40 hours. 100 liters of gas. Three Franziskaner weissbiers (hefeweisen). 2 good friends. 1 extremely tired Greg.
This is my trip to Munich and Berchtesgaden in a nutshell. Unlike my last trip, I had a couple people come along to enjoy the time honored Bavarian tradition that is Oktoberfest which was great. He was one of the Airmen from my unit who just returned from the desert and his wife. The bottom line is that we all had a really good time. I'll try to describe:
First, people wear the traditional bavarian dress which is drindl (sp?) for the beautiful women (best looking in Germany) and the liederhosen for the men (seemed really gay looking). Strange to see these manly men in short leather shorts with suspenders. Anyhow, I haven't told Jen and Julia this yet but they are going to dress up as the festgoers do during next year's Oktoberfest.
Also, it was good to see Germans cutting loose in a big way. The people around here are...well...not exactly the party animals we've seen in the Spain or even the US for that matter. Someone told me that whatever the Germans lack in personality and spirit most of the year, they more than make up for during their fests. I found this particularly true this weekend. Perfect weather and lots of beer seemed to help too.
Wasn't just Germans who were there though. It seems as if Qantas had a special running for Germany because the place was crawling with drunken aussies. These guys go nuts. Regardless of where they all came from, many people came to this thing. Simply put, the place was completely packed. I did, however, make it into the Paulander tent before they closed the doors. This was really cool. The big band was playing traditional frolicky music in the middle of the massive tent while the crowd clammored for more. Not sure how to describe it but there was a really great vibe going around. People just seemed to be enjoying themselves for no particular reason. It wasn't like their team won the soccer game or their candidate wonthe election. No, they were just celebrating just being alive. It was really neat to see. It was also cool to see that it wasn't just the twentysomethings cutting up. All ages were represented at this thing. The cutest were the little kids decked out in full costume. Definitely worth the trip.
The next day I shifted gears and headed out to Berchtesgaden which is a border town in SE Germany. History buffs will know that this place is home to the Kuelstein or Eagle's Nest. This was the place that was erected by the Nazis for the purpose of hosting their appeasement minded guest diplomats. The house itself wasn't nearly as impressive as the view from the top of the mountain. From this one infamous house I was able to see well into Austria and it's magnificent city of Salzburg but also could see parts of the Italian Alps in the distance (see video below). Good stuff.
This is my trip to Munich and Berchtesgaden in a nutshell. Unlike my last trip, I had a couple people come along to enjoy the time honored Bavarian tradition that is Oktoberfest which was great. He was one of the Airmen from my unit who just returned from the desert and his wife. The bottom line is that we all had a really good time. I'll try to describe:
First, people wear the traditional bavarian dress which is drindl (sp?) for the beautiful women (best looking in Germany) and the liederhosen for the men (seemed really gay looking). Strange to see these manly men in short leather shorts with suspenders. Anyhow, I haven't told Jen and Julia this yet but they are going to dress up as the festgoers do during next year's Oktoberfest.
Also, it was good to see Germans cutting loose in a big way. The people around here are...well...not exactly the party animals we've seen in the Spain or even the US for that matter. Someone told me that whatever the Germans lack in personality and spirit most of the year, they more than make up for during their fests. I found this particularly true this weekend. Perfect weather and lots of beer seemed to help too.
Wasn't just Germans who were there though. It seems as if Qantas had a special running for Germany because the place was crawling with drunken aussies. These guys go nuts. Regardless of where they all came from, many people came to this thing. Simply put, the place was completely packed. I did, however, make it into the Paulander tent before they closed the doors. This was really cool. The big band was playing traditional frolicky music in the middle of the massive tent while the crowd clammored for more. Not sure how to describe it but there was a really great vibe going around. People just seemed to be enjoying themselves for no particular reason. It wasn't like their team won the soccer game or their candidate wonthe election. No, they were just celebrating just being alive. It was really neat to see. It was also cool to see that it wasn't just the twentysomethings cutting up. All ages were represented at this thing. The cutest were the little kids decked out in full costume. Definitely worth the trip.
The next day I shifted gears and headed out to Berchtesgaden which is a border town in SE Germany. History buffs will know that this place is home to the Kuelstein or Eagle's Nest. This was the place that was erected by the Nazis for the purpose of hosting their appeasement minded guest diplomats. The house itself wasn't nearly as impressive as the view from the top of the mountain. From this one infamous house I was able to see well into Austria and it's magnificent city of Salzburg but also could see parts of the Italian Alps in the distance (see video below). Good stuff.
I'll post some pix when I get them developed (the digital camera is in CA with Jen for the moment). Anyhow, the ability to see in person these places that are stepped in such great history is what living in Europe is all about.
Until next time: Prost!!!
Until next time: Prost!!!
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