MUNICH’S AIRPORT - FLUGHAFEN MÜNCHEN
Modern Europe Flight Stop-Over - A Destination All Its Own
In
today’s world of hectic
air travel, traveling through hub airports “hubports” with
connecting flights and layovers, questions of air passengers constantly
arise: “what do I do on a 10 hour layover” “can I leave
my luggage” “can I get into the city and what is there to
do in…”? These questions are being answered
at some airports around the world with on-site and neighborhood activity
solutions. One of the first Europe entry
ports
to focus
on the airport as a stop-over destination
is Munich’s International Airport (Flughafen München).
Europe’s 7th largest airport and the 30th busiest in the world,
Munich’s Flughafen has been named the Best Airport in Europe three
years in a row by the Skytrax passenger survey.
The
airport north of the Bavarian capital replaced the old airport to the
southeast in 1992. While the
old airport
grounds have been transformed
into the Munich Convention Center Complex (Messe) the new airport has
become one of the fastest growing hubs on the continent. While Frankfurt
had been the top German connecting destination, Munich has been
growing in popularity as a European entry point and connecting hub for
Europe’s airlines, especially Lufthansa and its Star Partners,
seeing a growth in connections to the east European destinations of the
new EU member countries (Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia,
Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia , Slovenia, Bulgaria and Romania).
What to Do On a Layover at Munich Airport
The
question of what to do with all these connections and layovers has
been answered at Munich by an
innovative
offering of shopping, leisure
services and activities that make a stop-over in Munich a destination
all its own. The Munich Airport takes pride in its efficiency having
minimum connection times of 30 minutes, laid out in two long parallel
main terminals 1 and 2. Terminal 1 has the usual airport duty free shops
and a lower public area with shops and bistros. Terminal 2 (Lufthansa)
has a virtual shopping mall with a whole collection of upscale brand
and local German stores and restaurants. Plan a trip at the on-site travel
bureau, get a breath of oxygen and vitamin treatment at the Vitamin Counter,
cosmetics and pharmacy, optician and a barber. The Munich Airport has
a medical center open to the public where you can even get a Botox treatment
on your way to that spa vacation or business meeting. Munich’s
Airport is the only one in the world to have its own brewery, serving
the signature Airbrau beer and German dishes. A massage, sauna and exercise
workout can be had at the Kempinski Spa and Health Club at the Kempinski
Hotel next to the terminal. Entrance is €15-€22 depending on
day or evening. Massages are extra, but the “Hot Chocolate Massage” sounds
rather enticing. You can get a quick massage between flights at Terminal
2 Gate 13 for €1 per minute. For
a view of the arriving planes a glass enclosed “Skywalk” leads
to the Visitor’s Terrace at Terminal 2 for airport operations view.
A three minute shuttle bus or train to the Visitor’s Park allows
an even broader vantage from a special man-made mountaintop viewing platform,
or a chance to look at and in a few historic airplanes on display like
a Fokker Tri-Motor and DC3 or a playground park for the kids.
Freising and Schleissheim Palaces
With
more than 3 hours for a stop-over at Munich airport, the nearest town
to visit is Freising,
one of northern
Bavaria’s oldest towns
with a lovely historic section for wandering. The retired Pope Benedict
XVI is associated with Freising, where he taught at the ancient University
of Theology, and the Domberg Cathedral of St. Maria and St. Corbinian
houses the largest collection of religious art in Germany, the Diozesan
Museum. Close by to Freising are the three Royal Bavarian Palaces of
Oberschliessheim,
The Old Palace, New
Palace and
Lustheim Palace in the Hofgarten Park (see Schleissheim
Palaces).
All three can be visited for €8. Freising is also home to one
of the oldest breweries in Germany, now called the Bavarian State Brewery
Weihenstephen, established in 725 A.D. The on-site brauhaus has a summer
beer garden and a view of the Freising old town.
The Flugwerft Schleissheim Air Museum hangar, one of the oldest aerodromes in Germany is within walking distance of the schlosses. Now an outlying air museum connected to the Munich Deutsches Museum with a collection of 60 historic aircraft and helicopters on display and a view of the restoration work rooms (see Flugwerft Schleissheim Aircraft Museum). The rail trip to Freising is about 15 minutes. There is a bus 635 or take the S1 train to Obersschliessheim. A taxi is about €20.
Over 5 hours
With over 5 hours to kill, you can head to Munich for a look around the Kaufingerstrasse, watch the Glockenspiel at the NeusRathaus at Marienplatz and try some wurst at the Viktualianmarkt (see Walking Tour Around Munich). To get to the center of Munich the S8 and S1 trains go to the Main Train Station (Hauptbahnhof) or the East Station (Ost Bahnhof) and take about 45 minutes with 20 minutes between trains. Lufthansa operates a shuttle bus available to passengers from any airline from Terminal 1 and 2 to the Hauptbahnhof with one stop in Schwabing, north Munich. It also runs every 20 minutes from 5:10am to 9:40pm and takes around 35 minutes, a little longer at rush hours, subject to traffic, €12.00. For overnight stops, if you can't afford the Kempinski at the airport, hotels can be found in Freising or many around the Munich main train station.
Visits to any sites outside the airport will require documents through passport check. Luggage can be left at the central Service Center of either terminal. © Bargain Travel Europe
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These articles are copyrighted and the sole property of Bargain Travel Europe and WLPV, LLC. and may not be copied or reprinted without permission. Photos courtesy Munich Tourism.
See Also:
NEW "BER" BERLIN-BRANDENBERG AIRPORT
MUNICH
SIGHTSEEING TOURS
STUTTGART
MUSEUMS
SINSHEIM AUTO & TECHNIK MUSEUM
