Dec
7
Written by:
Jess Williamson
12/7/2010 1:52 AM
The land of the beer!! Well so they claim. Having travelled through Europe there seems to be a lot of European cities that try claim this. Random fact Number 1: In Munich it is legal to drink a stein of beer and still go to work .... slightly scary!
When we first arrived at our hostel, I was slightly put off as nestled between strip clubs, casino's and seedy sex shops was our hostel. Interesting location but it seemed this was the place for all hostels and in hindsight was reasonably good location (Not for that reason).
First on the itinery was the
Free Sandeman Walking Tour in Munich which are run thoughout Europe in various cities, and rely on tips (If you think its worth it) as payment. Excellent way to get your bearings in a new town and learn some of the history, and being run by an irishman meant for some good light hearted humour as well. Random fact number two: Every year at Oktoberfest a lot of Australian passports are reported lost. So each year they set up a temporary consulate/embassy to help the unfortunate Aussies who succumb to such a fate. Hmm maybe we can't handle our beer as well as the German's. Another interesting fact that caused many discussions later that night was that of the town pole. Each area in Germany has a town pole. Apparently anyone that manages to steal the pole (bearing in mind it is 5 metres or so high) gets a party thrown for them each year for the rest of their life, with free beer. Examples include the police force stealing one from an airport for a laugh at the airport security.
As is the case throughout all of Europe so far, we always manage to bump into someone we know or knows someone we know back in Perth. The whole 6 degrees of separation is definately true. So Munich was no different. Through beloved Facebook one of Dave's friends (Tom) from high school found out his was in Munich and randomly guessed that we would be at a beer hall and popped in to say hi. Blew us away! We also managed to bump into a few other fellow Perthians (One of which is a physio back home). Slightly concerning when I keep bumping into Physio's travelling because they can't get jobs in the UK.
After a few beers and German Sausages we went in search for the Michael Jackson Memorial Site. Apparently Michael Jackson frequently visited Munich as it is quite a popular destination for plastic surgery, so much so his last bout of plastic surgery was done in Munich. Mourners come to the site every day and light candles and dance and sing Michael Jackson songs around the memorial (still even 3 years on) ... Crazy!!!
Beers aside we did a day trip to the Dachau Concentration Camp, which besides being quite an intense and sombre day was good to see. The way humans treated other human beings back during the Nazi Period is absolutely awful, but the one thing the German's dont do is hide from their past and the Tour was definately worth it and very well run. It was probably a good warm up for Auschwitz to come, as Dachau was more a working camp than a murder camp.
Exit Beer and Enter Wine. After a few days boozing it up in Munich, we were in search of some down time. So we packed up and headed to the Rhine River Region near Frankfurt, which is the wine region of Germany. We stayed in a small village called Florsheim. Again being off season it was pretty quiet, but we managed to score some awesome weather which meant we could make use of the free bike hire from our hostel.
The first night we rode 10 km to a winery run by a local family for dinner. You know your in the right place when all the loacals are eating there. We were the only Terry's (aka Tourists) in sight. This also meant there was no english speaking menu, so it was good old 'eeny meeny miney mo' to pick our mains. Turned out to be a great meal topped with great bubbles. Truly Fantastic.
The next day we set off on a bike ride along the Rhine River. Every 1 km there was a castle which back in the day were there for tax reasons (plundering) and surrounding the castles were numerous vineyards. I dont think I was quite the riding partner Dave had in mind. Constantly stopping for photos and wine meant I didn't quite crack the pace that his best mate and riding buddy Guy does. Dave did say at one stage “This would be awesome to do with Guy”. Ah well it was quite enjoyable, and the great thing about these european bikes is the big seats means no sore bums afterwards (or was that the wine?).
So our next stop was Amsterdam. I was slightly concerned when Dave told me he had booked us to stay on a boat in Amsterdam. Anyway I will leave that for him to explain. Hope everyone is enjoying the lovely sunny Perth Summer. You dont realise how awesome our Summer is until you travel a European winter. Loving all your comments and messages. Keep them coming and I will try to keep a little more up to date with the posts. Miss you all xx
8 comment(s) so far...
Re: Munchen in Munich
Oh Jess it sounds just magical... With the cold snap in Europe I hope that you make it back to Vienna for Christmas.. I can beleive how cold it is over there. Very strange weather going on in Australia with the East experiencing floods and its been raining here in Perth the last few days (not heavy tho).
Keep posting.
Love Yolanda, Michael, Coop & Sienna
By Yolanda on
12/7/2010 6:13 PM
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Re: Munchen in Munich
Thanks Yolanda! We are having a ball. It hasn't stopped snowing the last few days which is nice. A lot warmer -2 degrres yesterday. Hope everything is going well back in Perth and little Sienna is behaving herself. Thanks for the message.
xx
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12/9/2010 4:31 PM
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