By A delayed flight, a missed connection, and two rerouting options that led to some unnecessary stress between my husband and me. A rebooked flight through Chicago and a last call for boarding that none of us heard until the doors were about to close… All that drama just to get on a plane and sit in economy for nine hours. And in the end, it was so worth it to hear the words “Welcome to Munich.”
We finally made it.
We walk off the plane and the culture shock starts almost immediately. The airport is so clean, and we’re greeted by a beautiful coffee machine ready to serve us all kinds of drinks. I walk to the restroom and breathe a sigh of relief for the wonderful restroom doors Europe has to offer. There’s not a single gap in the door, unlike the ones in our public restrooms in the US. I finish up, wash my hands, and start to giggle as I pull on the continuous cloth towel dispenser. Ah, I just love being somewhere unfamiliar and seeing something I’ve never seen before!
After passport control gives us the green light to enter the country, we head toward baggage claim and wonder if we should grab some cash from an ATM. Then I think, You know what? We don’t need cash right this second. Let’s just figure out how to get to the hotel. Germany takes Apple Pay, right?
We follow the green exit and “Nothing to Declare” signs. Once we’re in the arrivals hall, the rest is fairly easy. I keep getting distracted by the shops, but we follow the arrows outside and are greeted by a blast of incredibly fresh, cold air. We’re definitely not in Texas anymore.
The signs for Bus and Lufthansa Express Bus are easy to spot. If you’re arriving at Terminal 2 like we did, stay on the arrivals level (E03) and follow the signs outside to Bus Stop 1. And make sure you know where the line starts! When the driver arrives, he asks who was there first. I see a few latecomers trying to cut in, so I yell, “This is where the line starts!” I think he appreciates the directness. He starts taking bags and scanning tickets from the front of the line.
The airport Wi-Fi is spotty, so we buy our tickets directly from the driver for one euro more per person. Honestly, it’s convenient whether you book ahead or just show up.
Adult bus fare: A one way ticket is €12.50 online or €13.50 from the driver. A roundtrip ticket is €20.30 online or €21.50 from the driver. Buy Lufthansa Express Bus tickets in advance.
We get off at the final stop, München Hauptbahnhof, Munich’s central train station. We still don’t have an eSIM or any idea how to buy a tram ticket, so we pull our luggage the 1.2 km (about 0.7 miles) to the Citadines Arnulfpark Munich. By the time we get there, Riley’s suitcase is down a wheel.
Overall, getting from the airport to our hotel was fairly easy. Even if you’re like us and barely know a word of German, some of the words look and sound enough like English that you can figure things out as you go. And as much as I worried about the tourist walk of shame, once I saw how many other people were rolling their suitcases down the street, I stopped worrying about it. Riley’s suitcase, on the other hand, had every reason to worry.
Have questions about getting from Munich Airport to the city center? Leave a comment below!
