Visiting Munich with a baby

Hi.

I'm travelling to Munich again soon for about the seventh time, BUT this time I'm bringing a 10-month old baby to the Christmas Fairs!

I never had to worry about these kind of things before:
travelling with a buggy/stroller on the U-Bahn;
finding elevators at a station;
needing to stop and find places to change nappies/diapers;
pharmacies where they would speak good English (never needed to learn the German for any of these things before either);
Getting bottles and food heated;
and probably a whole lot of things I should be starting to panic about.

Are trains/restaraunts/bars/taxis baby-friendly?
Any defiite no-nos I need to know about?

Thanks for any help

Have you never traveled with a baby before? Where will the mother be in all this?

I'm not sure how seriously to take the baby-friendly bars bit...

> travelling with a buggy/stroller on the U-Bahn;
Try not to do it during rush hour.

> finding elevators at a station
Most have them; they're usually out of order. The escalators are also probably going the wrong direction.

> needing to stop and find places to change nappies/diapers;
NOT at a restaurant table or bar.

> pharmacies where they would speak good English
No such thing. Also, most of the medicines you want have different names.

> Getting bottles and food heated;
Bring a lighter.
Actually, most restaurants will give you a container of hot water if you ask.

> Are trains/restaraunts/bars/taxis baby-friendly?
Mostly/usually/rarely/they don't have car seats as a rule.

> Any defiite no-nos I need to know about?
Don't ignore your kid's crying and subject the entire restaurant/plane/bar/train/location to that noise.
Do not spank a child -- it's illegal here.
Make sure your kid has a DIN 2704-specification haircut before coming. It must be a distinctly male or female style and there are certain length and covering considerations.
Bring the kid's immunization record, too.

woof.

> Have you never traveled with a baby before? Where will the mother be in all this?
Have only been travelling in English-speaking countries so far with little cultural differences. I have a feeling Germany might be more geared up for babies, but might have more 'rules' too.

> I'm not sure how seriously to take the baby-friendly bars bit...
re Bars - Bars or cafes for when I need to stop. OK, I#d forgotten about the smoke.

> Any defiite no-nos I need to know about?
How could you spank a 10-month old? And she's still bald!

If you had a baby at the Marienplatz that needed changing is there any department store or where would you go that has the best facilities?

American fast-food chains usually have toiletes with facilities for babies, e.g. Mcdonald's, Burger King.

Yes, that's why I was puzzled, especially since you mentioned this wouldn't be your first visit to Munich.


Probably Kaufhof (I don't really know, my kids are older) or McDonald's, as already mentioned - there's one just off Marienplatz (Im Tal, to be exact).

Strollers: Try to not crowd into the first or last coach, stick more to the middle. Try to put the stroller next to the dividing walls. If someone is standing there say ent-shoohl-dee-goong and see if they move. Generally they do.
Elevators: Look for the international elevator pictogram, guys standing in a box with arrows going up and down.

Diaper changing: Look for Wickelraum, sometimes with a pictogram of a baby with a diaper half on.

Pharmacies: If you have non-prescription medicine bring along the box or instructions with the ingredients and show it to the chemist. Pharmacies on the beaten track generally have some language skills.
Food heating: They do it, they might even just put the stuff in the microwave for you.
Transport: trains - no; taxis - order one with an appropriate baby seat, not all taxis have them on board but it is mandatory to have the kid in one.
restaurants: Toss up, you'll find out when you're there.
bars: Come on, give yourself a break, get a babysitter and go out on your own.
No-no's: Christmas Fairs and Strollers DO NOT MIX! Spare yourself and others tons of stress and agro and put the kid in a back-pack carrier (not the best idea either, I admit) or a carrier sling (look at the option Babys tragen). You have both hands free and are much more mobile.

Here's a list of Baby friendly shops and places in the city. When I had the mini visiting heres the places near the tourist stops that I scoped out. I knew the fallback would be the chains but I wanted them mentally mapped out for me. I dont know if these places have a wickelraum as she was potty trained well before her first visit at 3.5 so she was an old hand. But I found these to be fairly accessible.

One thing, during the holidays be sure you carry enough tissues about with you as half the places are bound to run out. Also Im a germaphobe so Im happier carrying the anti-bacterial hand gel since the soap and paper towels are out half the time anyway. And do carry emergency small change with you, in case you end up having to pay to use the loo.

Am Platzl - Hard Rock Cafe. Downstairs. Leave the stroller at the table. Say what you will about the crap food and service at HRC but its kid friendly. Back up if your not eating San Francisco Coffee Company (SFCC).

MarienPlatz - Hugen Dubel upstairs. Theres only 2 stalls so can be a wait.

Am Tal - McDonalds

Odeon's Platz - SFCC

Viktualienmarkt - Starbucks

Funf Hofe - That was tricky, we never found one there but its not far from Odeon's Platz.

