Still between TMB and KLW but closer to KLW. Munich.

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Found our way to Augustine Beer Garden last night, reportedly the third largest beer garden in the world (numbers 1 and 2 are here as well) and shared a couple of litres with a thousand or so of our new friends. The place is huge with various venues within the venue all crowded with happy Bavarians and tourists. There were wedding parties and parties everywhere with heaps of Bavarians (males and females) in traditional dress and heaps dressed to the nines but everyone getting on with the serious German business of having fun. The beer here is big, the pretzels are big and the food is big. There's a shot of my pork knuckle and that is a half knuckle not even a full one! If you're vegetarian and go for chicken (well that's the lowest meat content item I found) you get a half chook cut in one foul (or is that one fowl) stroke. Service takes seconds, plating is not an art form here and they knock out plenty of dishes. You can get table service if you sit in certain spots the easiest way of knowing is that individual chair mean service whilst benches means self service. The food is a little better but a little pricier in the seats but if you're after big then benches are fine.

Then we took a walk to the town hall glockenspiel today. Saw and heard it go, were impressed in that quaint pre YouTube manner then went and hopped on the hop on hop off bus and spent the next two and half hours taking in the sights and commentary re Munich. There's lots here in Germany's third largest city and Bavarians are intensely proud of their region and their city. There's lots of history old and new, the old they love the new they are in two minds about but it remains fascinating. I haven't included many bus shots as they tend to be a bit boring (it's that you had to be there sort of thing) but Munich is quite a charming place and would be even more charming if thousands of tourists would go home for a day or two. They (we) are everywhere. The streets are awash with tourists, the buses are full of tourists, the beer gardens are a mass of tourists and you have to line up for gelati (even I have standards!). And at some stage we hopped off the hop on hop off bus.

I think it's good that we commence the KLW tomorrow and start to get away from the throng we've been engaged with over the last couple of days. It's a short train trip to the start where we walk part way around a lake so it should be a fairly gentle easing in walk for us.

Let you know tomorrow. See you then.



Rob.

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