminternational.eu
Lately I’ve been doing a bunch of Neuschwanstein tours and as of April 15th, we’re back on the summer schedule, which means the tours are an extra hour longer…and we go to the bridge overlooking Neuschwanstein and have a bit more time for everything really. Well, if you have a small group and no one with any real problem walking, then you can fit a lot in. Today the group even made its way up to Hohenschangau for a better look at it, as well…which is pretty rare, I don’t think I’ve had time to bring a group up there since October. In fact, usually the groups don’t have much extra time at all and it’s pretty non-stop just doing the Alpsee, the castle, the bridge, and possibly the gorge.
Anyways, my legs aren’t used to walking all the way up to the bridge, let alone all the way back down and over to Schloss Hohenschangau. I’ll get back into shape soon I’m sure. Tomorrow I’m heading over to Salzburg, but the trains might give me a headache as they’re working on the tracks between here and there.
Petra’s still in China…so I’m lonely…working and eating…working and eating. Had a good group today, hope I have similar tomorrow.
Here’s a pic of a jewelry box of Petra’s…I just love the name…rather fitting:
As you all know, my main job is being a tour guide to Neuschwanstein, Munich, and Salzburg. The tour company that I work most of the time is Radius Tours.
As of this week, the new website for Radius Tours is online and you can now book the tours directly from our company online. Before, if you wanted to book ahead via the internet, you would have had to do it through another company which would take their own cut and be a bit of a hassle, to be honest. So yeah, if you’re visiting Munich and want great tours, have a look at the Radius Tours website, if you get lucky I’ll be your tour guide.
Alternatively, of course, you can always book a private tour with me and then there’s no luck involved.
Also, I’d like to note that this year there will be new tour options offered…check out the Radius website for more details, as I don’t have’em yet!
Today I have a half day off. Although this is Easter weekend I worked on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Unfortunately tourists don’t understand that we tour guides would like a day off too, ya know?
Oh well, tours have been going pretty normal lately. My last tour to Neuschwanstein I took my normal maximum limit which is 35 people. We’ve been having very questionable weather for the last couple of weeks, so considering the weather, everything is good. By questionable I mean just above freezing and raining, with a little snow mixed in randomly.
In the last week my numbers on this site have gone up quite a bit. They have gone up steadily over the past 6 months, but this last week was a new high. For the month, I expect to beat the numbers from January, which was the previous record. The top posts have been the top 5 lists and of course the upcoming events post. So I would expect more of that kind of thing from me here and there as I find time.
Here’s a picture of Neuschwanstein from March 22nd:
…and another from the same day:
Here’s the foosball table we always wanted in college:
Last Saturday (March 1st) started as a fairly normal day. I woke up, went to work (the main train station), and gathered my tour together in front of the Radius Tours office. At the office, tourists were being told by Jasmin (one of our wonderful office people) that there could be problems with the train and they should be aware that we can’t be held responsible if they don’t get back to Munich at a specific time, etc.
So, I lead my group of 22 people from the USA, Croatia, Hong Kong, and Brazil to the opposite side of the station to catch the train. The first bad sign was blinking on the screen at the start of the platform. It said there would be a 15min delay. Fifteen minutes is not a big deal and in fact, the train left Munich only five minutes late, so I easily shrugged that off and figured that would probably be the end of it.
I was wrong, very wrong.
After about 45 minutes on the train we stopped in a town called Aßling.
The conducter came on the intercom and said there would be a short delay. Five minutes later he came back on and said it would be a longer delay, but was unsure how long it would be, they were working on it. Twenty minutes later I called Petra to check out the website to see if it said anything. After a few more calls I talked to Gaby, my boss. She didn’t have any more information, but tried to come up with a way out of the situation. Finally, after it hailed, snowed, and melted…the conducter came through and said there would be buses to drive everyone on the train back to Munich, no trains were going either way on that length of track that day.
They sent two buses for an entire train. It was packed, standing room only, miserable, and the ride was around one hour. We got back to the Munich train station about 3pm…where we had started at 9:15 that morning. In that time I met some very nice people, but the fact that we never even got remotely CLOSE to Salzburg makes it definitely in my top 3 worst tours ever. I doubt I’ll ever forget this one.
So, here’s a pic from Salzburg on a day where we actually got there:
OK, so I got distracted a few days. My record of never losing a tourist on any tour was ruined yesterday by 4 Russians. They came back to the office today very apologetically and rented bikes…they clearly knew it was their fault…and took responsibility, but it still hurts, as there goes my record *sniffle* They said they did enjoy the tour and had a good time, though.
Anyways, here are some of the events that I’m looking forward to this summer in Munich and you might want to consider if you plan on visiting Munich:
April 11th – 27th, Frühlingsfest (spring festival): The spring festival is located at the Theresienwiese (oktoberfest grounds) and is just a 10 minute walk from the main train station here in Munich. The festival itself is tiny in comparison to the Oktoberfest, but it has a couple decent size tents and can certainly be a good time. Lots of kids go to this one…
April 26 – May 4th, The May Dult: The may dult is a big flea market held at Mariahilfplatz, a short tram, U-bahn, or bus ride from downtown. Flea markets here aren’t really my thing, but if you happen to be in town while this is going on, it could be interesting to check out, and there are lots of food stands so you can eat with the locals. Not a lot of tourists make it to the May Dult, since it’s not downtown.
