Ich liebe Wiesn, München

Roughly translates as I love Oktoberfest, Munich and never was a truer statement uttered.

We arrived in Munich in the afternoon and after organising the hotel and checking in we decided to see what all the fuss was about. We were only a short U-Bahn ride to Theresienwiese the site of the world's greatest party. We had a bit of a wander around the place and checked some of the rides and got a Bratwurst and Schweineschnitzel. Next step the choice of which of the many tents to visit and have a beer at.

We chose Hofbrauhaus a dinky little place for just you and ten thousand of your closest friends, it's the most famous so figured we should check it out at least once. Turns out it was a good choice, it has the most international flavour (read tourists) and is the only one with tables to stand at so is easier to get a beer. No sooner had we found a spare spot and ordered two beers than we were toasting everyone and chatting away. That's pretty much how the rest of the night went. Well almost the rest of the night, after several beers and the tent closing someone decided it would be a great idea to go on one of the many rides. Lets just say that nearly ended badly, beer food and carnivals rides are a dangerous combo.

The next day Nell felt it was time to make a pilgrimage to the holy site of Swarovski. Their HQ and Crystalworld exhibition is based in a place called Wattens just near Innsbruck in Austria. From Munich it was about two hours by Intercity then a bus to Wattens. The trip gave us time to nurse some hangovers back to health and enjoy some of the beautiful scenery the Austrian Alps had to offer.

Swarovski Crystalworld itself was very good, they had lots of exhibitions done by different artists using the crystals in different ways. Of course Nell checked out the crystal shop where several purchases were made.

That night saw us head back to Oktoberfest but just for some more Bratwurst and atmosphere, the head and stomach couldn't handle anymore beers just yet.

The last full day in Munich saw us head into the town proper at the crack of dawn for a tour on Segways (again). Segway however was the best way to see Munich it turns out due to the vast size of the city and it's many parks and gardens.

We saw the Konigsplatz that was bombed heavily during WW2 and apparently the only place in the world you can see all three styles of column , ionic, doric and corinthian, in one square. It was also used for rallies during the third reich, as the Nazi HQ was just next door; although today it is a music school.

We also went down Maximilianstraße one of the most exclusive and expensive streets in Europe. It was around this time we started noticing a theme, the kings of Bavaria in chronological order were Maxmilian I, Ludwig I, Maximilian II, Ludwig II, Otto and Ludwig III. Making it very easy to remember the important stuff, it was either Maximilian something or Ludwig something.

We also saw the "Tina Turner" church so called becasue it's name is so unpronouncable and Tina Turner is close enough. It's on a square with a memorial to famous Field Marshalls of Bavaria, only problem is there aren't really any. It has 2 statues, one guy did actually win a few battles only trouble was he was Belgian, and the other guy was a politician given the title of Field Marshall and never actually won a battle.

The rest of the tour we saw, Munich's victory gate, the ugliest building the American Embassy, the Eunuch of Munich aka the walking man, river surfing, the science and technology museum, the Hundskugel a restaurant opened in 1440 and the english garden where you're allowed to sunbathe naked. We didn't see any sights but we were told the reality is nowhere near as good as it sounds.

After more than three hours touring around Munich we though a beer was in order so went to the Augustiner brewery for a late lunch. Later that night saw a few more beers back at the Wiesn.

Of course I should mention it was our anniversary whilst we were in Munich so we had to celebrate with a Champagne at Oktoberfest. Paris next where we might have a proper dinner to celebrate not just more Bratwurst. As awesome as they are they aren't proper anniversary food :)
Happy 4 years Nellie!