Munich Kids

You love Munich.  You love the biergartens with the plates of roasted chicken and sausages and giant pretzels.  You love taking your visitors to Hofbrauhaus for schweinebraten or schnitzel. But there seems to be something missing…For some folks it’s Oreo cookies, Poptarts, and Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, for others it’s McVities biscuits, Branston pickles, and jammie dodgers.  It’s those cravings for the food you grew up with, that you will never find on any local market shelf, no matter long you search. 

Well, in case you haven’t discovered it yet, there is an easier solution than moving back home or having your relatives send you expensive care packages of your favorite goodies.  An online service, called “Food from Home” delivers your favorite American and British foods to your door.  They are based in Dusseldorf, but deliver throughout Germany.  Delivery cost is only 5 EUR for up to 30 kg of items.

They also sell English language magazines and newspapers.

Have a look at their website for a complete list of products.

Website: http://www.foodfromhome.de

Noemi & Friends is a beauty salon that caters to children (ages 8 months to 16 years).  Children can get their hair shampooed, cut, and styled while receiving the special attention that parents often seek out at a beauty and wellness spa.  Product lines developed for children are used.  Shampoos come in yummy aromas, like chocolate, vanilla, and papaya. Children’s manicures are also available.  While this concept is most likely to appeal to little girls, the shop hopes to appeal to style-conscious boys as well.  Parents can also get special treatment at Noemi & Friends, by taking advantage of the offers for adults including manicures, head massage, aroma therapy, and make-up sessions.

Address:  Marktstrasse 13, 80802 Munich

Telephone:  089/ 340 861 50

Nearest Public Transportation:  U3/U6 Muenchner Freiheit and bus station at Muenchner Freiheit

Website:  http://www.noemiandfriends.de

Obletter is a large toy store in Germany.  In Munich, there are two branches, one at Karlsplatz-Stacchus and one at the Pep Mall at Neuperlach Zentrum.  I am familiar with the one at Karlsplatz.  It is a large store on two levels.  The sell toys for all ages.  They also have a large section for model train sets and model cars and planes.  They have a small selection of children’s bicycles and tricycles.  You can also find specialty items here.

Address:  Karlsplatz 11-12, 80335 Munich, and Thomas-Dehler Strass 12, 81737 Munich

Phone:  089/ 550 8951-0, and 089/ 673 6818-0

Website:  http://www.obletter.de/

Nearest Public Transportation:  S1-S8 Karlsplatz Stacchus; U4/U5 Karlsplatz Stachus, and U5, Neuperlach Zentrum

Kunst und Spiel (Art and Play) is a specialty toy and gift store.  Here you will find many one of a kind items.  They have a nice selection of wooden toys, puzzles and games.  They have a small selection of children’s books, in German.  They also sell some very nice children’s clothes.  Toys and children’s clothes are on the second floor, with no elevator, so it is not stroller-friendly.  On the main floor, they sell artsy gift items, many of them handmade.  Materials for art projects, such as textiles, art papers, etc. are also for sale.

Address:  Leopoldstrasse 48, 80802 Munich

Website:  http://www.kunstundspiel.de

Nearest Public Transportation:  U3/U6 Giselastrasse

Toys R Us, the giant American chain has a store in Munich. It is located in the Euro Industriepark, along with several other American chains,  such as Wal-mart and McDonald’s.

Address:  Helene-Wessel-Bogen 30, 80939 Munich

Phone:  089/3186 9638

Nearest Public Transportation:  Bus 140 Kieferngarten

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.