Drindels, Leiderhosen, fairytale castles and sleepy, romantic villages along picturesque rivers. As we travel to Berlin, its nice to reflect that Germany has a wonderful culture and storied history beyond that of the early 20th century.
Our trip began with a 7am train out of Zagreb, that took us through Slovenia and Austria before reaching Munich. It felt like cheating to get a Slovenian stamp on my passport, since we didn't even stop to get a cup of coffee. The train got full as we entered Austria, and our little compartment shared the amazement of the Austrian Alps, which in late September either still or already had snow in some mountainous parts. It may be my love affair with the Sound of Music, but I think that countryside is the most beautiful I've ever seen.
Our trip began with a 7am train out of Zagreb, that took us through Slovenia and Austria before reaching Munich. It felt like cheating to get a Slovenian stamp on my passport, since we didn't even stop to get a cup of coffee. The train got full as we entered Austria, and our little compartment shared the amazement of the Austrian Alps, which in late September either still or already had snow in some mountainous parts. It may be my love affair with the Sound of Music, but I think that countryside is the most beautiful I've ever seen.
Fussen
It may have been a tad optimistic to expect cheap car rentals in Munich during an Oktoberfest weekend to travel down to Fussen, so that we could drive along the "romantic road." But even by train we enjoyed it so much that I could have stayed longer, had we not had such a hard time finding a place to sleep (the last night we had to camp outside the hostel). We went to the Neuschwanstein castle, carted down a mountain luge, and biked around a countryside lake.
It may have been a tad optimistic to expect cheap car rentals in Munich during an Oktoberfest weekend to travel down to Fussen, so that we could drive along the "romantic road." But even by train we enjoyed it so much that I could have stayed longer, had we not had such a hard time finding a place to sleep (the last night we had to camp outside the hostel). We went to the Neuschwanstein castle, carted down a mountain luge, and biked around a countryside lake.
Munich / Oktoberfest
But this was just our first stop, and there was so much more to do. Next up we traveled back to Munich for Oktoberfest. Although we arrived in time to go on Friday night, I had arranged to referee the Munich Oktoberfest 7's tournament on Saturday, so we walked outside of the festival, down to the Marienplatz and had as quiet an evening as the city would allow. The next morning I got up way too early for my liking and made it down to the tournament at 8am, not knowing if I should be there on time (I figure the Germans for being punctual people) or rugby time (it was an Oktoberfest tournament after all). Naturally things got started late, but the rugby was good, the teams respectful and english speaking enough, and at the end of the day I was awarded to ref the plate final. Erin had come to watch in the afternoon, and was itching to get out of there the second the final whistle blew, and we traveled back to our couchsurfing hosts house, showered and were at the festival by 7pm.
It's hard to imagine what Oktoberfest is if you've never been there. We were blown away by the party. We were a little nervous about showing up on a saturday night with no reservations, and by the large crowds we would encounter (neither of us do well in crowded places). Luckily we had an in with our host, who had been there since 3pm. Our mission to get into the hall was almost like a spy story. We snuck into the porch of a beer hall and when we were almost done with our first stein (a mostly full liter sized stein, mind you), we received a text on which door we should try to get in. We hung outside by a man who was fully passed out, and a group of italians who were trying to smooze the greek security guard with "we're friends, italy finances greece, so you should let us in." We rendezvoused with our contact who was nonchalantly waving a bar menu, and then we followed her, hand in hand as she showed multiple sets of guards her reservation armband. It could not have gone smoother.
While the party outside was something out of a high schoolers dream carnival, inside the beer tents is out of a grown up fairy tale. Literally hundreds of tables of traditionally-dressed people standing on benches, waving their beers and singing along to the 20-piece band in the center of the tent. We sat with our hosts friends, sang along to the songs that were in english, chatting with each other and occasionally ran interference for the girls who were politely but wearily chatting with flirty drunk old men. Toward the end of the night, Erin ordered the most delicious half chicken I'd ever had the pleasure of three tiny bites.
The next day was a slow start. Our host, who had been there twice as long as us, was not going anywhere, and we nixed the idea to stay one more night before heading out on our next adventure. Oktoberfest is fun, but no way we could do it two nights in a row and be able to appreciate anything else for a few days.
But this was just our first stop, and there was so much more to do. Next up we traveled back to Munich for Oktoberfest. Although we arrived in time to go on Friday night, I had arranged to referee the Munich Oktoberfest 7's tournament on Saturday, so we walked outside of the festival, down to the Marienplatz and had as quiet an evening as the city would allow. The next morning I got up way too early for my liking and made it down to the tournament at 8am, not knowing if I should be there on time (I figure the Germans for being punctual people) or rugby time (it was an Oktoberfest tournament after all). Naturally things got started late, but the rugby was good, the teams respectful and english speaking enough, and at the end of the day I was awarded to ref the plate final. Erin had come to watch in the afternoon, and was itching to get out of there the second the final whistle blew, and we traveled back to our couchsurfing hosts house, showered and were at the festival by 7pm.
