Munich, Europe 2005
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Our first leg of this European holiday ended and the next began with the flight from Barcelona to Munich. Who would have imagined that we would fall in love with this part of the world?
- The food: probably the best sausages in the world;
- The beer and merry times: arguably the best beer in the world. Munich is home to the famous Oktoberfest;
- The Culture: centuries of history. Including the more recent WWII which is close to loved ones´ memories and an era with stories I could tirelessly listen to.
- And of course, The People: we may have been lucky in our short stay or perhaps the German people (or Bavarians, South Germany, at least) are some of the friendliest on our rock. This is a trait I have heard many comment on Australians, Kiwis and Canadians.
Our first exposure to German generosity was on the journey to our hostel from the airport. We booked our accommodation on the phone and grabbed a quick bite at Burger King (a sin of laziness and insult to local cuisine that we try to avoid where possible - alas, we are human!), we were struggling to decifier the trains. A kindly German upon a white stallion strode in and attemped to explain the system. Stations were on lines and grouped into various rings and also zones. Tickets are purchased or punched according to this, the type of passenger and vaious other factors including distance in days until the next winter solace [transport is free on the day of an eclipse ;-)]. Most likely related to my IQ not exceeding the temperature of a London summer day (in celcius!) - I did not comprehend.
It started to look like it would be cheaper and less painful to take a Sputnik when another German woman offered to take us on her partner´s corporate card. Wonderful! We then spent the next 45 minutes conversing with that couple, our first attempted saviour and another German (born in Brasil). Perhaps luck. However, as revealed later, this was not the singular occurance of generousity we experienced.
Kev told us about a fair-priced, clean, fun hostel (Easy Palace Hostel) that was close to the Oktoberfest grounds where he stayed at the previous two years. Kev is a valued customer that has twice obtained a bed on arrival during the Oktoberfest, the busiest and over-priced time of the year. A feat unequalled by any other living man (there is a myth that a man in the early 17th century accomplished this once). Personally, I attribute this achievemnet to Kev´s stirling ability to sweet talk - that kid could get the vault combination off a Bank Manager!
We remembered his recommendation only after we booked there! Regardless, thanks for the tip mate!
We joined a Tuesday afternoon tour to Dachau Memorial, named after the nearby town. Those that have visited other camps or similar memorial sites may understand the emotion and affect of the experience. I will not attempt to describe it. So profound that I took not one photo. The day will be etched in my memory until my last.
In order to see as much of Europe as we could before our flights expired at the end of October, we originally planned to spend a couple of days in Munich. We would not be there for Oktoberfest which started on the Saturday. We thought we should venture down to the Hofbrauhaus, the famous and oldest beer hall in Germany. A place that supposedly had the atmosphere of Oktoberfest every night.
We must have gone through an unusual entrance as we found ourselves in the restaurant area with an older crowd. We sat with a lovely couple from Munich. They were only in the "over-priced tourist trap" (their words) to use a 2-4-1 coupon - We are the same all over the world! They were terrific enough to spend 15 minutes going through the menu with us, explaining how each dish was prepared and how traditional it actually was. Great advice and a delicious meal!
We joined a bike tour the next day. I will not mention the name of the tour as the owner was a complete and utter tosser, so no promotions from me. The guide was funny, entertaining and the tour itself top quality. Munich is pretty large with attractions fairly spread. Bikes were more suitable where walking would not cover enough ground and vechicles not capture the atmosphere quite so well. It was not hard to predict that bike tours would become a trend for us.
An interesting and appealing site was one of the many tributes to a group during WWII. A handful of students and their philosophy lecturer were captured and executed for anti-Nazi demonstrations. A tale ending in tragedy like so many of that time.
Another section of the Hofbrauhaus was revealed during the bike tour. The Beer Hall. We stopped for a mass (big-arse glass - 1 litre) of beer in the afternoon, so why not continue into the night?
What a night! Our night at the Hofbrauhaus was the best of the trip and one of the ... funniest ... drinking nights ... ever! (Simpsons joke). Arriving early, Sal & I grabbed some varieties of sausages, a couple of enormous beers and settled down to watch the hall fill.
We were joined by three men - a South African, a North German of Indian decent and a Bavarian, all in town for a plastic bottle convention (strangely not the only people we met in town for the convention!). There was flowing conversation, film (IE photos), beer and merry times. After hours of beer, (with a couple of shots thrown in for good measure!), our German friends departed ... and paid for the bill as well! So very generous.
