Devan and I in Munichwalking along the river
Munich, capitol of Bavaria, Germany and town of Mercedes-Benz taxis and so many people in dirndls and lederhosen you'll find yourself thinking that maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to purchase a dirndl for yourself! Well at least this is the case for the latter during the over two week in September/October for Oktoberfest, the world's biggest fair/beer drinking festival.<-- the symbol of the city.
It was here I came to visit my friend Devan as she is studying here for the year. And as it turned out, I also managed to time the visit during Oktoberfest. Somewhat Ironic for two girls who don't necessarily think beer is the greatest thing on earth, or a great thing at all for that matter!
I was greeted by Devan on Saturday mid-day after a beautiful train ride through Austria, and immediately we took advantage of the day, bringing my things to her dorm and then going out to the center to do what I like to call a "church tour" - visiting all the churches, admiring each one for it's unique beauty (Although there was one that she took me too that was a bit over the top! Apparently it was the private church of these two brothers and it was like a case of people with too much money and no artistic sense! Let's paint a dragon here! Let's put in this gold pillar here! Okay! --> picture on right is crazy church
The town hall -home to the famous Glockenspiel with it's
fun figurines that dance around when it chimes!
On Sunday we also walked through the beautiful English Garden, Munich's park that is actually one of the larger city parks in the world. It really felt like you were out in the wilderness here in the city, with trees, grass, lakes, and birds.
Very neat memorial to the members of the Naziresistance group, the White Rose, which started on Munich's
university. The memorial is stone pieces on the ground
replicating their pamphlets.
And of course, a visit to Oktoberfest. I'm not sure what I was expecting, maybe a large parking lot full of white tents with picnic tables and lots and lots of people drinking their beer, but that was not at all what I found. What it was a huge, massive fair with rides, roller coasters, booths, sweets, and of course the huge buildings stuffed with people drinking, singing, live bands, theme songs, etc.. etc.. And of course everyone dressed in their dirndls and lederhosen. Apparently this all started over 200 years ago with the marriage of two important people in the city, and well, they liked it so much that they kept it going the next year... and the next year.. and the next. And it still goes on today!
This was like something out of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.I was waiting for him to pull out lollipops and call
for the children.
My visit with Devan was good, and was in retrospect perfect timing. Kind of a way to transition between the first part of Italy, being on my own and traveling around, to the second part of Italy where I will be more sedentary and working with people, not everything just being about me! It also was good to see someone familiar, to talk about our respective experiences traveling and being here in Europe and reflecting back on each of our high school exchanges to Belgium and Hungary, and for Devan how that experience differed from her experience so far in Germany. And of course, just spending the weekend together exploring the city. (Well actually, Devan acted more like a guide!)And now, back on the train, heading down to Bologna for the night before arriving at my Helpx stay tomorrow. On to another, unknown experience!
I spent a great afternoon in Marienplatz, eating an overpriced salad, listening to a young German man singing in English with his guitar, and basking in the sun. Then I bought a loaf of bread from the market from a Spanish man, bought some Irish cheese and basked in the sun for a few more hours. Thanks for sharing your experiences in Munchen, too--it's a double story, you know, yours layered with my own. xoxo Anni
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