Munich Kids

The Nordbad is one of the public swimming pools managed by SWM.  There are three indoor pools; a large pool for adults, a smaller pool, generally used by kids, and a good-sized baby pool.  The baby pool has a slide and two fountains that spray water.  There is a nice indoor area with tables for snacks or lunch for the kids.  Also, a bathroom with small washdown area is very near the baby and kids’ pools, making it easy for you to change or wash your baby while your older kids play near by.  “Street strollers” are not allowed in the locker rooms or pool areas.  However, you can leave your stroller in an outer room and exchange it for one of the facility’s indoor strollers.  This is very convenient, especially when you’re trying to get changed in the locker room.  No double strollers are available, a drawback for families with twins! A whirlpool is also available indoors.  

There is an outdoor pool that can be accessed from a small indoor section that connects to the outside.  The outdoor pool is in the shape of a spiral.  The water alternates between “still” and “river current”.  That is, at regularly scheduled intervals the water feels like a river current that pushes you along the outside spiral of the pool.  The current is a bit strong, so be aware of that when swimming with small children.  There is plenty of space for sunbathers outside.  You may be surprised how early in the year people start using the outdoor pool.  I was there on a mild day in April and there were already sunbathers soaking up some rays. 

Several saunas are also available.  A new fitness center is scheduled to open in early Spring 2007.  

Next door to the swim hall is a nice little cafe called the Cafe am Nordbad, or C.A.N.  The food is decent and prices are inexpensive to moderate.  On warm days, they have a large outdoor seating area.  Several outdoor tables are situated next to the large front lawn of the Nordbad.  This provides a perfect play area for your kids to run around while you enjoy a post-swim, iced coffee in the sun.

Address:  Schleissheimer Strasse 142, 80797 Munich

Nearest Public Transportation:  U2 -  Hohenzollernplatz; Tram 12, 27 -  Nordbad; MetroBus 53, StadtBus 154 - Nordbad  

Website:  http://www.swm.de/de/produkte/mbaeder/hallenbaeder/nordbad.html

Germans love swimming, sunbathing, and relaxing in saunas. Their network of public swimming pools clearly demonstrates this.  Munich has the best public swimming pool system of any city I have lived in or visited!  There are 19 public swimming facilites within Munich and numerous other ones that can be reached by S-bahn.  For example, Therme-Erding is considered ”the best sauna in Germany and Austria”. 

There are outdoor and indoor swimming pools, and some facilities have both.  Visit SWM’s excellent web site for details of each facility.  Each facility has its own page that lists what is available, hours, prices, and public transportation information.  Prices are very reasonable.  For example, at the Nordbad you can swim for up to 3 hours for 3,40 EUR or for the whole day for 6,60 EUR.  Use of the sauna is extra.  Children up to age three have free admission.  Most of the swimming pools offer swimming and water exercise classes as well. 

Wondering what the conventional practice for clothing is? In other words, will everyone be fully dressed in swimsuits?  Swimsuits are worn in the swimming pools. You may see a few topless sunbathers at some of the outdoor pools, but generally everyone stays clothed in their swimsuits.  Topless and nude sunbathing tends to be reserved for designated, often private, facilities, or for traditionally nude areas in the English Garden and the Isar river.  However, users of the sauna are typically nude.

Website:// http://www.swm.de/en/products/mbaeder.html

MTSV-Schwabing is a community gym.  There are multiple classes and open gym times available for children and adults.  Examples include children’s gymanastics, basketball, handball, fitness/bodystyling, and karate.  A nordic walking club is also associated with the club. 

