The rest of Munich

10/4/07

So, today we decided to go see the Glockenspiel do its thing with the moving figures.



I thought it was supposed to play music, but it didn’t, and the figures just kind of moved around slowly. So it wasn’t that exciting. We walked around some more and we tried the Weissewurst, which is the famous white sausage, but it was kind of gross. Too mushy and weird flavored. But at least we could say we tried it.

So now it’s time for Oktoberfest again! We got to the Hofbrau tent (because who really wants to go to the other boring tents that don’t serve beer to people standing up?) around 1:30 (2 hours later than Tuesday) and it was definitely more crowded than it was before. It seems to get more crowded every day since it’s the last week of Oktoberfest. People are crazy.

Oh, and by the way, on a side note, what is the deal with all the guys with mohawks?!? Not real mohawks mind you, but basically they gel their hair into the middle of the top of their heads and stick it straight up, as if it were a real mohawk. And it’s not just men, it’s also kids too! I wish I had a picture of this. It’s pretty amusing.

Anyway, back to the Hofbrau tent. So we found another table to stand at, but the guys that were already at it weren’t being friendly, so Paul made friends with a couple of Americans (Gregg and Sid – an Air Force guy and his father-in-law). They were cool. And then we met some other Americans (Jackie and Matt, who were wearing traditional Bavarian outfits but are Americans and Matt is also in the Air Force stationed in Germany and they are married, but she is only 20!) and we all hung out all night. We also met an Aussie who was backpacking around Europe (he sold everything in Australia to just go on this trip for months! Crazier than us!) and he was really cool too.



And then a couple of New Yorkers (Eric and Jerry) joined us. This was Eric’s fourth time at Oktoberfest in a row! Now that’s dedication to drinking. I thought Mardi Gras was the American drinking party? And some Germans joined us at some point. One of them was named Inga (how appropriate), but we didn’t talk to them too long. We also met some really cool South African guys, but I can't remember their names :( And there were some crazy English guys walking around in super hero costumes (wonder woman, batman, Super Drinker!, and some other weird ones).







I think the English were the craziest people there. And it seems like every country has some song they sing when drinking or just getting together in a crowd (even at the train station!). Why don’t we have a song like that?!?
It ended up being a very good time. We definitely got drunk, but it didn’t seem as bad as Tuesday (or maybe we were just more rested) because we were able to hang out much later. It was funny hanging out with a 20 year old (so young! or are we so OLD!! ;)). Some people thought I was only 23 years old (I love those people!). It was so much fun, but I'm glad we didn't do Oktoberfest every day. I just can't handle that much drinking anymore.



The rest of the night was fun, but uneventful. Although Paul did go to Burger King, where they have the Angry Whopper! (but he didn't get it). Apparently, it's angry because it has angry onions and jalapenos. Foreign fast food is so funny.

Unfortunately, the next morning Paul wasn’t feeling well, and so began his sinus infection. Thank goodness we already have medicine with us.


10/5/07

Since Paul wasn’t feeling well, we didn’t do much, but we did get to go eat some good food (since this trip seems to be centered around where to find the best food!) and do a little sightseeing. We saw the National Theater, which was really huge and cool.



Then we walked around the Residenz (the palace constructed by the Wittelsbach dynasty), but we didn't go on the tour since Paul wasn't feeling well.

Residenz Courtyard:


Another Residenz Courtyard:


Status in front of the Residenz:


Outside the Residenz Wall (it's huge!):


We also walked around the Hofgarten and some plazas, which were really beautiful and nice.

Theatinerkirche St. Kajetan (They are renovating it, so they were kind enough to put a tarp in front of it to show what it would look like - with an ad below it, of course :))


Hofgarten:


Lenbachplatz Fountain:


Karlsplatz:



So that's it for Munich! We had a blast! Now it's on to Prague...