Even though I live in a fairly large metropolis, Cologne is definitely more hectic than Munich. The pedestrian areas are packed with tourist and locals, in some areas brushing up next to one another is not uncommon. Locals warn to strap your purses and backpacks toward the front to deter pickpocketing. Nevertheless I am mesmerized by this city for it’s food, beer, and history and I want to return.
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So this weekend was spectaular. We visited Rotwand
(1884 meters High) above the Spitzingsee. Okay, we didn’t go to the summet because we needed snow shoes to get there. But we earned a visit to the Rotwandhaus at elevation 1737 meters and I enjoyed a beer and Käsespätzle. It was supposed to take us about 2 hours to reach the resthouse but we managed it in 3 with the multiple stops to enjoy the sun, take off jackets, and catch our breaths from the steady incline.
To get there: take the BOB (Bayerische Oberlandbahn)from Munich Hauptbahnhof to Holzkirchen. A ticket for 5 people cost 19 Euro and the train leaves every hour, 40 minutes passed the hour. It takes about 1 hour and half to Holzkirchen. From Holzkirchen take a 10 minute bus ride to Spitzingsee, it cost 2 Euro per person per ride. Hard to explain how to get to the trail from the bus stop, but it’s around the corner to the right, then look for two buildings, one that’s a ski school on the right and a road in the middle with a red/white pole gate. Follow this road and you see the trail blazer to Rotwand. Mind when the last bus leaves for the day or you’ll be stuck in Wooden Church town and there ain’t nutn’ to do heer.
Click to view more Okfest picsSO if you like beer a whole lot or even just a little everyone should experience the Oktoberfest once in their life. Normally, I am not a fanatic of large tourist events, but this is one of the exceptions. The Wiesn reminds me a little of the Strawberry Festival and the Florida Football Games, for the food and the camaraderie. You don’t smell fried foods too much here but lots of meat. I just walked through the Wiesn and had me a Schweinhaxn’ Semmel for lunch, aka fatty pork with a bun. Yum Yum.
Last year, I saw pictures of the Bierzelte (Beer Tents) and they really don’t do them justice. There are 12 different Bierzelte at the Oktoberfest, each tent serving one of the 6 beers brewed in Munich (there are two other Zelte for wine and other beers not brewed in Munich). The 6 Brauereien are: Hofbräu, Löwenbräu, Augustinerbräu, Hacker-Pschorr-Brau, Spatenbrau, and Paulanerbräu. Sorry no Erdinger…but it’s in the neighborhood. Each Bierzelt takes about 3 months to construct over the Theresienwiese (Theresa’s fields). I have pictures of the start of construction in an earlier blog.
Naturally, people come for the beer and lots of it. Over the 2 week festival, approximately 6 Million people come to visit and consume about 6 Million Maßkrüge (basically, it’s that big mug that’s as big as my head). I made the mistake of calling it a “Stein” but the Bavarians correctly call it a “Krug”. They are made of glass or cermaic and hold about 1 Liter of Bier. There was talk once about converting to plastic for safety reasons but the people had a fit. I would agree, the glass is better. There is nothing like singing “Ein Prosit, Ein Prosit!” and smashing your Krug against your neighbor’s.
And your neighbor could be anyone from around the world. Just around my table, I met a handful of people from California. I sat with my classmates and they come from Burma, Spain, Japan, and Venezuela. We ended up share our Bierbanken (the table benches) with some local Baviarian men dressed in the traditional Trachten, that is, die Liederhosen. There is something about the Liederhosen I find attractive, now if only I could convince Alex! The women wear a dress called, das Dirndl. The Dirndl style ranges from very traditional to that’s-just-sleezy. Also there are house rules; one of them happens to be NO Dancing. But after about 5 pm there is nothing to stop the people from standing on the tables and shaking their booty to the YMCA! A Maß of bier costs between 6,80 - 7,25 Euro and people like to steal the mugs for a souvenir so the security people check your bag to retrieve the property.
Next weekend is Italien Wochende, where droves of Italians come to the festival. They even bring their own police because most of the drunk Italians don’t speak any German. Alex and I will attend the Oktoberfest together on Sunday, I am hoping to see the rest of the Bierzelte that I missed today, each one has a different atmosphere. Below is a link to pictures taken with my Inligua class mates.
Wish you were here.
Oktoberfest Fotos