June 6th “Typically Munich” – Starting June 6th, the city museum of Munich has a special exhibit about all things they deem typical of Munich. I love the city museum anyways and highly recommend it to anyone visiting, but I’m looking forward to this exhibit which hopefully gives more information about the culture of this area to the casual visitor too lazy to take a tour. If you want a tour explaining the culture of the area, I recommend >this tour.
June 14th and 15th, The Town Foundation Festival – This should be a lot of fun. Every year the city throws a party celebrating the relatively new town’s age, but this year is 850 years, so it’ll be quite the party, all over the old town area of Munich.
June 14th, The re-opening of the Cuvillies theater – Munich’s oldest existing opera house has been closed for several years, but starting June 14th, we can see it in all its glory again. It will open with a performance of Mozart’s “Idomeneo” which, fittingly, originally premiered at the Cuvillies theater.
June 19th – July 13th, The Summer Tollwood Festival – The summer tollwood festival takes place at the southern edge of the Olympic Park. It’s part high-end flea market (think new-age trinkets) and part music venue. There are bands playing every night so I won’t list them here unless I find time another day. It’s nice, but I skipped it last year if that says anything. I’ll be going this year, however, to show friends…because it is worth seeing if you’re staying in Munich for a week or two, just not if you only have a couple days. There’s lots of food stalls and out door eating areas, good food and beer.
July 12th, Opera For All – The concept of Opera for all is to have a free opera performance to attract a larger audience and for the casual fan that might enjoy an opera, but finds the prices a bit steep. Previous years they have held the Opera For All perfomance right at Max Joseph platz, however, this year it will be at Marstall platz, which is just behind the Residenz. It is free and the performances will be the symphony No 1, in D minor, D 944 by Charles Ives and the Symphony No 9, in C major, D 944 “The Great” by Franz Schubert.
July 19th and 20th, The Old Town Ring Road Festival – a big party on the streets that surround the old town? yes please. This is also celebrating Munich’s 850 year history in another big party on the streets, should be fun.
August 1st-3rd, The Isar Bridges Festival – The founding of Munich was really when they built a bridge back in 1158, so for August of 2008, they neeed another big party, this time along the river. A big party to celebrate Munich every month of the summer is sounding nice.
Apparently the scots were out in full force at Marienplatz last week, here’s a bunch of Aberdeen fans with Munich’s riot police:
Tours are going alright lately, though I think I’m freezing. I shouldn’t be complaining as the alternative, Minnesota, is much worse.
However, after a few hours walking outside, it is a tad bit chilly. Yesterday I had a Salzburg tour with all Americans, which is odd. Even more odd is nearly all of them were from Los Angeles, although a couple were from South Carolina…and they even added me to their myspace.Speaking of myspace, I added a new spiffy banner thing to my myspace for this site…I think it’s looking good.
Anyways, the couple from South Carolina are visiting a friend who works for BMW (fairly common actually), so they took the opportunity to see a bit of Europe. This was their first trip to Europe, so I hope they enjoyed themselves, I think they liked it…but they wanted to go home after 10 days over here, which I don’t understand, haha.
Today I nearly froze to death, but it was a nice walk around town with a Chinese couple…including a beer at the HofBrauhaus half way through the tour, which always helps.
I know, I know…what’s with me dragging you to all the churches, right?
Well, for centuries the money for art and architecture flowed either to/from the Royalty or to/from the Church.
I think it’s time to cover a few of the churches that I think are the most impressive and worth seeing in the city of Munich (I’ll include the burbs too).
Here’s my top 5 churches to see while you’re in Munich:
1. The Asam Church (Asamkirche)
If you like Rococo, you’ll like this church, my personal favorite…although not on the route of most tours of the city.
2. Fürstenfeld Abbey
This one is visited by very few tourists a year in comparison to all the others on the list, mostly because it’s out in the burbs and not downtown Munich. However, it’s a beautiful church and well worth seeing.
3. St. Michael’s
Similar to one of my favorites in Rome, Il Gesu. Some just visit St. Michael’s for the crypt alone, but this church can be one of the highlights of a trip to Munich.
4. St. Peter’s
I feel guilty about not ranking this one higher, purely because of its importance to the city of Munich. This is my 2nd stop on all city tours for a reason!
5. Theatinerkirche
You might know it as “the yellow church in Munich” from other travelers, the crypt (only open in the summer) includes the first king of Greece, who was Bavarian…the brother of King Ludwig I.
…and as always, if you want the full story on these churches, take a tour or contact me directly…I find if I write too much on here about any specific church, I lose people’s interest.
As you can see these churches are all in the renaissance, baroque, or rococo styles. If you want to see Gothic or Romanesque: Munich is probably not the place to visit.
