Munich is an awesome city! The architecture and food (including beer) alone will get me back, but I also highly recommend walks along the Isar River and in English Garden.

The weather wasn’t the best during my visit, but at least there was some snow and not just rain. It’s definitely on my list of cities to return to!

This was a 7-night stay…

• Accommodation –  $539.46* (additional information below)
• Getting around locally – $51.68  (I bought a week pass that covered zones M-3 for 46,40€. This was overkill, but it gave me the freedom to wander almost anywhere on the lines, and I did venture out a bit. Check out the options at https://www.mvv-muenchen.de/en/index.html to plan what you need a little better than I did)
• Living expenses – $271.86 (groceries and eating out)
• Activities – $0
• Mobile phone/data  – $17.41 (I use Google Fi which provides service in most countries. If you’re interested and based in the U.S., you can use this paid link to sign up, which will give me a referral fee at no extra cost to you.)
• Medical insurance – $16.13 (I’m using SafetyWing; rates are determined by age, and mine is slightly above the base. If you’re interested there is a paid link/banner on the right side of the page)

Total $896.54 / 7-nights = $128.08 per

*Hotel info

• I booked the AWA Hotel through Booking.com. The hotel was clean and comfortable, but the neighborhood might not be for everyone. It’s close to the train station which tends to be a little rough around the edges, and there were a couple of strip clubs on the block. Besides that, there were a couple of issues; the wifi was awful and shower curtains should NOT be in short-term rentals!

Transportation to and from varies a lot, so I left it out of the above breakdown along with most incidental/one-time personal costs. But for those interested, in this particular case, I took a train booked with Deutsche Bahn (DB) from Dresden Hbf to Munich Central Station with a transfer at Halle(Saale)Hbf. My seats were in 1st class and the cost was 77,90€ ($86.06). All other standard day to day expenses are included to give an idea of how much basic living costs in the area are. Groceries will sometimes include personal care items (i.e., toothpaste, deodorant, etc.).

** I try to use Rakuten whenever it’s an option; why not take the money. It works with a browser add-on, and there is also a mobile app. Note from the Ratuken site, “Stores pay us a commission for sending our members to their websites, and we share it with you. It’s that simple!” If you haven’t signed up yet, and are interested, please consider using this referral link to help support me, and get a signup bonus. I use it regularly and recommend it, but take a look for yourself to decide if it’s right for you. When you sign up using the link, use it spending $, we each get $! The $ varies, I’ve recently seen at $40 and $30. They state “Offer may be modified or canceled anytime.” Payments are made by PayPal, or you can have a check sent to you.

*** Of course, the currency exchange varied during the stay, so for simplicity, I used a rate of 1 USD = 0,905€ for cash transactions. The accommodations and some daily purchases made on cards were entered at the converted cost charged.

**** Since this is my living situation, I don’t go to top-rated restaurants or paid entry to tourist attractions too much. I do eat out a lot, but nothing too special; to some extent, it’s somewhat more cost-effective this way… at least that’s what I’m telling myself. I try to be cost-conscious, eating as a local would… maybe you could say like a broke college guy that is LOL! I try to note any differences to this above.

I’m striving to provide useful information for people planning trips or a nomadic lifestyle, so if you have any ideas to make these posts more helpful, please let me know. You can comment/DM on social media, in the comments below, or email at (MeanderingMax@gmail.com). I appreciate your support!