Oktoberfest + The Sound of Music

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I can now cross off another 2 things from my to do list whilst in Europe...Oktoberfest and the sights of the Sound of Music in Salzburg! After 6 days of camping, flight troubles and hours worth of airport waiting I am now safe and sound back home but very exhausted. Jackie, my cousin on dad's side, left London at 10am on Friday 21st and didn't arrive in Munich until 8pm that night. Our connecting flight through Milan was delayed for 2.5hrs after they realised there was a problem with the breaks after we'd already boarded! So then we had to swap planes etc. Anyway, we arrived at the camp ground in the wet and rain and pretty much went straight to sleep! Saturday was opening day of oktoberfest and we couldn't get into any of the beer halls so we had to sit outside but still couldn't get a drink. After a few hours of sitting in the rain we decided we would go back the the campsite, get changed and head into Munich city centre to avoid the cold! You'll see pictures of marianplatz and the glockenspiel that plays every hour. There's also a church that has two towers and no building in munich is allowed to be higher than the towers so the city has no high rises at all! We spent most of the evening in an Irish pub that had a German band playing Australian music!

Day 3 we went to the beer halls much earlier and had our first beer of the festival at 10am! The steins are massive and not to mention heavy! There is a litre of beer in each glass! I will see if I can get a photo of the beer wenches (technical term) who carry 7+ in each arm. These tiny women just walking around with all the glasses. It is customery to tip so some of these women earn enough to last them 6 or so months of living just for working at the festival.

Day 4 we spent the day exploring the city. We went off to the Olympic park which is very eery as there wasn't much around. Then to the BMW Welt where you can watch all the rich people pick and choose cars then test drive them. After that we met up with a few friends of mine from Melbourne. It was good but very weird to see a familiar face in Munich! Makes me miss home a little bit but now that I'm settled I'm much less homesick. I have christmas sorted (with Luke's family because I know you are busting to know). We'll be having a proper sit down dinner in Birmingham where I've been told chances of snow are highly likely! Will be very different from a lunch in Endeavour Hills. I'm not sure about a Carols by Candelight equivalent though.

Day 5 in Salzburg! It is a beautiful city. All the buildings are so old and lovely, the city seems quite small because of all the alleyways and cobblestone streets full of markets and stalls. We saw the gardens where Maria and the children sing Doe Ray Me and dance around the fountains. Unfortunately we didn't get a chance to see the house as we were on a tour and we went up to the Fortress instead. It's a massive castle overlooking the city and the views are spectacular. The hills surround the city and the houses are mixed in between the rockface, the hills and large parks. After our tour it was back on the train for a 2hr trip back to Munich.

Day 6 was our final full day where we again met up with my Melbournian friends and spent the day at a beer hall called Hofbrauer house. In the middle instead of tables and benches (mostly you have to be seated to be served) there are just tables. It's called the "Pig Pen" and usually is filled up with young men on boys trips. Above the pig pen is this angel pig thing that has a whole heaps of ladies underwear hanging from it. You definitely need to avoid that area!

Overall it was a great trip but I am very very exhausted! I will go back to Germany I hope, but probably to Berlin instead and I should go to a concentration camp. That was the one thing we didn't do but will need to do in the future. I think also a trip to Vienna is in order now that I've seen how beautiful Austria is! The next few months I will just spend working until January when a friend from Melbourne is coming to stay and I will take time off work to go to Italy, Prague and Amsterdam.

The rest of the weekend I need to spend cleaning and sleeping! I don't think I'll be getting up at 4am to watch the grand final, might catch the replay at a pub somewhere. Bye for now xxoo

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Photos

Pork and Potato dumplings
The food of the festival was amazing!