It's hard to imagine what Oktoberfest is if you've never been there. We were blown away by the party. We were a little nervous about showing up on a saturday night with no reservations, and by the large crowds we would encounter (neither of us do well in crowded places). Luckily we had an in with our host, who had been there since 3pm. Our mission to get into the hall was almost like a spy story. We snuck into the porch of a beer hall and when we were almost done with our first stein (a mostly full liter sized stein, mind you), we received a text on which door we should try to get in. We hung outside by a man who was fully passed out, and a group of italians who were trying to smooze the greek security guard with "we're friends, italy finances greece, so you should let us in." We rendezvoused with our contact who was nonchalantly waving a bar menu, and then we followed her, hand in hand as she showed multiple sets of guards her reservation armband. It could not have gone smoother.
While the party outside was something out of a high schoolers dream carnival, inside the beer tents is out of a grown up fairy tale. Literally hundreds of tables of traditionally-dressed people standing on benches, waving their beers and singing along to the 20-piece band in the center of the tent. We sat with our hosts friends, sang along to the songs that were in english, chatting with each other and occasionally ran interference for the girls who were politely but wearily chatting with flirty drunk old men. Toward the end of the night, Erin ordered the most delicious half chicken I'd ever had the pleasure of three tiny bites.
The next day was a slow start. Our host, who had been there twice as long as us, was not going anywhere, and we nixed the idea to stay one more night before heading out on our next adventure. Oktoberfest is fun, but no way we could do it two nights in a row and be able to appreciate anything else for a few days.
The Rhine and Mosel Valleys
We scramble to pack our bags in time to get the 1:40 train out of Munich, which we miss because my backpack swallows important things and only regurgitates them in the most calm and labored way (I have already started looking for a mid-trip replacement). We arrive in the sleepy village of Bacharach (pronounced BAH-HA-HA, no joke) in the evening. It was amusing to us that we had followed our age-appropriate Munich trip with a week surrounded by pensioners. Later we discovered that this was a hotspot in the 60's so apparently the only ones who remember this are white-hairs.
The region is known for two things. Castles and Wine. We spent our first day going to St. Goar, a great "bring a flashlight and walk through the underground tunnels" kind of castle ruin. Somehow, my fear of ghosts did not inhibit me. The next day we took a boat down the Rhine, while narrating the scenery with Rick Steve's blitz commentary (An Aside: Basically our entire German trip has been guided by "our good friend" Rick. If you've never seen his TV show on PBS or read any of his travel books, we both highly recommend his trip itinerary). We arrived in Cochem, the middle of the Mosel wine valley that night and spent the following days a bit frustrated by the poorly run TI, but still visiting a great Castle (Berg Eltz) and tasting fantastic wines (which was a welcomed reprieve from all the beer we'd been drinking).
And now we're on the train to Berlin. It will be nice to be back in a city, surrounded by noise, and traffic, people and mess. You miss the strangest things after a lovely week in the country. Tomorrow I referee again, this time a division 2 men's rugby game in Potsdam. Fingers crossed it goes well!
-SB
We scramble to pack our bags in time to get the 1:40 train out of Munich, which we miss because my backpack swallows important things and only regurgitates them in the most calm and labored way (I have already started looking for a mid-trip replacement). We arrive in the sleepy village of Bacharach (pronounced BAH-HA-HA, no joke) in the evening. It was amusing to us that we had followed our age-appropriate Munich trip with a week surrounded by pensioners. Later we discovered that this was a hotspot in the 60's so apparently the only ones who remember this are white-hairs.
The region is known for two things. Castles and Wine. We spent our first day going to St. Goar, a great "bring a flashlight and walk through the underground tunnels" kind of castle ruin. Somehow, my fear of ghosts did not inhibit me. The next day we took a boat down the Rhine, while narrating the scenery with Rick Steve's blitz commentary (An Aside: Basically our entire German trip has been guided by "our good friend" Rick. If you've never seen his TV show on PBS or read any of his travel books, we both highly recommend his trip itinerary). We arrived in Cochem, the middle of the Mosel wine valley that night and spent the following days a bit frustrated by the poorly run TI, but still visiting a great Castle (Berg Eltz) and tasting fantastic wines (which was a welcomed reprieve from all the beer we'd been drinking).
And now we're on the train to Berlin. It will be nice to be back in a city, surrounded by noise, and traffic, people and mess. You miss the strangest things after a lovely week in the country. Tomorrow I referee again, this time a division 2 men's rugby game in Potsdam. Fingers crossed it goes well!
-SB
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