What's New: An Online Update for Frommer's Munich & the Bavarian Alps

Families with children are discovering Hotel Garni Kriemhild, Guntherstrasse 16, D-80639 Munich (tel. 089-17117-0; fax 089/17117-55; www.kriemhild.de/en/index/htm), in the leafy western suburb of Nymphenburg near parks and gardens. You can even stroll over to Schloss Nymphenburg, one of Munich's greatest attractions, in about 10 minutes. This is a small government-rated three-star breakfast-only hotel. A lavish breakfast buffet is served every morning. In fair weather, coffee and tea are offered on the terrace. Bedrooms are cozy and midsize, designed in a modern, functional yet comfortable design. Many of the rooms are suitable for housing 3 or 4 beds. All accommodations have private bathrooms with shower, and such extras as dataport, direct-line phones, and minibars. When reserving, ask about weekend specials. Tram 16 or 17 from the center goes here.

New restaurants are always popping up in Munich, or established ones are being given new menus and are being discovered by the city's serious foodies. Among the latest happenings Buxs, Frauenstrasse 9 (tel. 089/291-9195), is one of Munich's more affordable restaurants, lying near Viktualienmarkt, the city's main market. This is a well-run, self-service vegetarian establishment. Its array of freshly made salads is among the best in town. Juices, often from exotic fruits, are freshly squeezed, and the desserts represent German pastry chefs at their best.

In another development, a former dairy shop has been converted into Due passi, Ledererstrass 11 (tel. 089/224-271), an Italian specialty outpost. While you're sightseeing or shopping in the area, you can drop in for a stand-up lunch or snack Monday to Friday only. If you'd like to go on a picnic, you can secure the markings here. Their freshly made antipasti is among the tastiest in town.

Another establishment appealing to Italian tastebuds is Monaco, Reichenbachstrasse 10 (tel. 089/268-141), which features freshly made daily specials based on market-fresh ingredients.

Everybody, it seems heads for the Hofbräuhaus, the most famous beer hall in the world. But more and more visitors are discovering Orlandohaus, Platzl 4 (tel. 089/2423-8030), standing right next door. This is the restored home for composer Orlando di Lasso (1532-94). A beer cellar in its own right, it is known for its all-you-can-eat buffets, among the best in town. It's also a great place for a Sunday brunch.

For a hearty Bavarian breakfast, more and more visitors are following Munich students to the trendy News Bar, Amalienstrasse 55 (tel. 089/281787), at the corner of Schellingstrasse. A wide range of breakfasts is available, costing from 3€-9€ ($3.90-$11.70). Of course, you can visit for light meals and snacks daily from 7:30am to 2am.

The best and most amusing bike tours of Munich are offered by a new company, Rad City Bike Tours (tel. 172/168-9333; www.radcitybiketours.com). English speaking guides are knowledgeable and humorous as they explore Munich on wheels with you, keeping you entertained as they do so. The tour ends with a visit to a private beer Biergarten. Bike tours run about 4 hours and cost 19€ ($24.70) per person. A special tour also goes to the Dachau Holocaust Memorial, costing 12€ ($15.60), including motorized transportation. However, a bike tour combined with a visit to Dachau goes for 27€ ($35.10).

Munich continues to live up to its reputation as a center of beer-drinking revelry at night. (Actually some Bavarians begin sampling their favorite brew at 6am.) However, many of the newer bars have taken on more of an international them than the typical Bavarian Biergarten. Chief among them is Günther Murphy's, Nikolaistrasse 9A, which serves both Irish and American food. A mug of Guinness goes for 4.40€ ($5.70). In addition, Sausalitos, Im Tal 16, near Marienplatz, goes South of the Border, attracting mostly a crowd in their 20s. Its happy hour with reduced drink price, including large margaritas, is from 5 to 8pm.

On the underground scene, Backstage, Wilhelm-Hale-Strass 16 (tel. 089/1266100), is one of the hottest new addresses. There are several areas for dancing or beer drinking. Indie rock is just one type of music heard. On most nights the club stays open until 3 or 5 o'clock in the morning, depending on the crowds. A former power plant has been turned into Muffathalle, Zellstrasse 4 (tel. 089/45875990). Instead of its industrial role, it now vibrates to hip-hop, jazz, techno, and other music, and it also has a summer Biergarten. The crowd ranges from 18 to the shady side of 30.

Nearby Obersalzberg

Scheduled to open by the summer of 2005, the InterContinental Resort Berchtesgaden is being constructed on the site of Field Marshal Herman Göring's rural retreat in the Bavarian Alps. It is being built just over a rise from Berghofm, the manse where Hitler vacationed with his mistress, Eva Braun. Where the Nazi hierarchy once romped with their German shepherds, mountain vacationers today will be able to swim, play golf, or go hiking in the hills. The hotel will also contain a deluxe spa.

The propriety of building such a luxurious retreat has inflamed passions throughout parts of the world, and even been denounced by the Green Part of Bavaria. Actually, the retreat of Obersalzberg was a holiday resort in the 19th century before the Nazis turned into their own playground.

Just so the Nazi past will not be completely obliterated, the State of Bavaria has opened the Obersalzberg Documentation Center, a museum displaying atrocities and the horrors of Nazism on exhibits spread over three floors of a modern building.

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