Sport/Health/Fitness/Hobby Clubs

There are numerous sporting clubs and sporting activities in and around Munich Joining a local German club is an excellent way to get out and help learn the language, for local German sporting/hobby clubs the local authority's website: http://www.sport-muenchen.de for numerous sporting/hobby activities. You can also purchase a book containing a full A-Z listing of all sporting clubs and hobby groups meeting in and around Munich: "Sport in Muenchen, Von A wie Aerobic bis Z wie Zirkusk�nste" (Sports in Munich, from A -Aerobics to Z - Circus Acts!). Both this website and this publication are in German. However, if you wish to find an English-speaking group, you should look in either the English publication Munich Found, (http://www.munich-found.de ).

Special interest groups (Vereine) give individuals the opportunity to meet others with similar interests, whether it be singing, stamp collecting, or gymnastics. One website to find a local club is http://www.freestyle-muenchen.de This is a German website, but it is very comprehensive covering practically every sporting event/activity both within Munich city, and within Germany.
The following is a listing as an example of the variety of activities in Munich:-

Indoor and outdoor swimming pools are all about the city, see the website http://www.swm.de for full listings of public baths in the Munich area.

One swimming pool worth mentioning in particular, is the M�ller's Public Baths: M�llersches Volksbad, at Rosendheimer Strasse I (S-Bahn to Isartor), is one of the most magnificent public baths in all of Germany. This is no dull swimming pool but a celebration of grandeur fin-de-si�cle style. Karl Hocheder designed this Moorish/Roman spectacle between 1897 and 1901, an era of opulence. When the baths opened they were hailed as the most modern baths in all of Europe, surpassing anything but Budapest. A local engineer, Karl M�ller, donated the money to build them. Completely renovated, the baths today have a "gentlemen's pool" with barrel vaulting and a "ladies' pool" with domed vaulting.

is available from the "Sport Scheck Reitschule" in Muenchener Str 15, Unterf�hring (Tel 992 874600), you can arrange rides through the Englisher Garten alongside the Isar River. Sport Scheck Reitschule has a large indoor-riding hall, 30 horses available for beginners courses for adults and/or children. Riding lessons range in price per hour from �15 to �25 for a private lesson.
http://www.scheck-online.de/reiten.html (This website is in German).

This is a popular activity in the winter, when the weather is particularly cold and the lakes freeze over around Munich; many of these lakes turn into large skating rinks! One particularly popolar skating area is the lake by the Seehaus in the Englisher Garten. Also try the Prinzregentenstadion, Prinzregentenstr 80, Tel 89-474808.

There is plenty of snow for Alpine and cross-country skiing, snowboarding, skating and tobogganing some resorts also offer such things as paragliding, indoor tennis and squash and indoor swimming. You can reach the nearest piste within one hour's drive from Munich with a whole array of further opportunities of excellent ski resorts in Austia, Italy, Switzerland and France. Austria tends to be the better location if you are interested in the traditional 'apre-ski' atmosphere.

Resorts are too numerous to recommend any particularly good locations; ask your colleagues who live here, most people ski and if not they will surely know of good resorts to just sit out in the sun with a Gluewein in hand watching others ski!

The love of nature (die Naturliebe) is deeply ingrained in the German heritage. Thus, outdoor activities are always popular, whether it be only a stroll through a park or a cross-country summer hike (eine Wanderung).

Youth hostels (Jugendherbergen) are spotted throughout the country. Students and other young people can stay in a Jugendherberge for much less than a hotel costs. During the school year, whole classes sometimes use the Herbergen while on nature-study or class field trips. For more info on Jugendherbergen in Bavaria follow this link: http://www.djh.de/international/index.htm

There are several bowling alleys in Munich, including Bavaria Bowling, Kerzarttstr 3 (Tel 89 692 4512), Isar Bowl, Martin Luther 22, (Tel 89 692 4512), Olympia Bowling, Kopstockstr 4, (Tel 89 310 4840). In addition, Panavia/Eurofighter GmbH have a small group who play at the Olympia bowl every Friday evening at 5pm - please contact Michael Buzzing (+81180 1292)

Numerous fitness centres all around Munich. Most are on a membership-basis, for which you would normally be required to complete a contract for anything more than 6-months. Please be aware that these contracts usually have a 3-month notice period if you require to terminate your membership.

It is possible to arrange hang-gliding and paragliding in the area of Berchtesgarden, from the vertiginous slopes of Mount Jenner. Bookable via the organisation Full Stall, Maximilianstrasse 16 (tel. 08652/948-450). You can also contact Full Stall's sibling organization, Berchtesgadener Gleitschirmflieger e.V., K�nigsseerstrasse 15 (tel. 08652/2363).

Munich holds numerous international/national and regional matches, mainly sited at the Olympiastadium (tel. 089/3067-2424). Originally built for the 1972 Olympics, Olympiapark is the largest recreational and sports venue in Europe and has facilities for competitions of virtually every kind. To get tickets for any sports event, call tel. 089/5418-1818, Monday to Friday from 9am to 6pm and on Saturday from 10am to 3pm. http://www.olympiapark-muenchen.de (English-version available)

Yes, believe it or not, Munich has a thriving Beach Volleyball scene! During the summer months groups set-up their own beach-volleyball areas in the Englisher Garten. Within the Kunstpark Ost complex, an indoor beach volleyball court can be hired for a few hours, or you could join a club competing in regular competitions.