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| 9th August |
| To see the latest photos from Speck's visit and our trip to Munich click here. 9th August, 2003 Specko, Munich, German Beer, Pretzels, German Beer, �business� trip, German Beer, need I say more. I had the pleasure of having Specko, and his work mate Barry, come and visit Lou and I in beautiful Bavaria over the weekend and I think it would be fair to say they greatly enjoyed their time. I�m still trying to reconcile how Specko not only managed to get a company funded trip, business class flight and Hilton Hotel rooms included, but also managed to land it in one of the absolute best times to come to Germany. He assures me that it was �unavoidable for his project� and I�m glad he made it (especially for all those �business lunches� I was able to join in on while he was here. The beer halls of Munich make for an enjoyable business lunch setting). Specko and Barry arrived in Augbsurg on Friday evening and were soon up in Lou and my apartment joining us for a BBQ and beer on the balcony (my neighbors hate me, especially when I nod at them and keep saying �Yah� when the try and tell me off in German). After a few refreshments we headed into the village, which was still full of activity at 11pm with the La Piazza (like the Fringe Festival) going on. We watched some B-grade jugglers trying to play with fire, I was particularly impressed with the guy who slipped up on his arse mid juggle, and then headed to the nightclub district for a few more refreshments (it was a warm night!). The next morning I was severely regretting both suggesting and committing to getting up at 8:30am so that we could see a bit of Augsburg before heading to Munich. |
| A quick walk through the village and the markets and we decided to head back and grab our gear so we could get the 11am train to Munich. I�d arranged earlier to be in Munich by 12pm to pick up the keys to a mates apartment that Lou and I were crashing in for the night. It turned out he was in an even worse state than I had been earlier that morning and was still a walking zombie when we got there. The fact that we even got there remotely close to 12pm was a miracle in itself after a mad double taxi dash to the Hauptbahnhoff(thanks Mars Australia) when we thought we were 2 minutes too late but ended up being 5 minutes early (phewww!). After a refresh Specko, Barry, Lou and I met up again at the central station in Munich to explore the city. This was the first time all of us had walked through the city and I think we were all pretty amazed at how awesome the city was. These guys have an amazing lifestyle. I can�t complain living in Augsburg but Munich is definitely a uniquely amazing city. After a stroll through the bustling central mall, along with popping our heads into some extremely large and impressive churches, we continued on to the English Garden. I don�t know why they call it the English Garden, it�s about as German as you can get. When you walk in one of the first things that strike you are the fields full of naked bathers. As you walk further you see a huge party of bongo players, hundreds of Germans enjoying the sun, and people just generally chilled out. After walking around for a while we found the Chinese Tower beer gardens in the heart of the park and sat down for a lazy afternoon of amber refreshment. Later that night we met up again and headed to the Hofbr�uhaus, Munich�s legendary beer hall. We knocked back a few steins of the local brew and had a try on the weird German pokie machines that they have in all the pubs over here. After that we headed to the nightclub district and stumbled upon a great club that was almost full to the brink. By about 4am Lou and I were stuffed and retired home, although I suspect Specko and Barry stayed out until the sun was well and truly up. The next day Specko & Barry caught up with Specko�s uncle and Lou and I, after we eventually emerged from deep sleep, headed back to the English Garden to catch some sun. A great city that lives up to every expectation and it was even better visiting the beer halls and gardens with Specko and Barry. I�ve put up a few photos from our weekend in Munich that you can view by clicking here. �Till next time. Ned. |