Monday, September 19

Day Four -

Happy Birthday Aunt Peg from Munich!
Just our luck, another rainy day in Munich. We didn't travel all this way just to sit in our hotel so we ventured out to Marienplatz once again to catch the glockenspiel as it went off.

Today was another rainy day but we decided to make the best of it by going to the Marienplatz to catch the Rathaus-Glockenspiel. Click on the link provided for a fascinating history of the story behind this glockenspiel. I have to admit that I thought that this was just a tad bit corny, but once you hear the story it really makes you think about how much this meant to the town.

The Rathaus-Glockenspiel of Munich is a tourist attraction in Marienplatz the heart of Munich.

The family in front of the Rathaus-Glockenspiel in Marienplatz, Munich.

For €2 per person we were able to climb 13 flights of stairs to reach the top of the Alter Peter (Old Saint Peter). The view on the top of this church served a breath taking view of Munich. On the north side we overlooked Marienplatz and the town hall. On the south side you get a glimpse of Oktoberfest and the alps. Beautiful.

Justin and I climbing the Alter of Peter - 13 flights of stairs.

Mom taking a quick break on the way up!

Frauenkirche (“Dom”) - The Frauenkirche was constructed between 1468 and 1488.

View of the town hall from Alter of St. Peters.

View of Munich from the top of Alter of St. Peters

If you ever make it to Munich I recommend going to the Spaten Beer hall located right by the Residenz. It was here that we feasted our way through a huge meal consisting of liver dumpling soup, pumpkin cream soup, pig knuckle, chicken cordon blue, pork, beef and veal, and spaetzl (oh my!). Nothing washes all that down better than more beer so on we went to enjoy Hofbrauhaus and more mas!

I was in love with this and would have paid a lot to get one for myself. Too bad, not for sale.

Mom and Justin.

The ceilings here were exquisite.

Justin and I enjoying our beer. Trust me it's better than the Hofbrauhaus in Milwaukee. :)

Sunday, September 18

Day Three -

As I mentioned in the post before this ... we certainly had our fill of fun at Oktoberfest. Today we all woke up late feeling just a bit in pain. Some had hangovers while others had large bruises, bum knees, and scars on their arms. I guess dancing on those beer soaked tables takes a lot more skill than we had anticipated. You would think that after dancing on bleachers at Phil Vassar Concerts we would have had our practice, we were wrong. Justin and I decided to brave the dreary rainy day and take the U-Bahn down to Odeonsplatz. Justin had looked up Chinese food and found a place that was highly liked by some of the locals. We enjoyed some of the best basil curry I have ever had. I laughed a bit because in the states we are use to going to small Chinese places where they speak Chinese and broken English. Here it was the same but they spoke broke German - it though me a for a loop at first. After indulging in comfort food, we continued to walk around Munich. I kept being surprised at all the shops in Munich. Anything from kick-knacks, souvenirs, drindl's and lederhosen to Coach, Ralph Lauren, Gucci, etc. I was completely in heaven but limited myself to the basic window shopping.

Store full of tradition German souvenirs.

Store filled with traditional German fine meats. I think we tried every one of these at one point during our trip.

In typical American fashion, we ended this dreary day at our hotel bar which was showcasing the Bayern Munich game and American football. OK Packer fans, yes, I know the Bear played horribly. Thank you.
I have to say there is nothing better than to end a day like to day other than breaking into the mini bar and sharing a bottle of Shiraz with your brother and waking up to a wine soaked pillow. Sorry to the hotel maids again, I am sure you hate us.

Saturday, September 17

Day two -

Its September 17th in Munich Germany, where do you think everyone is? Oktoberfest 2011!
Today marks the opening ceremonies of Oktoberfest - a 16–18 day beer festival held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany since 1810. This event runs from late September to the first weekend in October. It is one of the most famous events and is the world's largest fair, with more than 5 million people attending every year.

That's right you read correctly, 5 MILLION people each year! Any of us in the states can try to compare that to our state fair, or for my Milwaukee locals you might try to compare that to Summerfest (averaging tops 1 million/year) - you just can't do it! 14 large tents cover the grounds of Oktoberfest each one representing a beer that is brewed within the Munich city limits. People adorned in Lederhosen and Dirndls cover the streets.

Here you can see how crowded the streets were (this was around 11 a.m.) In the distance you will see Hofrau-Festzelt, the counterpart to the famous Hofbräuhaus.

This is a decoration on the side of one of the children's rides at Oktoberfest. Even here you will see angels drinking their beer!

The whole family at Oktoberfest!

