Ryan and I decided we weren’t going to be doing Christmas presents last year so I was very surprised on Christmas Day when I opened a large box containing two tickets to see Chris Brown! An actual life long dream (well, a dream since 2008). I then realised that the concert was in Germany. My first response was, “Amazing… what about Arlo” and we thought we had enough time to figure it out. Roll on March and, not only did Arlo come with us to Munich, we also flew out Ryan’s Mum and Grandma to meet us! It’s times like this when we realise the difficulties of living abroad and living away from our families. We can’t just pop away for a long weekend now that we have a baby. So, we thought it would be a great idea for them to meet us in Munich, as it’s only a short 2 hour flight from London. That way, they would get to spend a lovely weekend with us and Arlo, and we would have trusted babysitters for the night of the gig – win win!
Traveling light with an 11 month old is almost impossible, but we were adamant that for two nights we didn’t need to check in a case. So poor Ryan basically had one outfit for the whole weekend to save space for me and Arlo in the hand luggage case! Now that Arlo is eating three solid meals a day, I took eight of my trusted Ella’s Kitchen pouches as a back up and also measured three small pots of 30g porridge for Arlo to have for breakfasts so I knew we would be covered in case we weren’t able to order anything suitable whilst we were there.
We arranged our airport transfers via Booking.com as it was significantly cheaper than many other taxi quotes we received. We could also amend our booking to include an infant car seat which was very efficient.
Day One
We had an early start as we left home at 5am, arrived at the airport for 5.30am and were in the Emirates Lounge by 6am. Our flight departed Dubai at 8am. We were traveling with our friends Emily & James from Dubai and it was a huge help having those extra pairs of hands for the flight. Upon check in, the staff were extremely helpful and moved us so we were sat in a row of four with extra leg room. We blocked off either end of the row and let Arlo sit / walk / crawl on the floor for the most part of the flight which was great as he was able to move much more freely and he tends to get a bit sassy if he feels too restricted.
Once we arrived in Munich we were through immigration relatively promptly and were straight through as we didn’t need to wait for any checked in bags. Our driver collected us and we had a thirty minute journey to the hotel. We booked the Aparthotel Adagio access München City Olympiapark due to it’s proximity to the Olympiahall where the concert was. The rooms were relatively basic but clean and came with a kitchenette cooker, fridge, sink and kettle. We informed the staff that we would be traveling with Arlo ahead of time and they had already arranged an infant cot for our room.
It was lovely to meet up with Ryan’s Mum and Grandma at the hotel and then the seven of us headed over to the Olympic Tower in the Olympic Park. There is a fine dining restaurant, Restaurant 181, located at the top of the tower but we didn’t arrive with enough time for lunch and they do not allow children under the age of six for the evening. You can go up to the viewing platform at the Olympic Tower for (e)13 per person and it provides 360degree views of Munich as it towers over the surrounding buildings.
We stopped for a bite to eat and a few cocktails in Restaurant Olympiasee which was at the base of the Olympic Tower. The restaurant was very casual but had a real buzz about it with many people seeming to be in the area to watch an ice-hockey event. We had currywurst sausages, cocktails and beer and it was a lovely way to spend the rest of the afternoon.
We headed up to our rooms relatively early as we were all ready to crash after a long day of traveling.
Day Two
The seven of us met in the hotel lobby for a 9.30am start and we took the subway into the main town centre, Marienplatz. We were fortunate that the subway stop was less than a five minute walk from our hotel and had a direct line for 20 minutes to reach Marienplatz. One of the only restaurant resrvations I made for the trip was for breakfast at a cute cafe called Cotidiano which was around a 15 minute walk from Marienplatz subway stop. However, when we arrived we were informed that the cafe didn’t take reservations, so had quite a lengthy wait outside in the cold! Once we sat down we knew that the breakfast was going to be worth the wait. The cafe was packed to the brim with people enjoying beers, prosecco and wine with their brunch. We were also joined by James’ cousin, Adam, and wife, Faye, and we all spent a good few hours chatting, eating and drinking. We all ordered a variety of eggs, avo, and sweet and salty pancakes. Everything tasted delicious, especially the (e)4 prosecco!
After brunch, we walked back to the Centre of Marienplatz and found a rooftop bar overlooking the markets. It had outdoor seating and it was only 1 degree so we warmed ourselves up with pints of Aperol Spritz!
We walked through the market and headed to a nearby beer hall which was packed to the brim! The guys had their steins of beer and Arlo slept the whole time!
That evening we had the concert so headed back to the hotel for a quick change then all went for dinner at Bavarie Brasserie in the BMW museum. Ryan’s mum and grandma then took Arlo back to the hotel and the six of us walked five minutes to the Olympiahalle to see Chris Brown!! The gig was absolutely amazing and so worth all of the travel to see him.
Day Three
Ryan’s Mum and Grandma were being collected from the hotel at 12pm for their flight home. So we decided to go for a walk to a nearby shopping centre they had visited on their first day. When we arrived, we were surprised to find that the shopping centre, and every shop nearby was closed! We didn’t realised that, by law, shops in Germany are only allowed to open on four Sundays throughout the entire year, and this wasn’t one of them! So we headed over the road and enjoyed a trusty McDonalds before walking back to our hotel.
After saying our goodbyes, me, Ryan and Arlo took the subway back into Marienplatz to meet Em and James (who were also devastated by the fact that there was to be no shopping for the day)! It appeared that the only thing to do was to head to one of the famous beer halls so we walked around twenty minutes to Augustiner-Keller which had been recomended by a few friends. We entered the hall and felt like we were walking into the Hogwarts dining hall. It was very large with grand lights and a stage at the front. It was absolutely packed and clearly the place to be on a Sunday afternoon in Munich.
We had a night flight back to Dubai which departed Munich at 9.30pm. Arlo was such an Angel as he fell asleep at take off and we woke him up at landing. We got back to Dubai around 6am and were home around 7.30am. I was not jealous of Ryan, Em and James going into work that day.. although I had a full day of looking after Mr Arlo!
Vacays and Sunny Days 