September 4 Tour
We are going on this tour and will be arriving a day early. Anyone have a suggestion on what to do during our spare time? Was wondering what the segway tour was all about?
Bruce & Shirley
Jacksonville, FL
Bruce & Shirley
Jacksonville, FL
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We leave for this tour in four weeks (actually, it is 33 days, 2 hours, 19 min, and 36 sec. but who's counting?
I am sure we will see some (many?) of the same sites as the walking tour with Tauck-arranged guide on the morning of day two (before free time and an early afternoon departure). But, we have always wanted to try a Segway and also think we will hear a slightly different take (on more of?) Munich's sites. Other than that, in another thread on this forum, folks have mentioned about visiting the Bayerische museum, and a Hofbräuhaus (beer hall), the glockenspiel at Marienplatz, window shopping at the high-end retailers near the hotel, etc. etc. Munich has good subway and surface transportation.
I'll try to remember to write about it here when we get back later in June.
AlanS, thank you for answering bteerlin's question, and I hope you both have a great time on your trip!
-Tim
My husband and I will also be on the September 4th tour. Please post if you find out anything of interest. We too will be arriving a day early and are always looking for fun things to do. Excited to meet you and the rest of the group!
Tracie & jon
We returned from this tour 3 weeks ago. It is a really great tour. As far as things to do pre-tour if you arrive a day or two early-
1. Go to BMW HQ and museum. One of our group who went said they have a great display of BMW's through the years including some really fantastic futuristic concept cars.
2. Depending on how you feel about it (it can be moving, but also depressing), you can get transportation to the Dachau concentration camp site and memorial which is just outside Munich in the town of Dachau.
3. We took a Segway tour with City Segway Tours of Munich (link above in my earlier post)- it was superb! The tours are intended for English speakers- our guide was a very funny Brit and I know there is at least one American guide. Our group was made up of Americans and Brits. They start with a short training session at the gentlemanly hour of 10:00- the Segway takes about two minutes to learn, a few more minutes to get good, and in 5 minutes you are a pro. Groups are limited to a guide and 8 riders. My wife and I (63 & 65) were the oldest in our group. We are not especially athletic, but our newly learned Segway riding skills easily matched everyone in our group and were far better than one 14 year old boy and at least one other!
The Segway itself is not the focus of the nearly 4 hour tour, but is a REALLY FUN, quick, and easy way to get around town. We stopped often so that our guide could tell us about historical and cultural sites along the way, including some associated with the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party (which, by the way, started in Munich and had meetings in the building now occupied by the Four Seasons!) We rode mainly in the wide bike lanes which are everywhere in Munich on its wide sidewalks. Occasionally we traveled on streets as well without any problems. We only briefly crossed paths (at the Munich Parliament) with the route taken by the Tauck walking tour scheduled for the morning following the welcome dinner. (Speaking of the Tauck walking tour, if you have a choice of the two local guides- pick the man with the small rolling suitcase- he is a teacher, a real hoot, and his suitcase is filled with photos and props!)
The Segway has a small pouch which can hold a woman's wallet, camera, water bottle (highly recommended), and a rain parka, but not much else. There is a brief mid-tour stop at a small outdoor cafe at the edge of the English Garden near where the city surfers surf (you read that right!) where you can get something to drink and a quick snack. The pasta bowl looks good and was a favorite of the locals, but you don't stop long so don't dawdle if you decide to get one. If you are interested, be sure you get a spot by making reservations today! They have a liberal cancellation policy. You can easily walk (15 - 20 min.) or take the tram to the Segway office from the Four Seasons. I know I sound like a salesman, but both my wife and I can't say enough about this experience. We would both do it again in a heart beat and have already looked for availability in other cities on other tours!
Look, Ma, no hands! Yes, it is that easy to ride a Segway! - no circus performers or professional riders in this group! (that is me with a small GoPro video camera strapped to the top of my helmet).
Last recommendation- after the tour, don't hang around in the kitchen or gift shop at Neuschwanstein- if you leave right away and take the path in front of the castle to Mary's Bridge (MarieBrucke) you can take a money shot of the castle and be back in time to rejoin your group for the horse-drawn carriage ride back down the hill. It was a strenuous (for me) 15 min. hike, but well worth it! (I took this photo!)
Thanks so much for that priceless info…My other question is about attire. I know we will need basics like rain gear and something on the dressier side to wear for the welcome dinner but what did people tend to wear during the day? Do you need to dress up at night for dinners? Any other info you can share would be much appreciated!
