Today began as a fairytale. We left Innsbruck (which we definitely didn't get nearly enough time in) and made our way to Schloss Neuschwanstein (aka New Swanstone Castle). This castle was built for crazy King Ludwig II, just because he wanted a medieval castle. Apparently King Ludwig II was not particularly keen on being around people, so he wanted a castle built for him away from the city. He despised people so much that even his servants had to wear bags on their heads so he would not have to look at their faces. Oh and btw, its this castle that the Sleeping Beauty castle was modeled after. Quite a stunning view tucked in the foothills of the bavarian alps.
View from St Mary's Bridge. It was quite spectacular siting in the shadows of this beautiful castle.
Pepe found a lizard door handle and a crazy eyed friend.
So you're not supposed to take pictures once inside... I snuck this one. Shhh! Don't tell...
There is also another castle right next door called Schloss Hohenschwangau which we could see from the windows of the swan castle.
After the castle, we made the trek to Munich. Another great city and another gute farht!!
One of the most famous sights, the Glockenspiel is an intricate display of history and culture. Everyday at 11am it chimes portraying scenes from the cities past. The top part of shows the marriage of Duke Wilhelm V to Renata of Lorianne with a joust to honor the couple. The bottom part shows coopers dancing to signify perseverance and loyalty to authority, becoming popular during the years of the plague. At the end of the chiming, which lasted about 15 minutes, there's a small gold bird named Fritz at the top, who ever so softly chirps. I literally almost missed it.
Here's the side of St. Peter's Church. Cool story about this church is that there is a cannon ball still stuck in the walls from the wall. See it on the right side of the window? Well, its not actually the real cannon ball that once was there. We were told that during the war, when many of the cities in Germany were getting demolished, the city of Munich sent artists out into the streets to draw and sketch the buildings exactly how they were. So when the city was destroyed, they had documentation to rebuild just as it was. One of the artists happened to catch the cannon ball in a picture, thus it still exists in the new (old) building
Of course we made a stop at the famous Haufbrãuhaus.
Here's a picture from one of the ceremonial halls, also where the first meeting of the Nazis was held (at that time they were called the German Workers Party).
Pepe had to get a picture with Juliet... Munich is the sister city to Verona which we will be in a couple days so he'll have to get a picture with the other statue as well. Its supposed to be good luck for guys to rub her breast, while women give her flowers in order to be blessed with a better love life.
Here is the memorial to those who chose their own way when Hitler was attempting to take control of Munich. Hitler had a statue made to commemorate the death of some Nazi sympathizers and forced passerby-ers to salute the statue. Many people began taking alternative routes around the statue to not have to salute it. Unfortunately, the Nazi's caught on to this behavior and began shipping people who took this route off to Dachau. The gold bricks are in honor of those who silently protested the Nazis.
We also saw the Devil's Church or Frauenkirche which holds some interesting history. I loved the tall stained glass windows.
Ray and Pepe standing in the devil's footstep. From here all of the windows are blocked by big pillars, which is why (as the story goes) the devil didn't destroy the church when he happened upon it.
Of course later that day we stumbled back to Haufbrãu for dinner and a liter.
The following day was a big day...Oktoberfest 2014!!! Todays the day. We get up early. Ray puts on his lederhosen board shorts and we head to the beer tents. Everyone had told us that we had to get there in the wee hours of the morning in order to get into a tent. We randomly choose the Augustiner-Brãu tent and jump into the line. We really only waited in line for 15 minutes or so before they started letting people in. Pepe spotted some good looking wieners while waiting in line. Once inside the tent, the place was already nuts. The tables were pretty much full and people are still coming into the tents by the hundreds. Alright, looks like we're just gonna have to hope some group will be nice enough to let us sit with them. We ask one group... no... ask another... nope... just keep asking around, but nobody lets us sit. Finally, we see some space in the middle of a table, we ask the people sitting on the outside. Oddly enough, they initially said no but then a few of the girls stand up as if to let us in. We don't hesitate and slide right in.
We end up sitting between a group of locals on one side and a group of Australians on the other. Keep in mind at this point its about 9:30am... The first keg does not get tapped until noon. That was a whole lot of time to sit and stare at one another. We started chatting with the people around us and just taking in the atmosphere. One word to describe Oktoberfest: Insanity!! Just in our tent there were 8,700 people plus another 3,000 outside in the beer garden. All in all, there were another 15-20 tents, thats a whole lot of people. Oh and by tent, I mean massive building, not like a tent you go camping in.
At about 10 minutes to noon, the band makes it way into the tent, marching around the masses of people. Everyone starts standing on the tables and cheering. Then comes the moment we had been waiting for, the tapping of the first keg. After waiting for hours, I must admit my first sip of beer was fantastic. Apparently, Augustiner is known to be the better of the beer in Munich and they also made a special brew specifically for Oktoberfest (which is stronger!). Also saw this gem. I couldn't quite decide whether it is real or just stuck on. Thoughts?
The next few hours seem to fly by. We have an absolute blast with all the people at our table.
Pepe got a lot of love too.
It was quite warm in the tents too. This is what Ray thinks of that...
We finally decide to leave the tent after dark and walk to get a bite to eat. Before we even manage to find food, we run into the Germans we had been sitting with and then take us to a local club. We continue to drink and dance the night away. Yep totally busted out the Macarena in Munich!
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