2010. október 2., szombat
Oktoberfest-Munich, Germany
We took a road trip to Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany. From Pápa, the drive to Munich is about 5 hours. Our first stop during our road trip was Braunau, Austria. Braunau, Austria is the birth place of Adolph Hitler. We stood outside of the building and peered up at the window of the room he was born in. Outside of the house, there is a rock which serves as a monument. The rock reads, "Für Frieden, Freiheit und Demokratie. Nie wieder Faschismus. Millionen Tote mahnen" ("For peace, freedom and democracy; millions of dead urge: never again fascism").
We continued our drive towards Munich and stopped at a small restaurant alongside of a country road. The restaurant was extremely small and had only two long tables. There was one man sitting down having a beer, and one woman working as both the server and the cook. We had read the specials on a chalk board outside, and ordered them from the server (all the men had schnitzel and I had bratwurst). I peered into the kitchen which was almost in the same room as the tables, and it was very clean. Flies were pesky as we waited for the food, but we all were very happy with the country ambiance. The food was delicious and cheap.
After lunch we came across a beautiful town on the border of Austria and Germany. The 1000 year old town of Burghausen, Germany is built around the impressive Burghausen Castle. Burghausen’s quaint town square is built upon cobble stone streets and is situated in the middle of colorful buildings. The castle and other old steeples are visible from the square.
After admiring the beautiful German town, we continued our drive until we reached Munich. After checking into the Golden Leaf Hotel (which was overpriced but a nice clean hotel) we walked 5 minutes to the Underground which is the local subway system. For only 9.40 Euros, we bought a 24 hour pass which allowed the 4 of us to take the subway (the ticket is actually a group ticket good for 5 people). Figuring out how to navigate through the subway system proved easier than I had imagined.
As a group, we rode the subway to Theresienwiese which was the stop for the Oktoberfest. We exited from the Underground and walked directly into the festival. Oktoberfest is very different than we were expecting. It is just like a big carnival with food vendors, shops, rides, games and tons of people. There are large “tents” (which are not tents at all but big buildings) in which tables fill quickly with people drinking 1 liter beers. In the tents, there are also traditional bands and traditionally dressed women serving both beer and food.
The tents fill up very quickly, very early in the day. We arrived at Oktoberfest at about 6pm and all of the tables in the tents were full. Fortunately, we were able to get a table directly outside of a tent. We were very lucky because this area was just like inside the tent with servers and music. We enjoyed watching people dance and sing on table tops…and drink way too much.
After a while we headed into a tent to enjoy some traditional music and do some more people watching. The tents get way too packed!! Drunk men “touch and feel” their way through the crowd. We felt very uncomfortable (perhaps because we were sober! Lol).
After about 30 minutes in the tent (which was 30 minutes too long) we walked around the festival. We felt like we were walking through the California Mid State Fair, except it seemed that everyone was drunk. There were people arguing, others falling down and others making out. Each of us enjoyed some traditional German food before heading back to the Underground to venture back to the hotel and head to bed.
The next morning we purchased subway passes again (our previous ticket expired at 6am) and headed to Marienplatz. Marienplatz is the main town square in Munich and is considered the heart of the city. The square is dominated by the New Town Hall (Neues Rathaus) (built in 1867) which is overwhelmingly impressive. The building contains the famous Glockenspiel which is a HUGE cuckoo clock which features figures perform a dance, which was originally performed in 1517 at the Marienplatz to commemorate the end of the plague. The clock “cuckoos” every day at 11 am and 5 pm.
For breakfast we sat down at an outside patio and ordered traditional German food at Vikualienmarkt. The men all enjoyed sausages and I ordered boiled beef served with warm potato salad. I must say again, the food was good, but German food is proving not to be my favorite.
We spent the rest of the day wandering around Munich, by both foot and the subway. Munich is by far the cleanest “big city” we have seen in Europe. In addition, it feels the most like the states. I can’t really explain this “feel”….it just “felt” more like the US than other European cities. We peered into shops and the meat markets which there are a ton of! Germans eat meat at every meal…and there are definitely enough meat markets to sustain this.
The English Garden, in Munch, is a very large beautiful park which is often compared to Hyde Park in London. The English Garden is dense and very green, with a beautiful stream running through it. There are paths for walking, biking and horseback riding. Dusty and I did not think the English Garden and Hyde Park were anything alike. Hyde park is more, well…like a park, with green lawns, trees and birds. The English Garden is more like a small forest. None the less, both parks are beautiful in their own way.
In the park we found a small Biergarden (Biergardens are located all over Munich!) We were enjoying drinks as 2 horse and carriages, driven by men in traditional German clothes, randomly came by, carrying barrels of beer. This was an exciting sight, and the horses were gorgeous!
It was time for dinner, and we found our way to the famous Hofbräuhaus. The Hofbräuhaus was built in 1607 and has been functioning ever since. We sat down outside, inside was full, and looked at the menu. The menu was not as traditional as Dad was hoping, and we ended up leaving to find a traditional spot to eat some traditional German food.
We ended up at the Weißes Bräuhaus which offers traditional Bavarian dishes (Munich is in Bavarian Germany). Dusty and I ordered soup to begin and spätzle for our entrée. The spinach spätzle with a mushroom cream sauce was wonderful and proved to be the best meal I had in Germany. For desert we ordered apple strudel…I was less than impressed .
