One of the things that makes Munich so popular is its proximity to the lakes, in German a lake is called a ‘See’.
Starnberger and Tegernsee
The Starnberger See and Tegernsee are to the south and are natural glacial lakes. There are other small ones around like the Steinsee too. Both Starnberger and Tegernsee have bathing areas for the public usually signposted with ‘Erholungsgebiet’ which translates roughly as recovery / relaxation area.
Feringasee
Feringasee
To the north just below the most northern tip of the A99, the ring motorway surrounding Munich is the Feringasee. This is a man made lake designed for bathing, so it has lots of lakeside sunbathing space, is shallow and it also has a pub (Gasthof) on its banks. In the Summer it warms up quickly and in the winter it freezes over quickly making it a good choice to go ice skating of curling. It also has plenty of parking space, plus good access for wheelchairs.
The Spielzeugmuseum contains a huge collection of European and American toys worldwide, with dolls, doll houses, trains, aeroplanes, bears, animals and so on.
The display covers four floors of the tower filled with pre gameboy era toys.
The largest museum of technology and natural sciences in the world, with over 13 acres of exhibitions containing invaluable original machines and equipment, models and reconstructions, from classical mechanics to telecommunications, from a full-size reconstructed coal mine to space travel technology.
If you like anything technical in any way, this is the place to head for. You could spend a week in there easily. Great place for children, too!
Deutsches Museum
Permanent exhibitions:
Aerospace
Agriculture
Altamira-Cave
Amateur Radio
Astronautics
Astronomy
Bridge Building
Carriages and Bicycles
Center for New Technologies
Ceramics
Chemistry
Chronometry
Computers
Electrical Power
Energy Technology
Environment
Geodesy
Glass
Hall of Fame
History Deutsches Museum
Hydraulic engineering
Kid’s Kingdom
Machine Components
Machine Tools
Marine Navigation
Masterpieces
Mathematical Gallery
Mining
Metallurgy
Microelectronics
Mineral Oil and Natural Gas
Motor Vehicles
Music
Paper
Pharmaceutics
Physics
Power Machinery
Printing
Railways
Scientific Instruments
Technical Toys
Telecommunications
Textile Technology
Tunnel Construction
Weights and Measures
Hellabrunn Zoo is awesome and a great way to spend the day, it’s also really good value when you consider that you can spend the whole day there. It’s even good on bad weather days thanks to the enclosed areas such as the botanical jungle bubble, aquarium and other indoor areas.
Petting Goats at Zoo Hellabrunn
I go there at least twice a year with my family and it’s pretty much our place to go with the kids on their birthdays. The last time I went I experienced the birds of prey show for the first time which was brilliant, worth seeing.
It is situated on the plains of the river Isar, was established as the world’s first “geo-zoo” in 1928. The natural designed enclosures are the perfect setting for breeding endangered species. Hellabrunn offers its visitores charming views of the animals, similar to animal watching in the wild, unimpeded by fences or bars.
Munich Zoo has several shows where you can watch the animals being fed, or you can ride a horse or camel:
• Elephant Show
• Camel Ride
• Seal Show
• Hawks Show
There are 371 different species with altogether 4000 animals in Munich’s Tierpark Hellabrunn.
Inside the Jungle Tent at Munich Zoo
This is a view from inside the Jungle dome. Unlike the eco-domes in Cornwall in southern England, this one is teaming with life. It has a variety of birds, iguanas, fish and insects.This is a favourite of mine at the Zoo and the children are kept busy looking for animals, also it’s a great place to warm up on cold days at the Zoo.
Address
Tierparkstr. 30 81543 München
Tel 0049 (0) 89/625080
Opening Times
April – Sept. 8:00 am – 6:00 pm
Oct. – March 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Admission Prices
Adults € 12,–
Children between 4 and 14 years
(free for children up to 4 years of age) € 5,-
Schoolchildren older than 15 years of age € 8,50
Wildpark Poing is a great tip if you have children and need a day out. Wildpark Poing was founded in 1959 and lies just outside Munich.
At 570.000 square metres in size, it is home to many wild animals that once were common in the German landscape, wolves, elk, deer and more. The deer and red squirrels will feed out of your hand and there are animal stroking areas, and play areas for the children.
