DisabledTravelers.com Travel Blog

The largest church in Munich, Germany
Photo by: kumber (Stock Exchange)

Welcome back to Disabled Travelers!

This week’s post is inspired by a good friend of mine who loves good cars and a good lager, and wants to know all about Munich – the capital of the Bavaria, in southern Germany. It’s no surprise this is the heart of BMW, also known as Bavarian Motor Works.

Of course, Munich is also rated one of the top tourist and expatriate destinations in Germany – heck, the city recently adopted the motto “Munich Loves You!” Let’s find out if those words hold true …

Information for disabled travelers is pretty scant in the website of the BMW Museum. Though the website is available completely in English, I could only find mention of wheelchair accessibility on the general information page, which recommends, due to the nature of the facility’s ramps, that wheelchair users visit with a travel companion. There is also a floorplan (in full-color, printable .pdf format) which provides the locations of “barrier-free” entrances and bathrooms.

Munich for the Physically Challenged, part of the official web portal to Munich, provides a wealth of valuable facts. The centerpiece of this is a free, 34-page brochure presented completely in English and covering most major topics: maneuvering the local airport, accessible public transportation, free accessible bathrooms, and more. Note that many mass transit options offer tactile assistance. Also useful is the city’s pre-sorted selection of over a dozen accessible hotels and 11 restaurants, with complete descriptions.

Though you definitely want to start with the main brochure, there’s also a “sequel” of sorts that focuses on Accessible Hotels in Munich. Going beyond the selections in the original, this English-language publication runs a full 23 pages devoted to the topic. For more details from a local perspective, those with German language skills can contact The Association of Handicapped People in Munich. Also helpful for German speakers, guided tours for the hard-of-hearing. Of course, there are other accessible tour options available … and you can discover some of them at Come to Germany.

Destination Munich is a terrific guide specifically for Munich, and also offers an array of resources for the handicapped. Drop by their Munich for Disabled Travelers for a general overview that includes positive news about hotels, museums, pathways and public transit. Munich’s train station even includes its own volunteer helper organization well-equipped to see to mobility impaired access needs – and they even offer free tea and coffee! Wow!

It presents its own special challenges, but I couldn’t get through a post on Munich without mentioning the world-famous Oktoberfest! Oktoberfest is an annual celebration famous for rides, bands, and amazing “beer tents.” In true Munich fashion, it lasts all the way from the 17th of September to the 3rd of October this year, though annual dates vary a bit. Attracting millions of guests, Oktoberfest is considered the world’s largest fair!

Now, I’m told that beer tents and festival halls set up for Oktoberfest are level and have wheelchair accessible areas set aside for your use as needed; and even the famous ferris wheel, providing spectacular views of the event, can accommodate wheelchairs. Unfortunately, there aren’t many resources on the Web about this. I’ll be looking into it with my friends in Germany in the meantime, and will update when I find out more!

In the meantime, if you’ve been to Oktoberfest, or anywhere in Munich, and you have stories to share, please let me know! My readers can contact me any time at [email protected], or write a note in response to this post. I’d be happy to spotlight your insight in my next update.

Who knows where we’ll be next time on Disabled Travelers? Some of the places in my sights lately include Beijing, Kiev, and wherever YOU’RE going next. Until next time we cross paths, this has been Si, ready to roll and signing off …

Si