More to Munich than Beer and Lederhosen

In 2 days it will happen again. Huge kegs will be tapped and millions of people will gather in massive tents to sing and drink and party. Oktoberfest! I'm thinking back to last year when we were just 2 of over 6 million who celebrated the 200th anniversary of this event.

But of course there is more to Munich than just Oktoberfest. Bavaria is a stunning region with lots to see and do. We spent one day driving out to see the castles in Schloss. On the way we stopped at Wieskirche, litterally the church in the meadow. What had started out as a tiny little chapel for travelers to worship in has grown into a much larger church, but still in the middle of a meadow.

On to Schloss to see the magnificent, if somewhat crazy, castles of Hohenschwangua and Neuschwanstein. You buy your combined tour tickets, which are timed 2 hours a part. We visited Hohenschwangua, had some lunch and beers and then took the horse and buggy up the mountain to the fairy castle of Neuschwanstein. Our horses were so slow that we were late to our tour and luckily were let in to another- the last of the day. As we left the castle doors were locked behind us!

One day we took the train out to Dachau. When we got back in town we climbed to the top of St. Peter's tower where we got our first real look of Munich and how large it is. We had beers at an outdoor bar in the Marienplatz and were treated to the show that the beautiful Glockenspiel puts on. And also the show of all the tourists who jostle to see it in action.

We really loved exploring the Viktuallenmarket with it's many stalls and vendors selling fruits, meats, liquors, seafood, plants, etc.  And the area had lot's of restaurants with tables in the sun to choose from for lunch.

We visited the crypt where the royal tombs are kept in St. Michael's Church, saw the Devil's footprint outside the front of the Frauenkirche, walked up the grand Maximilianstrasse to see the theater and opera and even stopped in the Odeonsplatz where the Nazi's first gathered and demonstrated before sitting and taking in the beauty of the Royal Gardens. And then we had cocktails at the famed Schumann's Bar, not beer but delicious classic cocktails.

But on our last day the lure of Oktoberfest was too strong and we headed back to the Theresienwiese. We wandered around the rides, had beers outside at the Lowenbrau house and finally entered the Augustiner Tent.

We made friends with Otto who let us share his table, a table he has had a standing reservation at for 13 years. He explained that his wife had passed away as had many of his friends but he continued to come and enjoy the music and the beer and remember the fun of his past. Other family members joined him as the night went on and he let us stay all evening with them. And this time we ate our roast chicken early. The rest of the evening we hoisted steins and sang and danced. Prost!

More photos of Munich and the area here

Prost! Oktoberfest Day 1

Oktoberfest. I'll admit it, the word brings to mind the scenes in National Lampoon's European Vacation. I really didn't know what to expect and now that I've seen it/done it I know there is no way I can ever come close to really explaining it to you. I have a lot of friends who grew up in Germany and they tried to prepare me for it but in the end you have to go and experience it for yourself. And you should, it's possibly one of the most fun experiences we have ever had- and we've had a few!

Let's start at the beginning. Our rented house was in Kaufering, a small Bavarian town about 40 mins by train outside of Munich. We road in at 10:30am on a train packed full of locals from other outlying towns dressed in their lederhosen & dirndl, drinking bottled Radlers and Colabier (yep, half coke half beer- tastes strangely of cherry coke). You could tell everyone was having a great time and in a good mood- it was opening weekend of Oktoberfest, the 200th anniversary.

We started our day at the Riflemans & Costume Parade which is a 2 hour fashion show of the Bavarian people's dress, bands, weaponry and of course beer. It was really cool to see all the different regions represented, the decorated lederhosen & dirndl and the huge horses pulling carts loaded with beer barrels.

After a nice lunch we headed to the Theresienwiese on the bahn. A man asked me if it was my first time and when I said yes he replied "you'll never forget it". Amen. We exited off the train in a crush of people all heading up the escalators towards the light finding ourselves face to face with the huge fairgrounds and approximately 300-400k people. Holy hell!! I think we were all in shock for a minute. We walked around trying to take it all in but it was impossible and completely mind boggling.

We found our tent- we had reservations at the Haufbrauhaus Tent which is the largest tent at the festival holding over 9k people inside, upstairs and outside- and found the guy who's table we were buying seats at. There were 12 of us total and he led us inside and through the maze of people to our table. It was a MADHOUSE! And it was only 4pm. We were so happy to sit and just take it all in, an incredible site.

The tent was gigantic and beautiful. There was just a constant din of noise even when the band wasn't playing. But as soon as the music started all 6,000 people inside started to sing and bang steins and stand on their benches. Controlled mayhem as I've never encountered. I literally had bruises on both my hands from holding heavy steins all night.

Our table mates were all Americans, this wasn't their first time as it was ours and they were a blast to be with. The steins of beer kept coming and the band kept playing and all of a sudden we realized we had committed the biggest sin at Oktoberfest, we hadn't ordered or eaten our 1/2 chickens! Our lunch was long gone and as day turned to night there would be no opportunity to eat with every person now on their benches and tables. Duh! Rookie mistake.

The table of German's next to us were fun and friendly and the girls taught Dayne the words to the German song Ein Prosit and me the words and dance to Fliegerlied. Of course everyone knew the words to the American songs that were so popular- Hey Baby, Sweet Home Alabama, Bohemian Rhapsody, What A Feeling

We left to catch our 10:30 train and ended up sharing seats with a group of local kids who had also been there. Their way of staying awake on the train ride home after drinking all day? Snuff! They all had their own snuff tins and the girls were very proud that they had apricot flavored while the boys had menthol. Crazy.