Karlsplatz - Hugen Dubel or McDonalds (if you could get passed the crowd).

FYI: Here's a list of child friendly restaurants. We really made an effort to eat off peak hours and had *mostly* good service.

Thanks for some very helpful info there. 'Wickelraum' is my new word for today. I've never noticed that picture before. Yesterday my new word was kinderwagen.

Wow even things like running out of tissues I wouldn't have thought about. That could avoid a lot of tears. Thanks.

re the trains I would have thought the first and last carriages were the emptiest? Isn't that where wheelchairs get on? My experience is to follow wheelchair signs around stations etc to avoid narrow barriers with my kinderwagen. I'm going to have to take it to the Fair, but I'll be going widweek so hopefully it isn't crowded???

I've been checking the mvv station maps and hopefully will be ok.

All I need now is to know what the weather will be like, 20 degrees, or ten or zero.

Sorry again about the confusion about the bars. There was me thinking 'stopping for a coffee or water or yes one beer and giving baby a bottle' while I gave off the image of 'baby crying in the corner while I was on my sixth helle and oblivious'. It's kind of funny, I'm not that bad a Dad really.

I think they're the most crowded, actually, because they are usually close to the exit. I never really paid attention but I think only a few stops (Sendlinger Tor is one) have stairs towards the middle of the platform.


I wouldn't have reacted the same way to the word "café", although there too you can have a beer or six.


If you were, you wouldn't be spending your time poring over Munich transport maps and learning words like Wickelraum.

YES - all of those - assuming you mean centigrade & not fahrenheit

If there is a strong southerly wind (Föhn) it could get pretty warm. Unlikely though.
Expect a few degress above zero & possibly wet...

Children have been banned in Munich since 1953. It is an offence to bring them into the city limits. You may be arrested if caught by the police. It is fortunate that there are very few police in Munich and therefore the chances of being caught are low.

Just to add my bit: the dm drugstores have changing mats. (IKEA has everything, of course.) Italian and Greek places are generally child-friendly. Bars are too smoky for babies - but if you can do a search here for no-smoking places. You could also try some of the smaller Christmas markets with your stroller - Weißenburgerplatz or Mariahilfplatz, for example. Less hectic than Marienplatz and Glühwein just as good. Or Tollwood.

I would try to get the child un-used to having warm bottles and food, if you can. It's much easier if you can get them to eat/drink at room temperature. You might be able to get the wait staff at a restaurant to bring you some warm water or pop the food in the microwave, but it won't be a priority for them.

Kilian's Irish Pub in Frauenplatz (just off Marienplatz) is now non-smoking in the back room and they have a high chair. Enough room to park the stroller at the top of the stairs before descending to the pub, too. Might be a good option for a lunch or midday warm-up as a break from the Christmas market at Marienplatz. I have known people to change their child's diapers on a bench seat in Kilian's, too. The view for the other patrons is blocked by the table. Obviously you would be using a diaper changing mat for hygienic reasons.

All the Starbucks are non-smoking and have high chairs and changing tables. If you're at Marienplatz and have a diaper emergency, you can go into the Hugendubel book store, ride the elevators to the top floor, push the stroller into the handicapped rest room (opposite the escalators), and change the child in his/her stroller. The cafe there (World Coffee) is also nice when it's not too crowded, and they have a high chair as well.

Use the elevators in the U-Bahn stations when you can, but inevitably you will have to use the escalators sometimes. Hopefully you don't have a "jogging" (three-wheeled) stroller with a long wheel base front to back; those are difficult on escalators. When going down the escalator, after you get on, pull the stroller back so the back wheels rest against the front of the step above the one they're on. When going up, push the stroller forward and use the front wheels against the front of the step above to steady it. It takes a little practice, which you might want to do without the child in the stroller if it makes you nervous. Also beware to get the stroller as far to the right side as you can, because people will want to get by you on the left. Hold tight to the stroller going down, because people trying to get past you will bump you and/or the stroller in their rush.

When the train comes, keep a lookout that the door you want to enter doesn't already have a stroller there, or at least put your stroller on the opposite side from theirs. You don't want to block other people getting out with their strollers.

A great time to travel is between 4 and 5 PM, when there are extra trains running for rush hour, but not so many people riding yet. It's best to avoid rush hour if you can.

The restaurant in Hertie has microwaves for heating babyfood. It has a large non smoking section as well as a Wickelraum.

Hertie is the large department store that straddles Hauptbahnhof and Karlsplatz/Stachus. The restaurant, I believe, is on the top floor on the train station (Bahnhof) side. Is that right, melrose?

Yes, top floor, Bahnhof side.

Thanks again for the new info.

She'll be the cleanest baby in Munich.