After saying goodbye to our tour friends and one of my favorite accents to date, we said hello to what is fast becoming our second home in Europe. We were in Munich only 3 months ago for work and 18 months before that at the start of our trip where Caleb would eventually propose in the snow. We just seem to keep coming back. He loves Germany and Munich in particular. His Grandma is Austrian and he grew up eating staples like schnitzel and goulash soup and while Munich offers this and more there is also an endless supply of local beers to keep him and his Untappd app very happy. I'm hooked on goulash soup so I'll never complain about visiting. Unsurprisingly he's quick to pick up the language and although he can not converse in full conversation he holds his own reading directions, menus, signage etc and understands most when spoken to.
This time we came to Munich party. All the beer he could drink and the food. The glorious German food. Oktoberfest was here!!! I'd had friends visit Oktoberfest in the past and saw their photos of all the fun and shenanigans that were had. But none of those photos could prepare me for just how big this beer festival was. Originally, a party dating back to 1810 to celebrate the marriage of soon to be King Ludwig I, the 17 day festival now attracts millions of people from around the globe to enjoy the millions of litres of Bavarian beer some of which are only brewed for the occasion.
The fairgrounds are huge with a beautiful big welcome banner as you enter. Each beer house has a 'tent' you can enter and there are enough carnival rides to bring the kid out of all of us. We were with a tour group thankfully so picking a tent wasn't as daunting as it could be. Our day began with a 9am meet at our hostel lobby before walking into town for our big day. The day before we had purchased our traditional costumes, a Dirndl for me and a Lederhosen for Caleb, so we were ready to go.
As you can imagine the day consists of drinking, eating, singing, drinking some more and hours spent lining up for the toilets. The waitresses were fast and efficient and boy did they have some upper body strength! Apparently the record for most steins held is 17 and we saw ladies come damn close to that throughout the day. A non beer drinker myself, I surprisingly enjoyed 2 stein radlers while my lovely husband had a running tally written on his arm to remember what number he was at. A number of people would jump up onto the tables to skull their stein only to be escorted out of the tent by security. An America friend on the table next to ours was one such man. Having received the cheers of thousands of people in the tent he was told to leave. A waitress came up to him and told him to reenter on the side of the building and within 10 mins we were toasting his return!
There was an excellent band playing folklore songs to entertain the crowd who would randomly belt out a Robbie Williams song or the like to get the foreigners going. There was more than enough entertainment had on each table as the empty steins were removed and swiftly replaced so you were never thirsty. After many hours of these shenanigans we finally gave our seats at the table away and decided to explore outside the tent and enjoy the rest of the festival.
We were staying in a hostel, in dorm rooms of up to 8 people, sleeping on bunk beds and sharing one ensuite. For us 30 somethings this was not our style. Oktoberfest is a very busy time in Munich so hotel pricing is through the roof so a tour group like this is the best financial way of attending but boy were we glad to get out of there. With sore heads and lack of sleep, the following day we boarded a train and headed to Vienna. (picutres of Oktoberfest pictured below)
One of our first things to do in this great city was to catch up with one of Caleb's friends from years ago who lived in Australia but has since returned to his native Austria. It's always fun when you have a 'local' to show you around as they know the best little bars and restaurants you could never find on your own. Unsurprisingly, Harold too loves his beer and the boys caught up over a local favorite - Fucking Hell.
The following day we visited the majestic Schronbrunn Palace. A former imperial summer residence dating back over 300 years, this building with over 1400 rooms spans across 186ha and houses sculptures, water fountains, a hedge maze and a stunning summer retreat perched up on a hill overlooking the whole estate. Marie Antoinette was born here and Franz Joseph, the longest reigning emperor of Austria, died here in 1916 which saw the monarch collapse in 1918. The palace has since been preserved as a museum for the public to enjoy. (palace pictured below)Before we knew it our short time in Austria was over and we were heading off to Romania for our next adventure. We use an app called Been where we track the number of countries we've visited. Our only rule is that you need to leave the airport to consider it 'visited'. As both of us have not yet visited Romania we are looking forward to ticking another country off the list!
Current tally - Teneale 34. Caleb 35.
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Travelers tip - enter Oktoberfest by 10am to secure a table. Anytime after 12pm is manic and you'll be waiting outside for people to leave before anymore entries are allowed.
Travelers tip - keep free at least 3 hours to discover Schonbrunn Palace and gardens.
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