The gymnastics for children group is one of the best indoor activities that I have found in Munich.  It is available for different age groups, but I am most familiar with the group for toddlers, starting at 18 months and older.  The sessions are led by Isabel, a very energetic and positive gym teacher, and are held in a large, open gym.  Prior to each session, Isabel sets up 5-6 “physical challenge stations”.  Each station promotes the use and development of gross motor skills.  The stations cover a wide range of skills for toddlers, from very easy to difficult.  For example, in an easy station, children climb up and down on soft foam triangles and cylinders and then slide down a wide board.  In a difficult station, children climb up an incline to a moving balance beam, walk across the beam and then jump on to a soft mattress below.  Parents are expected to supervise and assist their own children.  Each session begins with a fun, group activity led by Isabel.  Each session ends with a goodbye song.  In between, children are free to run around the gym, trying each of the physical challenge stations, or stay at their favorite one for the entire time. 

The classes are led in German, but even if you don’t know any German, you can follow along very easily and figure out what to do.   Prices are very reasonable.   You can buy a 12-punch card for 45 Euro.  Also, there is a 50% discount for a second sibling.  In other word, you are only charged for 1.5 sessions, each time you come with two kids.  Currently (Spring 2007), there are 4 sessions held weekly, two on Tuesday morning and two on Friday.  Current times are 9:25 - 10:10 and 10:15 - 11:00.  The website has some schedule information, but it is generally not very thorough.  I suggest walking to the gym and checking out the class and open gym schedules that are posted outside and inside the building.  It is a 5-minute walk from the Munchner Freiheit stop.  There is plenty of space available for parking a bike or stroller outside of the gym.

Address:  Ursula Strasse 3, Munich

Website:  http://www.mtsv-schwabing.de/

Nearest Public Transportation:  Munchner Freiheit, bus stop and U3/U6 U-bahn stop

IKEA is the well-known, ultimate store for home furnishings.  They sell everything you will need to move into your new home, in a new country, including the kitchen sink.  Their business model is to offer pretty good quality merchandise for inexpensive prices.  One drawback is that most furniture and similar items need to be assembled at home. 

IKEA is also well known for their cafeteria.  The cafeteria is always bustling with hungry shoppers.  Swedish meatballs with white potatoes is a favorite.  The cafeteria is equipped with a station for responding to children’s needs.  Plastic plates, children’s cutlery, bibs, and a bottle warmer are all available. 

IKEA has several play areas for the kids.  There are a few small play areas distributed throughout the upper level of the store, as well as play areas in the cafeteria.  Children three and older can be dropped off, for a limited time, in the children’s play world on the entrance level.  Games, movies, and toys are usually available here. 

One of the hassles of shopping at IKEA is that all of the items to be purchased are gathered by your, from the warehouse area.  So, for example, if you have decided to build a large modular closet organizer, you may be searching for 15 separate parts while your overtired children are clamoring to go home.  Lines are also usually long, but pretty fast moving.  One way around this overly long, gather-wait-and-purchase process is to have someone else do it for you!  If you have large items that need to be delivered, you can pay the delivery company an extra 20 Euro and they will gather everything for you and deliver it all to your door within a few days.  It’s worth it!  One other word about delivery. Delivery cost is based on distance not weight. So, you can have them deliver 1-pound bookends, or a house full of furniture, all for the same, very reasonable price.  There are two IKEA locations in Munich. One is in Eching,  near the airport. The other in Taufkirchen.  Both are accessible by public transportation.

Address  (Taufkirchen):  Brunnthaler Strase 1, 82024 Taufkirchen

Address: (Eching):  Heisenberger Strasse 14, 85386 Eching

Phone: 01 80/ 5 35 34 35

Website:  http://www.ikea.de

Nearest public transportation (Taufkirchen):  Bus 222 from S5 Taufkirchen stop

Nearest public transportation (Eching):  Bus 694 or 697, Ohmstrasse stop

Moebelum specializes in natural wood furniture.  They also sell some upholstered furniture, home accessories, and children’s toys.  They have  a large selection of children’s beds and bunk beds in  various arrangements and heights.  Their prices are very reasonable.  There is a large children’s play area on the second floor, conveniently located next to the children’s furniture and toys.  The play area has a very open layout and the store is usually not very crowded, so it is easy to keep an eye on the kids while you shop.  Home delivery of your purchases is available, and is not very expensive. 

