Well, we are half-way into our six month Munich experience, and since neither of us is ready to go home, guess that is a good thing! We have been here long enough to develop some favorites - favorite shops and restaurants in our neighborhood, so we thought we would share some of those with you. Hopefully, it will give you an idea of what the Maxvorstadt area of Munich looks like and little glimpse into our daily lives.
Maxvorstadt is about one mile north of the city center, often called the Museum/University district since it is the home of Ludwig Maximillian University, and is considered a pretty trendy and artistic area. It is also home to many Art Museums such as the Alte Pinakothek and Neue Pinakothek.
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This is the block we live on. The entrance to our courtyard
is about half way down the block on the left. |
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| Gary at the street entrance to our courtyard |
Groceries
Our favorite local grocery store is Tenglemann's, and there are actually three within a block radius of our apartment. Each is small as are most all shops in the downtown area and each carries a slightly different selection. We each have a favorite Tengelmann's! Denise's favorite store is a slightly larger one with a better selection of products, but a long way from the Fred Meyer selection that we are used to. They carry food items, but if you are looking for cleaning products, contact lens solution, lotions etc. you really have to go somewhere else.
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Gary's Favorite Tengelmann. Ground floor
with Apartments Above |
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| Denise's favorite because it is larger and has a better selection. |
Gary's favorite has a young cashier, Frau Thomas, whom we met on our first day in Munich and who has helped us find many items. Initially she helped Gary find ground coffee rather than beans. She is German, but has grandparents in the States, and we think we remind her of them. She speaks English like a native American. She and Gary have definitely bonded! Sad to say she has returned to University as a Civil Engineering student. Tenglemann's has a nice selection of beers and bottled water. They also have a machine in the store for returning the empties to get back your pfand or deposit.
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| Beer selection at Tengelmann's |
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| Automated deposit return machine |
Fish and Seafood
There are two fish and seafood stores we use. Nordsee is a chain with many locations with a good selection of fish, seafood, sandwiches and prepared fish dishes. The fishmonger in a small shop in the Elizabethplatz market has a smaller selection of products, but we often go to get Forelle (Trout). We like it because they catch the fish from a tank, knock them on the head, and then clean them. You can't get fresher than that! Both have very good fish that are always fresh.
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| This is actually a chain, but they have very good fish. |
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| Smaller Fishmonger in Elizabethplatz Market |
Bakeries
There are literally one or more bakeries in every block, but our favorite is Discount Bakery - not because it is really discount, but because it has a huge selection - and it is self-service, which means you don't have to point and try to make the clerk know what you are asking for! They have every kind of dinner rolls and bread loafs as well as a nice selection of breakfast rolls and desserts.
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| Our favorite bakery and only half a block away. |
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The shelves are a little empty since this was taken late
in the day. |
Fruits and Vegetables
We have a favorite produce store (more hole in the wall) where every other day or so we stop and get fruits and vegetables. They are always fresh and very ripe and nothing is refrigerated. Each product is labeled as to what it is and where it came from. As the season progressed, the fruits came first from Italy and Greece and some from Turkey, and later from France and the Bodensee region of Germany. It has been far easier to get ripe tasty tomatoes, cherries and strawberries than at the local market in Battle Ground or Tengelmann's, for that matter. Early in the season, the tomatoes came from the Netherlands, much the same as we get tomatoes at certain times of the year from British Columbia. They also carry eggs that are unrefrigerated and 28 cents apiece. They usually have a very yellow-orange yolk that is very tasty. The young clerk now recognizes us and makes the experience more personable.
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| Produce Store |
Drugstore
Rossmann is what we would call a drugstore, but without the drugs - either over-the-counter or prescription. They have cleaning products, lotions and shampoo, cosmetics and paper products like paper towels and toilet paper. However, there are no Costco sized packages. For drugs you need to go to an Apotheke, and fortunately, we don't have a favorite Apotheke because we have not needed to purchase any - thank goodness!
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| Rossmann Drug Store |
Recycling
We can recycle paper at our our apartment, but we take plastics, cans, and glass to the recycling center which is about four blocks away. Similar centers are located all over the city, and no one is too far away to conveniently cycle. We are able to recylce much more in the way of plastics than in Battle Ground - styrofoam, plastic shopping bags, bubble pack, plastic-coated paper, lids, really almost anything plastic.
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| Doing our civic and environmental duty! |
Flowers
Man does not live by bread alone, so Denise frequently buys flowers. Flower shops and stands are everywhere, but the one we use is close to the Underground and convenient. The owner doesn't speak English, put pointing and Denise's very limited German work well. Through sign language Denise learned that flower preservative is called "Blumen Frisch".
Book Store
We are very lucky to live only four blocks away from the largest used English book store in Germany. The owner is very nice, knowledgeable about his stock, and he has a great selection. It is also easy to return one of his books for credit and keep on reading. He makes two trips a year to the States to purchase books and ships them back to Germany, as well as buying English books from the locals.
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| The Readery |
Restaurants
When we first started our Blog, we stated that we could eat out ever night for six months and not hit all the restaurants. We find that we are actually eating out between two and three times a week, usually two dinners and a takeout. We have made an effort to try as many as our waistlines will allow, and we have found several that we like. Of course, the search will continue for the next three months.
Around the corner is
Willi's Flammkuchen take-away that we like. It is like pizza, although no tomato sauce. It consists of a thin dough layer (almost cracker-like) spread wiith a cream sauce and topped with goat cheese, meats and seasonings, then baked in a pizza oven. Sounds like pizza, however it is much different and tasty.
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| Willi's Flammkuchen |
For a German restaurant, we like
Georgenhof. It has inside and outside seating for maybe 50-100 customers and serves traditional German food. Their Schnitzel, fish dishes, and spätzle are particularly good. Nice place to eat on a warm day if you can find a seat outside under the giant chestnut trees.
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| Georgenhof at the corner of Turkenstrasse and Georgenstrasse |
Alter Simpl is a brewpub style restaurant that is around the corner from us. We like it for their burgers - yes burgers! We find that after eating non-American foods, a burger is very satisfying. Many places have burgers, but most should be passed on. At Alter the burgers are very American like with Pomm Frites on the side. It is also a popular restaurant with the college crowd.
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| Alter Simpl on Turkenstrasse |
Our favorite Asian restaurant is
Nam Nam. They specialize in Thai food that is very good, nicely presented, and with resonable prices. An added benefit is that there is lots of outside seating on the sidewalk.
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| Nam Nam on Thereisenstrasse |
Ice cream shops are everywhere and the price, selection and quality are about the same in all that we have tried. Denise's favorite flavor is the Aprikose, while Gary can't decide between Panna Cotta and Straccatella. All are very creamy and flavorful. Our favorite is
too conveniently located directly across the street. The proprietor recognizes us, and we have learned to say "Eine Kugel Aprikose im Waffel or Zwei Kugeln Panna Cotta im Bescher. That is a scoop in a cone or two scoops in a cup.
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| Ice Cream on Schellingstrasse |
So, that sums up our current favorites, and we look forward to having three months left to enjoy more. We'll keep you posted!
