Germany:

We only allocated two weeks to see Germany. Mostly because Oktoberfest drove the Munich accommodation prices through the roof. Sad, since Germany was pretty fabulous. If we get the chance, there is plenty of Germany to see so we will have to try to go back.

As it is, we stayed at two different places during our two week stay. Munich was definitely outside of our normal price range given the inflated costs during Oktoberfest (accommodation twice the price, and very little available even months in advance), so we decided that a week there was more than enough. However, on airBNB there wasn’t anything to be had for under $2000/week in the Munich area. Luckily, we found a cabin not too far out of town in Schäftlarn which allowed us to easily train it in when required. For our second week, we opted to stay out in Immenstadt im Allgäu, in order to check out the mountains and enjoy some of the more scenic side of Bavaria.

Where we stayed in Schäftlarn: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/4039093 (Place was awesome! So cute and cosy.)

Where we stayed in Immenstadt: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/420950

What we got up to in our 2 weeks:

Dachau

We visited Dachau. Being so close to Munich, it seemed appropriate that we visit the memorial to learn more about the place, the war and pay our respects. It was a very sobering experience, and quite different from our visit to Oradour-Sur-Glane in France. The amount of information presented was stunning in volume, and despite wanting to read all of the information presented, it was just too much (not just too much to read, but also too distressing to digest the reality of so much misery and death). It was well worth the visit.

Munich

We only came into Munich on two days, having only a week to visit the area meant rationing our time. We came in one evening via the train for a bit of a wander and to check out the local craft beer scene. Turns out Bavaria doesn’t exactly do craft beer (the whole Reinheitsgebot thing is still taken quite seriously), so we spent our evening in what seemed like the only place that did: Tap-House Munich. Although drinking beer is as natural to Germans as breathing, breaking out of the mould of the traditional brewing processes has yet to really happen (in Bavaria, at least). The traditional Bavarian beers are all different in that each area specialises in their own local brew, but at the same time they are all very similar in flavour and style. After having explored craft beer in the USA, the UK and Belgium, Bavarian beer suddenly tasted less like the liquid gold that I once thought it had. Clearly, at some point, my palate had changed considerably. Not to say that any of the Bavarian beer was bad, just my appreciation of it has diminished in the face of so much variety. Nevertheless, our evening out was a success and we managed to round out our evening with German sausages, pretzels and some much anticipated beer cheese (delicious).

Our second trip was a whole day in Munich. Had a great day out exploring, spending the day wandering the streets and seeing the local sights with a free walking tour that we had happened upon when we arrived. It was the first free walking tour that we have participated in thus far, mostly because we have been more than happy to explore and be left to our own devices, but since it was starting, and we were there, why not? Turned out to be a great experience, and it went for nearly 3 hours. We got to see a lot of the local sights and our guide was informative and friendly…And all it cost was a tip for the guide (more than fair enough for trotting us around for 3 hours). Good value. Our day consisted of wherever our feet took us: we watched the glockenspiel do its thing, climbed up the bell tower, wandered the market, investigated churches, munched on fresh pretzels with cream cheese and chives, ate Bavarian-style schweinhaxe (crispy roasted pork knuckle) and drank cold beer by the stein. Even spent some time in a beer hall and appreciated the raucous goings on before finally moving on in the early evening to our real destination: Oktoberfest.

Oktoberfest.

Oktoberfest. Where to start? Well, we waited until the last Friday of Oktoberfest before heading in to check it all out. Should have known better than to select a Friday night, but I had (mistakenly) thought that most folks would be more or less over it by the that time (being the tail end of the festival and all). So very wrong. For starters, I’m not sure what I was expecting, but Oktoberfest was much larger in scale than anticipated. Much, much larger. Like, ridiculous in size. Like the Ekka, it featured a massive sideshow alley consisting of many rides (in particular, lots and lots of haunted house rides) and was packed with people of all ages. Jam packed. We initially just wandered around for ages checking out all the rides on offer and more or less shouldering our way through the crowds (the only way to get around). For all the rides we saw there were many reminiscent of home (old favourites from Dreamworld like the Enterprise, the Gravitron, Wipe Out & the Giant Drop and many more). Plenty of rides to choose from, but they were not cheap. We opted out on going on the rides, instead choosing to just enjoy watching others enjoy the rides and save our money.

