If we weren't the ones running our Airport Layover Contest, we'd definitely enter this idea: "Airport Beach" at Munich Airport.

Starting August 1, pros and amateurs alike will set, spike and dig between Terminals 1 and 2 at the Munich Airport Center. August 10 is family day, and the German women's volleyball league champs--the Vilsbiburg Red Ravens, didn't you know?--will be on-hand to give pointers on the game. The fun wraps up August 15-17 with the 16-team Bavarian beach volleyball championship.

Admission to everything is free; if you're already in Munich, you get up to five hours of free airport parking if you're going to the games.

Related Stories:
· Airport Beach [Official Site]
· Airport Beach Opens Season at Munich Airport [PTT]
· Layovers coverage [Jaunted]

In the beer-drinking heart of south-east Germany, the Mandarin Oriental Munich is proving popular with travelers since its renovations finished recently (although personally we're a bit puzzled by the new furniture in this picture).

Right now it's rating as #3 out of some 350 hotels on the TripAdvisor ratings so are hunch that it's a good spot to stay is definitely shared; on top of that, their website boasts that a Travel + Leisure poll put them in the Top 10 of the world's best hotels.

The location is great, right near the Marienplatz which is where Munich ticks. The hotel has everything, even a Michelin-starred restaurant, and the rest of Munich is right at your

We've been trying to let poor ol' Bruno the Bear rest in peace since he was killed in Bavaria after famously being the first wild bear to enter Germany since 1836.

But we just have to mention that Bruno the Bear has finally become a permanent part of the tourist landscape in Germany. As promised, a well-stuffed Bruno is now on display in the Museum of Man and Nature inside the Nymphenburg Palace near Munich. The realistic-looking diorama opened last Thursday and the nice thing is you can get into the museum for just €2.50 ($4).

And while we're pleased that Bruno can take a rest now, we don't want you to forget that if you're traveling through western Austria this summer, you might catch some of the location shoot for the movie based on Bruno's story. If you think we're champing at the bit to visit Bruno in the museum, just imagine how much we're dying to see this film.

Related Stories:
· Famous Stuffed Bear Goes on Display [Spiegel]
· The Belated Return of Bruno the Bear [Jaunted]
· We Can't Believe the Bear is Loose [Jaunted]

[Photo: Spiegel]

That seems to be the case with what happened to Flickr member Ramones Karaoke (a nickname of course) who has a great collection of business hotel shots. Or as he calls them "Faceless Business Hotels of the World."

Ramones spent a night near the Munich airport and here's what went down:

They ran out of no smoking rooms on a day I was wearing a nice suit and looking hassled, so I got upgraded at the Munich Airport Kempinski into a 'Junior Suite' - what on earth a 'Senior Suite' must be like I cannot guess - the Junior has more toilets than my house, a walk-in wardrobe, 2 TVs, great toiletries in the bathroom.

Flippin' heck.

Granted

While Germany already has an internationally renowned (and architecturally stunning) Jewish Museum in Berlin, another one entered the scene this month with the opening of the Jewish Museum Munich. In fact, they'd been thinking about doing this for 78 years, so it was probably about time that a new building (including a synagogue) opened for visitors on St Jakobs Platz. Like the Berlin museum, it's not simply a memorial to the Holocaust, but also a collection of displays on Jewish life in general.

The opening of another cultural attraction is great news for those looking to add to their collection of excuses to return to Munich--even when every reason is just a cover-up for another outing to Oktoberfest. Who said drinking beer can't be part of an educational experience? Prost!

[Photo: NiceBastard]

Related Stories:
· Munich Welcomes New Jewish Museum [Spiegel]
· It's September, It Must Be Oktoberfest! [Jaunted]

Endless Europe is a web-based reality series, chronicling the adventures of two backpackers and two crew members who did an eight-week jaunt across Europe this July and August. The three Canadians and one American, none older than 23, made the classic post-college circuit of party capitals like London, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Prague, as well as newer destinations like Tallinn and Dubrovnik, and hit up the World Cup in Germany for good measure. There’s a map of their whole trip here. The series debuted on October 1, and, to date, there are 12 episodes on their website, EndlessEurope, that cover the crew’s travels to the UK and Germany (you can see the first seven right here on Travelistic). The site was initially used to generate interest in the project through a contest to choose the two hosts, and now has downloadable versions of each episode, and bios and blogs for each of the cast members, where you can get a preview of the mishaps and drunken hijinks to come.

[Ed. Note: Welcome to our Good Rate/Bad Rate feature where we look at hotel prices in the same city and decide which is better worth your hard-earned benjamins. The screenshot here was taken on September 26, 2006 and rates are subject to change.]

If you thought Oktoberfest was in October and you're thinking about heading to Munich for the festivities, well, you're too late. It actually started on September 16 and is over next week--October 3. The hotels that aren't already booked up are charging double the normal rates for the remaining scarce rooms.

But the beer drinking doesn't stop when the tents come down and Munich can be a lot more fun when you're not sharing the city with

[Ed. Note: This is the Bad Rate in our Good Rate/Bad Rate feature. This rate was valid on September 26, 2006 and is subject to change. Enjoy.]

Our Munich Good Rate this week, the Hofbräu Haus Package from K&K Hotel am Harras, would make us want to joyously clink giant steins of beer. The rate at the nearby Platzl Hotel would make us want to drown our sorrows.

This is an historic hotel that is apparently just getting around to knocking out a few walls. Although Platzl Hotel is rated as a 3.5 star hotel, they still sell single rooms that can only sleep one--for $121 to $145 a night (including breakfast). Perhaps they actually are appealing to

Vast quantities of beer? Check. Lots of drunken boys? Check. All in a day's travels for Paris Hilton. The infamous heiress has resurfaced in Munich, screaming "Vilkommen," enthusiastically becuase she is prepared for Oktoberfest. Paris told reporters, "Munich is one of the coolest cities," and proudly arrived at the festivities in traditional Dirndl clothing, just a few sizes too small. What, Munich's not even worthy of a "that's hot"?

Paris is traveling with bajillionaire friend Kim Kardashian, who was also decked out for the drink-fest.  P-Slutty is in town to promo her new canned sparkling wine, "Rich Prosecco," and is ever-so-onveniently working in a few days at Oktoberfest. Enough time to dress up, get drunk, and score we assume.

Related Stories:
·Germany Says Vilkommen to Paris [TMZ]

Apparently Germans don't feel the need to sleep. That's the message we get, anyway, from the success of the Long Night of Museums concept. For nearly 10 years now, cities around Germany have picked one night a year when, after buying just one general admission ticket, you can spend all night visiting the various museums and cultural sites a city has to offer, connected by free shuttle buses and other transport.

Now, whether or not you really want to be reading about the history of German public transport at 3am, then taking a bus to the office for monument protection, the point is not that you want to but that you can. Munich's got its Long Night coming up on 21 October (you should know that this one only runs until 2am), so save up some sleep and hit the Bavarian streets and museums. You won't be alone.

[Image via mcmumpitz/Flickr]

Related stories:
Long Night in Munich [Go Travel News]
It's September, It Must Be Oktoberfest [Jaunted]