The modes of transportation that I have used the most in Munich are walking and public transportation. Specifically, I’ll focus on my experiences on the U-Bahn and S-Bahn.
The stations for both the U-Bahn and S-Bahn are usually located underground in the city. As a result, the station entrances are marked by a sign with a big “U” or “S” for the U-Bahn and S-Bahn, respectively. After walking through the entrance, there will be stairs or an escalator that I use to get to an underground platform with railroad tracks on both sides. When the railcar arrives at the station, it will pause next to the platform for around a minute and open its doors to allow people to get on. Since it does not stop for very long, it can be a bit stressful to get on a railcar when the station is crowded during rush hour. Inside the U-Bahn or S-Bahn railcars, there will be rows of seats as well as empty areas where people can just stand instead. An overhead sign displays the direction the railcar is travelling in and the places it will stop.
The first time I had to venture onto the U-Bahn and S-Bahn systems, I was quite nervous because I thought it would be complicated to purchase tickets and find the right stations. Indeed, I boarded the U-Bahn in the wrong direction a couple times at the beginning! However, I quickly got the hang of it, and now I take the U-Bahn or S-Bahn almost every day. Having this means of transportation is extremely convenient—even though I do not have a car, I can get basically anywhere in Munich within an hour!