Having walked around solidly all day through the streets of Munich, all we really wanted to do was find a spot in a beer tent and relax. Our feet had done more than their fair share of work, plus we had opted to walk from Munich to the Oktoberfest grounds. It was high time for a drink and a sit. However, finding a beer tent to settle down at turned out to be the biggest challenge of the evening. The beer tents were HUGE…And yet, everywhere was packed to the rafters with copious numbers of people queuing outside just waiting to get in. Suddenly it made sense why people had recommended heading into the festival in the morning to find a spot in the beer tents. Not that I could possibly justify spending an entire day mooching in a beer tent (if you leave it, kiss your table goodbye). Any beer tent we managed to make it into had standing room only, and the volume meant conversation was a definite no. After much frustration and circling of the tents, we ended up finding a spot in the beer garden of the HB tent. Having found a spot, we weren’t about to relinquish it, and as a result we didn’t move from the table for the rest of the night for fear of not finding another table anywhere else.

We spent the evening hanging out with one of our friends (thanks Pitt for an entertaining night!) and marvelling at the many skills of the bar ladies. There was a mother-daughter team working our area, and they definitely made the evening more interesting with their antics and extreme beverage holding skills. Although once or twice there was a few iffy moments when there was some rescuing (of both the bar ladies and their beer they were toting) in order to avoid 12L of beer being a beery mess on the floor. I have no idea how they could possibly carry so much! 1L beers are far too large for reasonable consumption, but apparently that’s the only size they serve. So 1L beers it was. I could barely drink out of the damn thing (it’s like as big as my head!!), but I persevered.

Eventually we called it a night (mostly because Oktoberfest wraps up at like 10pm), so we all made our way home having experienced more than enough of the Oktoberfest to last us for the foreseeable future. Definitely don’t feel the need to repeat it, but I’m glad we went.

Neuschwanstein Castle:

I’d wanted to check out this castle for some time. Like most of the other big tourist hotspots, Neuschwanstein Castle was no exception. When we got there (on our way to Immenstadt), the line to purchase tickets was epic, and the wait time for an entry into the castle was a good 3+ hours away. Murray was not keen (admittedly, I was not particularly keen either to wait so long). Given that we had very limited time to actually do anything touristy during our stay in Allgäu we decided that actually exploring the inside of the castle was a job for another day. Since we were already there, we opted to just see the castle from the outside, but it as it happened, the bridge and the paths leading up to the castle were under maintenance, so we didn’t even get to do the scenic walk up to the castle as planned. To top it off, it turned out we didn’t end up having the time to go back. Oh well. We at least got to walk around the town and appreciate the castle from afar (albeit from a brewery).

Immenstadt

We didn’t get up to very much in our second week in Germany, but we did spend a couple of days hanging out with Pitt and Sandra. They showed us some of the local sights and took us on a scenic a tour which even nipped through Austria for a wee bit. Ate more pork knuckle (yay!) and tried out the local beers. Murray was more or less flat-chat the entire time with work, so that was a bit unfortunate. Oh well. However, we did still get out and about a little bit.

Lake Constance (aka Bodensee)

Instead of heading back to Neuschwanstein, we opted to spend the day driving more of the Deutsch Alpine Highway. On the way, we stopped in for a ride of the Alpsee Coaster. Best. Ride. Ever. Longest toboggan-coaster in Germany, I believe (about 3km of coaster track). Certainly felt like it went on for forever. Cost about 10 euro, but that included a trip up the mountain on the cable ski-lift as well. Money well spent, although it’s still steep enough that I probably wouldn’t pay for it twice (in a row at least). The place was almost empty, and there was no line for the coaster, which was pretty cool. The ride up on the cable ski-lift was quiet and scenic (although really quite cold), and had we more time, there was plenty more exploring to do at the top but we didn’t stay due to cloud cover obscuring pretty much everything in sight as we approached the zenith. The ride down on the coaster was amazing, but also pretty disconcerting, as the whole time was mostly spent contemplating whether if the brakes were not used, would the toboggan somehow come off the tracks? (I know it’s highly unlikely, but it certainly felt like it wasn’t going to stay on the rail. Apparently it goes up to 40km/h at top speed.) It was a quick visit to Alpsee-Bergwelt. Up the lift, down the coaster and back on the road out to the Bodensee.

The drive out to the lake was another scenic adventure, and we got to drive through many small towns and through farmland on both the way there and back (the stretch of the Deutsch Alpine Highway we planned to drive was actually closed for maintenance, so the drive involved a lot of small locals-only single lane roads instead of the more direct route). Lake Constance connects Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and from the pictures it seemed like a plenty scenic spot to visit. However, like at Alpsee-Bergwelt, by the time we got there, there was significant fog obscuring any kind of view we might have had. So, not so many scenic photos as expected, but still a great day out.