The full day in Munich was exhausting and we headed back to the hotel immediately after dinner. The next morning we headed back home but first stopped for breakfast in a small German town about 1 ½ hours outside of Munich. We made the mistake of asking to order breakfast! The server never brought menus…she just delivered a basket of bread to table, with plates of meat and cheese. LOL! We took it for what it was and enjoyed our breakfast.
Well…we did it…we survived Munich’s Oktoberfest.
We continued our drive towards Munich and stopped at a small restaurant alongside of a country road. The restaurant was extremely small and had only two long tables. There was one man sitting down having a beer, and one woman working as both the server and the cook. We had read the specials on a chalk board outside, and ordered them from the server (all the men had schnitzel and I had bratwurst). I peered into the kitchen which was almost in the same room as the tables, and it was very clean. Flies were pesky as we waited for the food, but we all were very happy with the country ambiance. The food was delicious and cheap.
After lunch we came across a beautiful town on the border of Austria and Germany. The 1000 year old town of Burghausen, Germany is built around the impressive Burghausen Castle. Burghausen’s quaint town square is built upon cobble stone streets and is situated in the middle of colorful buildings. The castle and other old steeples are visible from the square.
After admiring the beautiful German town, we continued our drive until we reached Munich. After checking into the Golden Leaf Hotel (which was overpriced but a nice clean hotel) we walked 5 minutes to the Underground which is the local subway system. For only 9.40 Euros, we bought a 24 hour pass which allowed the 4 of us to take the subway (the ticket is actually a group ticket good for 5 people). Figuring out how to navigate through the subway system proved easier than I had imagined.
As a group, we rode the subway to Theresienwiese which was the stop for the Oktoberfest. We exited from the Underground and walked directly into the festival. Oktoberfest is very different than we were expecting. It is just like a big carnival with food vendors, shops, rides, games and tons of people. There are large “tents” (which are not tents at all but big buildings) in which tables fill quickly with people drinking 1 liter beers. In the tents, there are also traditional bands and traditionally dressed women serving both beer and food.
The tents fill up very quickly, very early in the day. We arrived at Oktoberfest at about 6pm and all of the tables in the tents were full. Fortunately, we were able to get a table directly outside of a tent. We were very lucky because this area was just like inside the tent with servers and music. We enjoyed watching people dance and sing on table tops…and drink way too much.
After a while we headed into a tent to enjoy some traditional music and do some more people watching. The tents get way too packed!! Drunk men “touch and feel” their way through the crowd. We felt very uncomfortable (perhaps because we were sober! Lol).
After about 30 minutes in the tent (which was 30 minutes too long) we walked around the festival. We felt like we were walking through the California Mid State Fair, except it seemed that everyone was drunk. There were people arguing, others falling down and others making out. Each of us enjoyed some traditional German food before heading back to the Underground to venture back to the hotel and head to bed.
The next morning we purchased subway passes again (our previous ticket expired at 6am) and headed to Marienplatz. Marienplatz is the main town square in Munich and is considered the heart of the city. The square is dominated by the New Town Hall (Neues Rathaus) (built in 1867) which is overwhelmingly impressive. The building contains the famous Glockenspiel which is a HUGE cuckoo clock which features figures perform a dance, which was originally performed in 1517 at the Marienplatz to commemorate the end of the plague. The clock “cuckoos” every day at 11 am and 5 pm.
For breakfast we sat down at an outside patio and ordered traditional German food at Vikualienmarkt. The men all enjoyed sausages and I ordered boiled beef served with warm potato salad. I must say again, the food was good, but German food is proving not to be my favorite.
We spent the rest of the day wandering around Munich, by both foot and the subway. Munich is by far the cleanest “big city” we have seen in Europe. In addition, it feels the most like the states. I can’t really explain this “feel”….it just “felt” more like the US than other European cities. We peered into shops and the meat markets which there are a ton of! Germans eat meat at every meal…and there are definitely enough meat markets to sustain this.
The English Garden, in Munch, is a very large beautiful park which is often compared to Hyde Park in London. The English Garden is dense and very green, with a beautiful stream running through it. There are paths for walking, biking and horseback riding. Dusty and I did not think the English Garden and Hyde Park were anything alike. Hyde park is more, well…like a park, with green lawns, trees and birds. The English Garden is more like a small forest. None the less, both parks are beautiful in their own way.
In the park we found a small Biergarden (Biergardens are located all over Munich!) We were enjoying drinks as 2 horse and carriages, driven by men in traditional German clothes, randomly came by, carrying barrels of beer. This was an exciting sight, and the horses were gorgeous!
It was time for dinner, and we found our way to the famous Hofbräuhaus. The Hofbräuhaus was built in 1607 and has been functioning ever since. We sat down outside, inside was full, and looked at the menu. The menu was not as traditional as Dad was hoping, and we ended up leaving to find a traditional spot to eat some traditional German food.
We ended up at the Weißes Bräuhaus which offers traditional Bavarian dishes (Munich is in Bavarian Germany). Dusty and I ordered soup to begin and spätzle for our entrée. The spinach spätzle with a mushroom cream sauce was wonderful and proved to be the best meal I had in Germany. For desert we ordered apple strudel…I was less than impressed .
The full day in Munich was exhausting and we headed back to the hotel immediately after dinner. The next morning we headed back home but first stopped for breakfast in a small German town about 1 ½ hours outside of Munich. We made the mistake of asking to order breakfast! The server never brought menus…she just delivered a basket of bread to table, with plates of meat and cheese. LOL! We took it for what it was and enjoyed our breakfast.
Well…we did it…we survived Munich’s Oktoberfest.
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