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Maged and I met two other friends, Alicia and Cecelia, in Muenchen for Oktoberfest. We spent the next three nights sleeping (outside with sleeping bags on the ground!) at rest stops on the Autobahn. NOTE TO FUTURE TRAVELLERS: I have since learned that this was just about the dumbest decision we made, as it can be quite dangerous to spend the night at a rest stop on the Autobahn. On our first night in Muenchen we went to Oktoberfest. The ONLY size of beer available at Oktoberfest is 1 LITRE! We met a lot of Americans and Italians at Oktoberfest, and some Canadians too. Each beer is about $9 Cdn. The beer tents are really nice and well decorated, and each one has a band playing Bavarian Oktoberfest music. There were many tents (actually buildings), one for each brand of beer, and they were enormous! They were also packed full of beer enthusiasts. Unfortunately the tents close at 11:00 PM (mind you, they open at 11:00 AM). |
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The next morning we had the most incredible wake-up call. A bus load full of about 50 crazy Bavarians, all dressed up in the traditional Bavarian Oktoberfest clothes, stopped at our hotel (read: piece of grass beside the Autobahn). They were on a trip for the weekend, I don't know where. It was about EIGHT IN THE MORNING, far too early after a night of Oktoberfesting. They woke us up and gave us beer! One guy whipped out his trusty accordion and started playing, and all the guys got in a circle and did this traditional dance. 
It was absolutely incredible! When they left, I realized that one of the guys had stolen the hat I had been wearing every day since I got here (he had it on his head and forgot to give it back really). You can see our rental car in this picture. 
Later that day we went to visit the Olympic park in Muenchen and we went up the tower to have a view of the whole city. From the Olympic tower we could see the Olympic Stadium ... 
... and the BMW headquarters. 
After the Olympic park visit we bought some food at the grocery store, then we went back to Oktoberfest! This time we were smart enough to arrive earlier, around six (we arrived around nine the night before), so we would have more drinking time! That night we drove (note: the driver had not been drinking!) back out on the Autobahn to find another one of those free hotels (read: piece of grass at a rest stop beside the Autobahn). Fortunately we were never rained on, at least not very much. The next day we drove towards the border with Austria to see Neuschwanstein. It is quite amazing. The King who made it was really crazy, and as a result it is very big and elaborate. 
There are actually two famous castles in the area, next to Neuschwanstein is Hohenschwangau. 
After Neuschwanstein we drove to Mittenwald, a nice border town in the mountains. There we found another affordable hotel (by now you should know what that really means) and spent the night. The next morning the other three went to see Mittenwald, while I began another one of my hitch-hiking journeys. I hitch-hiked all the way from Mittenwald in Germany to Verona in Italy, going through Austria on the way. One of my rides even bought me lunch in Bolzano, Italy. Back to the Main Page - Zur�ck zur Hauptseite |