Servus an Alle!

Welcome back to the Munich Post! The purpose of this newsletter is to share: 3 bits of news, 2 upcoming events, and 1 amazing restaurant/café for expats living in and around Munich. This way, you have a pulse on what’s going on without scrolling through thousands of pages.

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Here’s what we’ve got for you this week:

Over the next few weeks, construction work on the Stammstrecke will keep disrupting late-night and weekend service. There will be fewer trains, closed sections, and replacement buses, especially between Pasing and Donnersbergerbrücke at night, plus major changes on the S8 airport line on several weekends. Basically remember to check your route before you leave, and keep the U-Bahn or regional trains as a Plan B. 

Rather stay in and dodge the chaos? Fair enough. HBO Max launched in Germany on January 13, adding another serious contender to your couch rotation. Plans start at €5.99 with ads and go up to €16.99 for 4K. Unfortunately there’s no free trial so choose wisely.

3 bits of news

New bike parking at Hauptbahnhof 

If you cycle to Hauptbahnhof and usually end up playing “Is this legal parking?” Good news. A new free bicycle parking garage has opened on Hirtenstraße, right next to the station construction zone. It’s part of the city’s plan to replace bike parking that disappeared because of all the work around the station and the Stammstrecke site. More garages are coming later, but this one is the first to actually open.

The garage sits on the ground floor of the Marsstraße car park, with access from Hirtenstraße, and offers 256 spaces, including three for cargo bikes or special bikes. It’s open 24/7, free to use, and monitored by video surveillance. There’s also a public passage straight through to Arnulfstraße and the Starnberg wing station platforms, creating a nice shortcut.

Another garage with 300+ spaces is planned for 2027 near Arnulfstraße/Seidlstraße, and more parking will follow once construction finally wraps up. Until then, this should mean fewer bikes blocking sidewalks and a little less chaos in one of Munich’s most chaotic spots.

Find more information here and here (in German).

A new swimming lake is coming to Freiham

Munich is getting a brand-new lake and it’s not a tiny splash pond. The city council has approved plans for a 58-hectare landscape park in Freiham, about the size of Westpark, with a large swimming lake right in the middle.

The main bathing lake will be L-shaped and around 5.5 hectares, big enough for real swimming, not just dangling your feet. At the north end of the park, planners are also checking whether a second lake (about 5 hectares) could be added and possibly opened for swimming too.

To keep motorway noise out, an earth embankment along the A99 will act as a sound barrier, with a path on top offering views across the whole park.

From 2027, the areas west of the Freiham sports park will start filling with activity zones, including:

• Parkour, pickleball and bouldering

• Table tennis & beach volleyball

• Hammocks, shady benches and a boules court

• 2–3 kiosks and restaurants near the lake for drinks and snacks

The park will be built in six stages, and residents will help shape later sections especially play and sports areas.

Find more information here (in German).

The letter you cannot ignore

Some Munich households will get official mail soon. Bavaria has commenced with the 2026 Microcensus, and if you’re selected, participation is mandatory.

Around 65,000 households (about 130,000 people) across Bavaria are chosen at random. If your household is picked, you’ll get a letter from the State Office for Statistics (Bayerisches Landesamt für Statistik). And by law, you must take part.

Here’s what that actually means:

• You can answer online

• Do a phone interview with one of about 130 trained interviewers

• The survey runs throughout the year (Jan–Dec), not just for one short window

The questions cover everyday life: household setup, work, education, housing, family, finances, and health. The state says this data is needed to plan things like housing, schools, transport, and social services.

The office stresses that all answers are confidential and used only for statistics, so you don’t have to worry about your privacy. For context: the microcensus has been running in Germany since 1957. It’s not the same as the big national census every ten years. This one happens every year, with a smaller sample.

Find more information here and here (in German).

Bonus:

• VAT reduction for restaurants: Will eating out become cheaper?

• Every third international wants to leave Germany, DeZIM study finds

• Here we go: Munich will soon have a new square

In Partnership with Intrepid Travel

It is our desire to bring our readers the best information about Munich — at zero cost to you. In keeping with this theme, we thank our partners for today’s newsletter. By just clicking the link below, you’ll support The Munich Post.

Adventure outside the ordinary

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Find your next adventure

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2 upcoming events

Step into Infinity in Munich

Your winter plans just got cosmic. Infinity by Projektil has landed at St. Markus Church in Maxvorstadt, turning the entire space into a 360° sound-and-light universe with Bach, modern beats, and philosophical voiceovers by Alan Watts.

For 30 minutes, the church ceiling, walls, and arches become part of the show thanks to precision projection mapping. It feels like galaxies unfolding above you, light moving with the music, and architecture that seems to dissolve into space. It’s calm, trippy, and surprisingly moving. Plus it’s open for all ages, so a great indoor activity for these cold days.

Find more information here (in English) and see it in action here. 

General information:

📍 Gabelsbergerstraße 6, 80333 München
⏰ From January 2026
🎟️ Adults €14,90, kids (5–12) €6,90, under 5 are FREE

A Sunday book rummage in Milbertshofen

If your idea of a perfect Sunday includes slow browsing, slightly dusty paperbacks, and the joy of finding a €2 treasure you didn’t know you needed – this one’s for you.

The Book Market at Kulturhaus Milbertshofen is back, and it’s exactly what it sounds like: tables full of all kinds of books, from novels to kids’ books to random surprises.

You can just browse and buy. Or, if your shelves are officially full, you can also book a sales table for €10 and pass your reads on to new homes. Just make sure you reserve your spot.

Find more information here (in German).

General information:

📍 Erbslöh Hall 0.01, Kulturhaus Milbertshofen, München
⏰ January 18, 10am–3pm
🎟️ FREE

Bonus:

• Yalla Tawla #3 - Jan 16

• Ü30 party - Jan 17

• The Circus Princess - Jan 21

• Growing up multilingual - Jan 23

We’d like to thank our second sponsor.

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1 new restaurant/café to try

Taubenschlag Bar

Sundays in Munich are now officially declared as cheat days.
At Taubenschlag Bar in Neuhausen, you can now do all-you-can-eat pizza and tiramisu every Sunday and Monday evening (starting from 5pm).

Here’s how it works: you order round after round of freshly baked pizza, plus pasta dishes like lasagne and, of course, tiramisu for dessert. Want to share a few pizzas at the table? Totally fine. Want your own? Also fine. Salads are the only thing not included, but honestly, read the room.

Quality-wise, they’re not cutting corners: the dough rests for 48 hours, tomatoes come from Naples, and the mozzarella is proper Fior di Latte. Translation: this is not a sad buffet pizza. 

This all you can eat offer includes: pizza, sandwiches, lasagne or the heavenly tiramisu – all for €14.99 or €17.99 (€3 more expensive due to Sunday surcharge for staff) per person. 

General information:

📍 Schulstraße 15, 80634 München

🥘 Bar

⏰ Mon–Thu, 5pm–1am

     Friday and Saturday, 5pm–2am 

Visit Taubenschlag Bar

Meme of the week 😂

Thanks for reading and sharing the Munich Post 3-2-1 newsletter.

Aazar, Christina, Heidi and Sana

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