Bavaria and Lederhosen

The last few days has been a fun filled Bavarian trip.

One day in Bamberg, enjoying the churches, the river and the icecream.

Then down south to the Southern Alps. We visited Neuschwanstein, the castle that was the inspiration for the castle at disneyland. It's quite a strange site. It's built up on a hill on a rock. And the mad King Ludwig II really must've been mad. Because I have no idea how they got all that rock on that hill (about a 20 min walk up). It was quite a beautiful site from the nearby bridge, just above a waterfall. You could see much of the town below, and the lakes as well.

We stayed at a cute little B&B, where the owners werent on site. I had a taste of currywurst for dinner. It's sausage in ketchup with curry powder. I wasnt the biggest fan, but maybe I'll try it again in Berlin.

We hiked for a little while in the Alps, overlooking the castle and the city.

Scoffing at fat americans taking their horse drawn carriages/buggy. Or the lift. BOO! Im much too cheap for that.

Munich/München
I found Munich to be very unfriendly at first. No one would help us with directions, even with the German asking for them. The streets werent clearly marked so we spent ages driving around in circles. Finally found Lothar's mate's place. We took the tram and subway to Oktoberfest. There's no check to see if you paid for your ticket when you get on, so we just rode for free. Apparently random checks happen on occasion.

Oktoberfest
When I first arrived at Oktoberfest, it was like a big carnival. It smelt of sausages and sugar. People from all around the world were dressed in lederhosen. I suppose this is especially convenient since it's very difficult to ruin lederhosen. Doesnt matter how much beer you spill on it. There were kids everywhere,and girls walking around with giant chocolate hearts around their necks. Rollercoasters and other carnival rides. Workers lowering fake bats into the crowd off fishing line. We went with Lothar's former flatmate, Ben and his girlfriend Anne. They were both so tall and wearing red and orange...so I never worried of getting lost. (Lothar describes Ben's shoes as canoes...so big they can carry people across the river). Then they met up with their former flatties. It was kind of neat to see beer stands in the middle of the carnival. But that was just the start of it. Around 6pm we moseyed over to a tent. Supposedly the oldest tent at Oktoberfest. Thousands of drunk people in lederhosen singing on top of benches. For some reason you're not allowed to dance on tables, but you're allowed to dance on the seats. The songs were horrible. Some where American oldies translated into German...like Angel in the Centerfold. We drank our liter steins til the tents closed. My hand is still slightly bruised from holding beer. But now I can properly sing German drinking songs, as well as order a round of beer in German. The germans were impressed with my pronunciation of Gemütlischkait.

Getting back to Ben's flat was an absolute mess. But we made it, since the kindness of the Munich people finally kicked in. We managed our way through the subway and the tram somehow.