Address:  Ingolstaedter Strasse 8, 80807 Munich

Phone:  (0) 89 359 00 24

Website:  http://www.moebelum.de

Nearest Public Transportation:  Bus Lines 85 and 35, from Muenchner Freiheit (U3/U6)

H & M sells clothing and accessories for babys, kids, teens, and adults.  They have a maternity line as well.  The clothes are inexpensive.  The quality of clothes is similar to that of an Old Navy in the U.S.  In other words, the clothes aren’t going to last forever, but they’ll last longer than your kids will outgrow them.  There are three H & M shops on Kaufinger Strasse (the pedestrain street between Marienplatz and Karlsplatz Stacchus). One caters to women and children, another to teens, the third to men.  The H & M for kids has a TV and sitting area to entertain the kids while you look for a spring jacket or back-to-school clothes.  It’s an open area though, so I would only leave children that are old enough to stay put while you shop.  Due to its prime location, the store is always crowded, so it can be a bit difficult getting through the clothes racks and customers with a stroller.  Check-out lines are usually long, so factor that in when shopping with a tired or cranky child.

Address:  Kaufinger Strasse 18, Munich

Phone:  (0) 89 2423 1140

Website:  http://www.hm.com/de/

Nearest Public Transportation:  S-Bahn or U-Bahn, Marienplatz

Flohmarkts and Kinder Basaars are the German equivalent of the American rummage sale or garage sale.  Have you experienced one of them yet?  If not, you should try it.  Don’t be intimidated if you have limited German skills.  Sign language is the international language for bartering! 

There is a definite rhythm and rime to the German flohmarkt.  They are seasonal, in the Spring and Fall.  They are communal, usually held in church parishes, kindergarten buildings, or other community spaces.  And they are procedural.  That is, once you’ve been to one, you pretty much know what to expect at all of the other ones.  The only thing that changes is the merchandise. 

Most flohmarkts are advertised by word of mouth or by posters taped to streetposts and playground gates.  You’ll start to notice a lot of these going up around the end of February, and appearing weekly until mid-April or so.  There will be another round in September to mid-October.  Flohmarkts are almost always held on a Friday or Saturday, and the hours are usually limited, 10-2 is typical.  Many flohmarkts have a theme, e.g, kids clothing and toys, antiques, handcrafts, etc.  If you are attending a flohmarkt for kids things (Kinder Basaar or Kinderbekleidung) plan to get there early.  There frequently is an army of mothers with strollers parked outside the entrance doors waiting to be let in precisely at 10:00 am.  The good stuff is usually gone within an hour.  If you get to the flohmarkt towards the final hour, you will find things to be very picked over. 

If you are used to American garage sale prices, you might suffer from a little sticker shock.  A shirt or pair of pants that will go for 50 cents in the U.S. will be priced at 2- 4 Euro here.  That being said, I have found some really good deals.  Perhaps the best score was a Puky tricycle for only 6 Euro. Between the three boys we will get lots of use out of it! 

If you have things to sell you can sign up to be a vendor.  Typically, you do not have to belong to the sponsoring organization to sell your items.  Most of the poster advertisements will list a contact name and number to sign up with.  You will either be assigned  a number or a space.  Flohmarkts that assign you a space will have you sell all of your items yourself.  You may have to bring your own table or pay a fee to rent a table from the host facility.  Flohmarkts that assign you a number sell all the of the items communally.  You mark the prices on your items and write down your number.  Volunteers take care of organizing all of the merchandise, grouping toys, books, clothing (by size), and strollers separately.  Other volunteers take care of selling the items.  Your total sales are determined by summing all of the sold items with your number on it.  These type of flohmarkts are usually run by kindergartens or community centers.  They usually take a 20-25% cut of your sales as reimbursement for their efforts.