Three Italian photographers replaced our retiring German verterans. If we had more sense we would have pulled the pin also. That may have stopped my painful morning of hurling and a very full day tour.
By the wee hours of the morn I regretted booking on a Friday tour to Neuschwanstein Castle. With my head under running cold water over a sink just cleaned from my retching, I tried not to wake the other four people in our dorm room. I wished some of the previous night´s half dozen litres were made up of water or at least chandy.
This well trained, elite trooper sucked it up and carried on marching. Rubbish! Those that are close, know I am a pathetic pandsy when hungover. The day´s schedule included two trains to Fussen, bus to Neuschwanstein Castle, a hike to the Turbogan run (which was closed due to avalanches and substitued for a bus, thank the gods!), free time for a ride, more bike tours and plenty of complaining about dizzy, sore heads from us.
As Dutch would say, the castle was tremendous. This is the legendary castle built by the ecsentric and totally queer king (Ludwig II) and is the model used for Disney´s emblem. Yep - that castle.
The decision to stay for beerfest meant changing accommodation and carrying our bags 10-15 minutes to the Easy Palace Hotel. This was the last thing we felt like doing at the end of a long, albeit sensational, 24 hour stretch. An early night was on the cards to refuel (I know, mix metaphores) for the grand opening day.
For a huge even with much hype, it is common for an anti-climax or sabotage. It was sad to wake on the Saturday morning to gloomy skies. Would the wet degrade the day like this year´s deciding 5th test in the best Ashes series for 14 years?
There are small differences between the opening day and the remaining three weeks of Oktoberfest. It is the busiest day and it holds the arrival ceremony for the tent owners, a very old tradition. Many locals dress in traditional gear of their heritage while other imposters wear equally fun, less traditional, yet revealing outfits for the occasion. As I understand it, the main objective of the festivities is to get yourself a seat (not easy) and get dug-in for a long session of beer consumption.
You will be served beer only if you are seated (toilet does not count) and obtaining a priced throne is challenging. The advice we received was to arrive early, especially if rain is predicted as the crowds will converge inside the beer tents. We arrived at 10am and joined the many unlucky standing patrons. Experienced verterans reserved tables a year in advance or arrived even earlier to set-up camp with playing cards and packed brunches. Leigh and Michelle were also here (as we decided to stay on quite late, we did not get the chance to contact them) and they had smartly gone with their German friends who had a reserved table.
We explored the grounds, wonderful rides and the large tents, each representing a different beer. We slowly lost hope of finding a position indoors. With a final throw of the dice, we decided to brave the elements in the Lowenbrau beer garden. We were not alone. Shortly after the first "mass" serving at midday, the outside tables were full. We sat with a handful of Kiwis and a couple of US citizens. The Kiwis were great fun. They were bridge engineers and have our contact details to contact us when in Aus next year - more specifcally, to contact Sal´s dad, who is one of the more experienced Aussie civil engineers in the area of bridges. We each bought Oktoberfest headgear, Sal a witch´s hat, a lion crested beenie for me and the Kiwis showed what good sports they are with sheep.
Through the day we met many more from New Zealand, some from the US, Italy, and even an Aussie. Strangly enough, no Germans - they were the smart ones inside! It rained twice and formed our umbrellas into a roof of sorts. Rain was annoying but did not ruin the day.
My memory of Oktoberfest will be of a large crowd on the piss. If we go back, I would like to either go in a group of mates or go to an area that has more German / traditional feeling. I am thankful we experienced the beer hall with Germans earlier in the week and exposed to two types of Munich beer drinking fun. Both unforgettable.
Munich is ranked highly on the list of visited cities. It is Bianca´s favourite and I understand why. The people we met in our short stay were lovely. I imagine one of the main reasons for their approachability is this tradition of sitting with others in beer halls. What an exceptional concept. Strangers joined for a short time who will eat, drink, chat and be merry in order to have a fantastic time together.
A ragged couple unsteadily exited the festival grounds late opening night, collected their bags and boarded the overnight train to Prague. A trip not remembered by Sally and not recommended on a stomach full of beer. But that is another story ...
Click here for the next leg of this European holiday (to be completed).
Check out the Munich photo album here (To be uploaded)
You can email me at tjcrouch@hotmail.com