Tracie
It really is casual.
Just because I brought it, I wore a blazer at the welcome dinner- for about 2 minutes! That was the last time including the farewell dinner, it left my suitcase! For some meals, at least initially until he/she has a sense how everyone dresses, your Tauck guide will likely recommend you dress "smart casual"- I'm not really sure what that means, but I think they say it so that no-one shows up at a nice restaurant wearing beat-up, frayed, or torn jeans and a faded, sleeveless Grateful Dead T-shirt- got the picture? For men that usually meant nice jeans or khaki slacks and a golf or other shirt with a collar. Most of the women wore dark or khaki slacks and a top, or an open shirt layered over a T-shirt or lighter shirt for more formal dinners. One or two more fashionable ladies might have worn a blazer on one or two occasions. Really, just casual and comfortable attire for the whole trip. There are no formal palace dinners with opera singers and string quartets to dress up for. You certainly don't need to wear anything nice under the coveralls you'll be wearing to the buffet dinner in the salt mine- that was a fun experience by the way. After dinner everyone took multiple trips down the wood slides.
I usually wore my bus traveling clothes to breakfast and of course lunch. A few, younger, more athletic members would come to breakfast, still in their running attire. During the day, men wore jeans or shorts and the same type of shirt mentioned. The ladies wore, shorts, capris, jeans, or slacks, again, whatever was comfortable. H e i d i, our Tauck guide, usually dressed a tad better than the group, and while she didn't have blond braids, she did wear a dirndl dress the fist day and on a few occasions after that. I wore the convertible pants I purchased for our Safari next year. They worked out well- if it was cool in the morning I started with long pants, would un-zip and remove the lower leg as it warmed, and put them back on if we were headed to altitude like up to the Zugsptize. They are very casual! I carried a very lightweight, stowable rain coat in my camera bag/man purse, though would often leave it on the bus on days where there was little chance of rain. My wife and I both wore jacket vests up to the Zugspite. Unlike our England, Scotland, Wales trip I didn't take any sweaters (which I never wore on that trip!).
AlanS - Thank you for all the great advise. I think we will try to take the segway tour on the morning of Sept 4. Can you advise where to make reservations at?
Tracie & Jon - Looking forward to meeting you on the tour.
Bruce & Shirley
I'm sure you will have a blast.
You can make reservations online at their website- see the links in my previous posts.
Thank you SO much for taking the time to post that. I was getting a little nervous when we were told we can only have one suitcase for two weeks. I think now I have a better visual of what I will need and what can be left at home (likely my husband's blazer!). If you think on anything else please post away. Bruce & Shirley we may see you on that tour
Thanks again!
Tracie
Tracie, remember, that is one suitcase each. We also carried one change of clothes in my wife's small carry-on in case the luggage got lost for a day or two. If you think you might run out of clothes- it was a tad warm in Munich and one or two other days, so I went through shirts faster than I expected- do some "sink laundry" the first night of a two night stay like I did.
If you are a tad paranoid you might think others are saying to themselves, "Didn't she wear that outfit two days ago?" Trust me, there are too many other things to look at and think about on this tour- no one is going to be tracking what clothes you have worn!!
Also, I don't know if you have ever heard the term "Marine Corps shower," but it is a liberal application of underarm deodorant instead of showering. Well here is a similar technique for shirts- when in a pinch when you need to get one more night from a shirt- spray a little Fabreze (Fabreze to Go travel size spray bottle) on the shirt in the underarm area! Works great, but how would I know that?
Well I'm too heavy for the segway tour so Shirley and I are thinking of doing an eBike tour. They have tours for 1-6 people for 285 euros. That would be the same price as the segway. What do you theink. Maybe we can find two more from the tour to join us and make it even cheaper. They have two different tours. Checkout this link.
http://www.ebikemunich.com/our-private-tours.html
Bruce & Shirley
I was also wondering if anyone has had experience traveling to these altitudes. They look quite high although I have never heard mention of altitude sickness (but then again that is likely not a highlight in a brochure). Is this something that anyone knows anything about?
Thanks!
Unfortunately on the day we visited, our heads were literally "in the clouds."
Bruce & Shirley - Looked into the bikes and they sound like a lot of fun. We would prefer getting a second couple since the tour would be a bit on the pricey side with just the 4 of us. Maybe you could email me at Tfurgi@aol.com to talk about it further?
I have a few more questions which I hate to take up space on the board with. Would you mind emailing me if you should have time? Tfurgi@aol.com
I would so appreciate it! Thanks!