This was my second time at this AirBnB. The short story is that this is an excellent apartment in an excellent neighbourhood. Travellers should note that although Christina is the ‘host’, she was highly unresponsive. Thus, contact Ludwig - who was excellent!
The Apartment:
It’s on the 2nd floor, but note the lift does not operate to this floor. There is a lot of space, and the apartment is very clean and funky. The green painted walls of the bathroom and kitchen work to give the place a liveliness. There’s decent room around the sink to have all your Knick knacks within reach, and plenty of towels and toilet paper available. The shower is very nice, as is the bath, however during this stay the plug leaked out water. English instructions were available to operate the washing machine (which has both washing and drying functions).
The kitchen had a lot of facilities and cookware. The dishwasher, oven and stove top were new and easy to use. The fridge was adequate for my needs, but the freezer was a little on the small side. Perhaps the best part of the apartment was the Nespresso machine which made decently sized and hot coffees. The kitchen table is quaint and well done to fit this within a small area.
The bed was very comfortable as were the pillows. The bedside tables were layered, helping to store multiple things within reach. Likewise a small bedlamp was also in easy reach. Speaking of lights, these are funky throughout the entire apartment, and the dimmers help to have low light in the evening.
There is ample storage space for clothes and luggage which is a bonus. The windows allow for ventilation, cool air in the evening, and perhaps feeling connected to the quiet pulse of the neighbourhood.
All in all, a great apartment. I will say that this was the second time I booked this place, and both time were during Oktoberfest. I expected the price to be expensive, but there was a significant price hike from 2016 to 2018.
The neighbourhood:
It’s pretty quiet. I slept with the window open, and it was nice to hear the birds and the faint church bells in the morning. There are 2 supermarkets down the street at Gärtnerplatz, and I frequented the funky shops in the neighbourhood, as well as the Curry Wurst cafe and the Burger and Bier around the corner. There was also a good pub around the corner, and Cotidiano did great coffee, cake and breakfast. There’s a 5 min walk to the metro, and maybe a 10-min walk to Marketplatz. There’s lots of little surprises in this neighbourhood for at least a few days (including the theatre if you’re into that).
The host:
For context, 2 years ago I informed Christina that I was arriving around 8:30-9:00pm to the apartment. When I arrived, I expected someone to be there, but there wasn’t. In fact, when you enter the big main doors of number 31, there are 3 apartment blocks. I had no clue which one I needed to enter and how to enter. I found Christina’s phone number and called her. To my surprise, she was in Paris, and she repeatedly stated that she sent me an email (I later checked all my emails and folders and there was never an email) stating that ‘Ludwig’ would meet me. I said I didn’t receive the email and asked her for Ludwig’s phone number. I was surprised and eventually frustrated that she resisted giving me his number, continuously saying she sent it in an email. Eventually I got his number, he was contacted, he came straight away, and was extremely helpful and kind.
Fast forward to 2018, and I booked this apartment again, thinking I would learn from past experience. In the week leading up to going to Munich, I contacted Christina multiple times via the AirBnB app, and leaving messages on her phone. She never responded, and this was right up until the day before my arrival. I then saw that Ludwig’s number was available - called him, and got him right away. Again, he was the same very helpful and reassuring person. About an hour later Christina sent me a message. When I arrived this time at the apartment everything went smoothly ... thanks to Ludwig. Likewise, when we departed it was smooth - thanks to Ludwig.
The moral of the story is to contact Ludwig. He is excellent. Christina is a remote, unresponsive and unhelpful ‘host’. She caused the worst AirBnB experience I’ve had in 2016, and fortunately this time the crisis was adverted - I hope future travellers can also avert a crisis and enjoy this lovely apartment in this funky neighbourhood