Safety Tips in Munich

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The crowds can be overbearing for the most part. Especially bad is in the Marienplatz square during the Glockenspiel show; which can bring an easy thousand to see the site. Other places in the center also get crowded. While we were here in May it was not as bad as during the peak tourism season.

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This is a very bad situation if you have a car. Parking in the center near Marienplatz can make you go broke before your time. Parking outside just a few hundred meters from the center begins zone permits. That means you need a permit to park on the streets, and it/they are reserved for locals only; not tourist vehicles. Spaces are very precious and hard to find.
We were in south zone near Sendlinger and we could not park within 6 blocks or more of our apartment. Only further away can a person park on the street, and then the search for a spot is on.

To be honest you probably wont need this, but just in case. If youre worried about the possibility of violent street crime while youre in Munich, theres a little tobacconists shop Landwehrstrasse between Paul-Heyse Strasse and Schillerstrasse where you can buy a compact pepper spray starting at 3 Euro. Just remember to discard it safely before you go to the airport. And dont go 'testing' it on anybody

I visited for a few days this month, and was very surprised at how clean the city is and how safe it is as well. Maybe im just a bit jaded, but the town in Northern Ireland where I live has a big problem with drugs and antisocial behaviour, none of which I saw in Munich. In addition, I saw more litter the first day back here than I did the whole time I was in Munich. I only saw one broken bottle and one patch of dog mess the whole time I was in Munich. I normally see more than that here in my estate alone!!! Im not naive and I am sure there is crime in Munich. I just didnt see any while I was there. No drunken hooligans, no crowds of thugs!

If you are on subway, pay attention if you notice everyone suddenly getting off and you dont speak German. This happend to me on way to dachau, suddenly train out of service and people ran off, but i didnt realize why and i was stuck on train as it went backwards to who knows where, it was scary , i was only one in train and i had no idea if they knew i was there or where the train was going, i think it was out of service and i was stuck on it. Pretty scary. i rang emergency button and they took train back to next stop so i could get off. I dont know if they would have realized i was there or not..

Be aware of undercover customs officers in munich's airport. I had a connection flight 30 minutes after my arriving at munich airport, coming from lisbon, an was stopped by a customs officer when all i had was my backpack, since i had just stepped out of an airplane, and was on my way to the next flight.

Check your conscience and choose the correct entrance: Catholic Christian or Pagan?

This is a tongue-in-cheek tip about a funny coincidence: The entrance to the Generalvikariat , the administration of the archbishopry München-Freising, is adjacent to a jewellery store named "Heiden" (pagans).

Location: Marienhof/Schrammerstraße

I am a single mother with full custody of my two kids who are teenagers. We had passports and photo ID's with us but I wasn't prepared when customs questioned me on our departure. Apparently, I should have had permission of some sort from my ex-husband stating it was ok for my kids to re-enter the United States with me. (They didn't require this when entering). There was a lot of conversation in German and the gentlemen that finally let us go on our way was visibly unhappy but did so nevertheless.
I understand now it is common practice to have a notarized letter stating such. The last cruise I went on actually had a special form that is required in these circumstances.