Shopping

Many tourists stay in hotels surrounding the Hauptbahnhof, which seems a bit like every other train station. It’s more transient and diverse than many other areas of the city, but this is one spot not to overlook. There’s a large generations old Turkish population in Munich due to the Gastarbeiter (guest worker) days after WWII and this is one of the ways the city is gaining from the diversity. 

What I love about the Verdi Süpermarket is the really wonderful and affordable produce, a great Turkish bakery – complete with sticky sweet baklava, and a small imbiss with authentic döners.

There’s something special about visiting grocery stores while traveling and this little gem gives the added bonus of carrying authentic Turkish foods. It’s as if you enter the store and suddenly you’re in Turkey; complete with hospitality, friendliness, halal foods, and sun kissed produce. They also carry bulk items, like chicken burgers, if you have a lot of people to feed. 

My favorite items are the teas, 100% pomegranate juice, the array of peppers, cheeses, and those not always easy to find spices, like sumac. Every time I visit, I find something new to sample and cook with. 

Afiyet olsun! (Enjoy your meal!)

Magazin, located inside Fünf Höfe, is a design lovers paradise.

Here you can find a large range of museum worthy pieces: from Eames to Vitra and Iittala – to try out, order, or simply admire. If your luggage or budget isn’t so accommodating there are still smaller treasures to be found.

Some of my favorite everyday objects include cutting boards with European city maps, Japanese washi tape, and unique stationery products that are simple, yet innovative. The stitchable postcards are very unique and always well received. I love to send them and brighten someone’s day.

The kitchen goods section would help make even the smallest kitchens look like a well planned gourmet temple while maintaining clean lines, of course. Every time I visit I find something new to add to my wish list. They also now carry a small selection of foods. 

And if you are in the market for a Freitag bag this is the best source that I have found in the city. 

With over 100 designers, 200 suppliers, 80 brands, and 27,000 products represented, you can spend anywhere from €2 + upwards to your monthly rent on beautiful and innovative products.

For those who prefer to travel above ground, on bus, tram, or by foot, there are options below that they are missing out on, like this intergalactic looking space.

The Stachus Einkaufszentrum at Karlsplatz is more than just a place to catch the subways. This space just under went drastic renovations to make the it brighter and more modern, so it’s quickly becoming a destination in its own right.

Not only does this passageway provide an easy way to cross the street while avoiding traffic, but it also contains a variety of shops, grocery stores, a movie theater, and several quick and inexpensive food options.

The variety of food covers nearly all grounds: from design your own frozen yogurt at frogis, gourmet pretzels at Brezelina, to salads at dean + david, Belgian French fries at Pommes Freunde, and Asian dishes at both Kaimug and My Indigo.

If you’d prefer a picnic you can always stop by one of the grocery stores – Tengelmann, Kaufhof, or Karstadt – to purchase inexpensive items or bottles of beer for your own ‘Bierprobe‘ (beer sampling). Drinking on the streets or in the parks is legal, provided you do so responsibly, however drinking in the subway is ‘verboten‘ (forbidden).

To see a full listing of shops and foods click here to download a pdf.

When I talk to Munich visitors, the one thing I hear again and again is how few of them ever cross the Isar River, barring perhaps a brief visit to the Deutsches Museum. I always find this to be such a shame, as some of my most favorite spots are on the “right” side of the Isar, in particular, the Haidhausen neighborhood and its crown jewel, Wienerplatz. Wienerplatz is a quaint square named for the Austrian capital, as the square is located off the “Innere-Wiener-Strasse” which used to serve as the main artery connecting Munich and Vienna.

Go during the week or on a Saturday, as the square is full of small green huts which play host to some of the city’s oldest and smallest grocers. You must experience them while they’re open in order to get a real feeling for the place. The perimeter of the square is full of quaint boutiques and cafes where you can sit for hours on sunny days and watch the square and food stalls come to life.

The far back corner of Wienerplatz also serves as the entrance to the famous Hofbräukeller Biergarten. If you’re in town during the summer months, head over to the Biergarten for dinner (this local’s favorite) and the return back out to the square for an ice-cream at “Amorino” (in one of the green huts) – while Hofbräu beer is good, a scoop of Amorino ice-cream will be the perfect way to end an evening of summer beer gardening.

My favorite shoe store the world over happens to be right here in Munich – how luck am I? The store is called Ed Meier and the brand was founded in Munich way back in 1596. Ed Meier is the oldest continually operating shoemaker in Germany and still remains in the hand’s of the original family.

Since the beginning, Ed Meier has stood for premium quality and has subsequently been the purveyor to several noble families throughout Germany; Meier even still holds the royal warrant to the Bavarian royal house. In the 20th century, Ed Meier patented the store’s famous “Peduform” shoe after using a “pedoscope” to view one’s feet inside the shoes. This process helped to maximize the accuracy of a shoe fitting the customer’s feet. As they say, “if the shoe fits…”

Meier shoes tend to be on the more conservative side of the fashion spectrum, so don’t run in expecting some trendy trainers. You will, however, occasionally find a loafer clothed in camouflage or velvet slippers bedecked with a skull! In addition to being the best quality shoes you’ll ever find, Ed Meier offers a stunning selection of classic clothing and fine leather goods. Check out their other larger location in the Briennerstrasse near Odeonsplatz – just a 5 minute walk from the original store!  

Get this, if you do end up shelling out the high price of a Meier shoe, you can ask to have them delivered to your hotel by horse-drawn carriage.