We made way into Käfers Wiesen Schänke, the smallest of the large tents. Here we stood and enjoyed Maß (term used for a liter of beer- pronounced as "Mas"). This tent was filled with locals and is known for having some of the best food. Waitresses were coming out left and right with all types of assorted meats and bread. The smell alone in this tent could work up an appetite! 

Some of the locals enjoying an array of meats at Käfers Wiesen Schänke.

 

Prost to our family and friends back home! Happy Oktoberfest!

After Käfers Wiesen Schänke, we walked around the grounds and met some locals, Thomas and Stephanie. Thomas was most likely on his 4th Maß and showed great enthusiasm has he spoke to us in his best english. Upon asking Thomas some of his favorite things he knows from the states we found that not only "The Boss" is big with him and his friends but so is John Denver. He started singing "Country Road, Take Me Home" and within a few seconds 5-10 others joined him in singing the famous song. Us on the other hand, stood there just laughing. 

Thomas, our new friend from Germany.

 Thomas and his girlfriend helped us coax our way into the Brausosl - Pschorrbrau-Festhall. The name of the tent originates from the daughter of the brewery owner, Herr Pschorr. As you scroll through the photos below you will get a sense of how crowded this was.

Outside the Pschorr- Braurosl

Security guarded these tents as if it were their sole military mission. We literally had to barter our way to get into this tent. After a lot of sweet talking (and maybe a Euro ...or five...) we got the whole group in.

Yay! We all made it in (you can't see Stephanie or my Dad)

Because words can't do justice for the madness that goes on in this tent, here are some photos from the night. 

Trust me when I say that we fully lived (and surprisingly survived) Oktoberfest. What goes on in Oktoberfest stays at Oktoberfest. . . Until next time.

Friday, September 16 - Amsterdam, Munich

Day One -

On our journey to Germany, we had a few hours to kill in Amsterdam. Arriving at about 7 a.m., we all agreed that we had enough time to take the train down to the city via train. A quick 15 minute ride or so and we stepped off the train to a sleeping city. The time change sunk in quickly when we all realized that no one was up yet for work! We continued onward and walked through the streets. On of my first observations were how colorful everything was. Each building was stacked almost on top of each other like large lego blocks to create a beatiful view of the street.

Behind my Mom, Justin and I you can see the beautiful view of the buildings in Amsterdam. The big building on the left is one of their shopping centers!

Slowly the city began to wake up and in a few mintues we found ourselves walking with caution as to not get hit by a bike. I don't recall ever being anywhere in the states where the primary mode of transportation is by  bike. At one point we crossed a parking garage that was three levels high - all bikes! In the states we are so accustomed to large SUV's and/or mini vans. We take our kids to school one by one in these monsters of a car. In Amsterdam it was not uncommon to see a parent, dressed in their work clothes with one or multiple kids riding on the handle bars or in a seat on the back of the bike. Bikes truly ruled the streets even more so than cars or buses. Can you imagine?

Here you can see just a few of the many bikes that lined the streets of Amsterdam.

One of my favorite parts of Amsterdam was watching the vendors of the flower mart open up. A vast array of flowers, plants and flower bulbs are for sale at the Bloemenmarkt.

Established in 1862, this floating market can be found on one of the oldest canals of Amsterdam.

A few more hours of exporing this quaint city and a quick bite to eat at a local cafe then it was time to head back to the Shiphol Airport to continue our journey to Munich.

1:00 p.m. - We arrived in Munich (München) and desperately wanted to get to our hotel to drop off our luggage and set out to see the sites. We decided to have lunch at a local beer garden. I was please to find that they had my favorite Hefe-Weisse brewed in Munich, Franziskaner. Justin and I decided to split the schweinneraten - amazing. Our first German meal met every expectation I had. With satisfied stomachs, we took the U-Bahn down to the Marienplatz where the city hall is located. We grabbed a table located in the center of the square and watched the people go buy as they were coming home from work. I immediately took in how vibrant this city was - full of locals, tourists - young and old. So many of the people were wearing the traditional German Lederhosen and Dirndl. You could sense that people were preparing for the 18 day long Oktoberfest that would begin the next day.

Before heading back to our hotel, we had dinner at the Ratskeller. Ratskeller in German means tavern below the street that specializes in serving bear. In Munich, the Ratskeller sits below the towns city hall and also includes and amazing out door patio which rests with in the city hall square with a view of the back of the glockenspiel. Cheesy spaetzle once again filled me up and I'm pretty certain will fill me up for the activities that we have planned for tomorrow.