The best part of the Deutsch Alpine Highway was actually when we were driving back to the airport (via the long way – if there’s time for it, the non-motorway version is always best). The scenery was spectacular, and the fall colours were the best that we have seen so far. Winding roads through the mountain ranges, past lakes and through small towns and villages. Many spots we saw would have been worth a stop, but unfortunately, no time to stop and investigate more thoroughly.

Interesting things we’ve found while visiting Bavaria:

• Cows have bells. All of them. Not just one or two. Makes for some seriously jingly countryside anytime some cows are around. The cows in Romania occasionally sported bells, but not like in Germany. There is no way you would walk into a cow in the dark. (Unless it was completely motionless, and cows are usually chewing even if they aren’t walking around. Makes them plenty conspicuous.)
• There are often no fences around the cow paddocks. Generally, the outskirts of each paddock are furnished with electric fence tape and that’s it. Makes some of the country roads seem like driving through a expansive golf course with all the rolling hills and manicured green pastures.
• Since we were only staying for 2 weeks, we didn’t end up needing to do a whole lot of shopping. Still, just like everywhere else we have been, shopping in a new place equals new experiences every time. I never thought that something as mundane and basic as food shopping would likely constitute much of a change from place to place. We accidentally went shopping at an Edeka that was  sort of like a combination between a Wholefoods and a Beer Barn. It was a strange experience, and put a larger than average hole in our wallet (and yet we didn’t end up with a normal assortment of food). Lidl and Aldi were more normal, and we even found some bake-at-home pretzels. (Which were amazing – why doesn’t Australia have them?)
• I had somehow thought that Germany was going to be rolling in sausages and various other smoked meat product. There was certainly not anywhere near as much as I had expected. (We get more German sausage variety from the German Sausage Man at the Rocklea markets at home.) It was a bit of a let-down, really. German sausage is like, one of the best things about Germany, isn’t it?? Isn’t it?? Where are they?? Having said that, during our visit we still managed to scout out some currywurst and debreciner which ticked the box for German sausage consumption.
• OMG. The autobahn. Surprisingly, it didn’t feel as horrendously scary as anticipated, although people were certainly traveling on there at speeds upwards of 160km/h. Everyone seemed to be well behaved, and it gave Murray the opportunity to try out driving a bit faster than Australia would ever allow.
• We noticed that 4pm appears to be designated kitty hunting time. Bavaria it seems has no roaming dogs, unlike Romania (which seems to be liberally coated with them). But it does have plenty of cats, if you look at the right time. We even made a game of it. As all the pastureland had been recently mown and the hay harvested, apparently it makes for plenty of un-homed mice and other small animals just waiting to be eaten. By cats or hawks. I’ve never seen so many cats stalking the countryside nor hawks parked on the grass patiently waiting for something to move.
• 3G internet in Bavaria sucks. What a joke! Allgäu: land of the E network status. It has been surpassingly strange to find the best internet we have had has been in the places that are the least developed – Croatia, Bosnia, Romania – all have had high speed internet, often faster than what we get at home even in the middle of nowhere (that’s probably not hard to achieve). U.K., France and Germany… Not so flash. Our second week in Immenstadt had no cell service and even the house ADSL was shoddy at best.
• It may have taken me almost my entire life, but I finally discovered that porcini mushrooms, are in fact -karljohan – the mushrooms I spent my childhood Swedish vacation picking (many happy memories). Also known as Boletus edibilis. They are available fresh in the supermarket (being Autumn), although they don’t look anywhere near as perfect and fresh as the mushrooms of my memory. In fact, they mostly looked slightly slug-eaten, dog-eared and sad. But, they were still delicious. Chanterelle were also available fresh, and a few others I didn’t recognise but was happy to sample. I wish we had this sort of selection of fresh mushrooms in Australia. Or even just frozen, which is a common sight everywhere we have been in Europe.
• I was surprised at the train system in Germany. There’s some sort of honour system in place. You purchase a ticket as per normal, but there isn’t any validation… Didn’t think this sort of thing would actually work, but maybe Germans are a more trustworthy sort (that or the government doesn’t care too much about lost revenue from unpaid fares).
• Bavarians actually dress in their traditional costumes. Not just at Oktoberfest, but whenever the fancy arises. Apparently it is not unusual for the average Bavarian to rock up at work on any given day in their dirndl or lederhosen. Why not, I guess? Seems fun.

So long, Germany!

Well, sad to say the trip was over far too quickly. Two weeks in a new place feels like nothing at all. With Murray also very busy with work, we didn’t get to see as much of Germany as we would have liked, and Schengen will likely prevent us from seeing more at least on this trip. However, from what we have seen, I am confident that a return trip is warranted. Hopefully, we might be able to see a little more when we stay in Prague, but I guess we will have to wait and see… Next stop: Tuscany, Italy.