Monday, October 24, 2011
This Is An Actual Underground Chapel
Carved out of salt by salt miners, fully decorated with chandeliers made out of pure salt crystals or something like that, biblical sculptures covering the walls, and a huge statue of Pope Jon Paul II. Oh, and a lights show.
Going Down
A look downward, going down the stairs of the salt mine. I think they said its about 50 stories deep.
Prisoner's Shoes
What makes this even worse - the shoes pictured here are just the shoes from children. Collected by the Nazis at Auschwitz I.
Left Sign In, Right Go to the Showers
The gate where the prisoners were first let out of the trains (A lone car stands in the middle of the track now as a memorial, seen to the right of the picture). From here they were lined up, and a doctor would inspect them one at a time, pointing either left or right. Left - you were signed in and admitted to the camp; Right - you were brought straight to the showers to die.
Gas Chamber
What is left of one of the gas chambers at the camp. This picture shows the walkway down into the changing room, where the prisoners were told to remember their number for their cubby, as if they would come back to get their clothes after. In the distance you can see the actual shower, not just a pile of rubble.
Bathrooms
The bathroom facility for thousands of prisoners in Auschwitz II - Birkenau. Really just holes in a long concrete box. Oh, and they were only given 15 seconds to go. My stage fright takes that long...
Poland
Poland was the first country I traveled to with the intended companionship of other travelers; namely, Brandan and Aaron. They were two of the Australians I had met in Berlin and hung out with for some time in Prague, and we all had a couple days to kill before we had to go different ways, so we decided to spend them in Kraków, Poland.
Kraków is known for a number of things, but one of the biggest is that it neighbors the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp. The three of us arrives early morning after we took a night train from Prague so we decided to make the most out of the day and booked a day trip to Auschwitz later that day. We spent the morning looking for a McDonalds that my guide book said had a room inside a medieval vault they had found in excavations, but ended up ruining my No-McDonalds-In-Europe rule in a McDonalds on the other side of the town square that just looked kinda vault-ish. I would have been more devastated about the McDonalds streak hadn't the Aussies already convinced me to eat Burger King the morning before after a long night of drinking. Also, the real "medieval vault" room looked like pretty lame when we found it anyways.
After my first European McDonalds experience, or so I'm going to call it, we walked around the old town admiring the massive square (the largest in Europe according to my guidebook) and did a bit of window shopping along the busiest tourists streets. I bought a harmonica with the faint hope that it will keep me entertained on lonely days, but haven't had a chance to play it yet. Kind of sad...but at the same time that's good I guess.
Next was the tour of Auschwitz, and we found the tour company's meeting point and boarded the bus. Ten minutes into the hour long ride the weather took a turn for the worse, as dark clouds covered the sky and rain started to streak the windows of the bus. Fitting, I later realized, for what we were heading towards.
My girlfriend and I had toured a concentration camp outside of Munich about a month back, but nothing, not even that other camp, can prepare you for what you see at Auschwitz. Due to traffic out timing constraint, mixed with the quickly setting sun made it so we did the tour backwards - starting with Auschwitz II - Birkenau, the sister camp and main death camp of the Auschwitz camp network. Right away we were walking through the camp where an estimated one and a half million people were murdered.
Rows after rows of dormitories covered the massive fields, with rows of barren stone and brick chimneys marking the remains of hundreds of more such buildings that the Nazis had a chance to burn down before they took off just days before the Soviet front liberated the camp. Our tour guide showed us their living conditions - their dorms, their "bathrooms" if you can call it that, and walked us through a day in the life of the prisoners. Along with the other burnt down buildings, the Nazis also had time to destroy the gas chambers they used to do most of the mass killings, but walking around the rubble and seeing the stairs that led down into the "changing rooms" was still difficult to see. At first I was almost upset I couldn't see them (as obviously messed up as that sounds) but after I was glad they were no longer there. It was hard enough to see the rubble where more than a million men, women, and children were killed - to see the actual buildings would have been too much. You can not walk around these camps and not just run through your head again and again the question "how can anyone do this?"
From this point people were already silent. We boarded on our bus again and headed down the road to the original camp and the main headquarters of Himmler's evil mind, Auschwitz I. Walking through the main gate that read's "Arbeit Macht Frei" (Work Makes One Free), you get a chill. Bad things happened here. A couple of the old dormitories have been turned into a museum. The Nazis were very organized and kept inventory of almost everything, taking everything they could from their prisoners, and now much of this is on display. There we saw things that send a chill down your spine - the shoes, toothbrushes, combs, eyeglasses, suitcases, toys, just everything, from hundreds of thousands of prisoners, just on display behind glass walls. The hardest one for me - the hair of more than 30,000 women, some just girls, shaved off and collected for further need by the German people. To make matters worse, we then saw the building where the Nazis would perform medical experiments, even one inducing numerous diseases into the uterus' of Jewish women to find a way to make them impotent. Again - how can anyone do such a thing?
The ride back to Kraków was silent.
The next day we booked a more cheery tour. This time we were going to see the Wieliczka Salt Mine, located in the town of Wieliczka in southern Poland. The mine continuously produced table salt from the 1200s up through 2007, making it the world's 14th-oldest company. Pretty sweet right? Ok so it may sound a little lame at first, but get this - he mine reaches a depth of more than 325 meters and is over 300 meters long. In the two and a half hour tour we took, we cover less than one percent of the mine's passages. We also see four separate chapels carved out of the salt by the miners, which are just a few of the 44 down there! No seriously, real chapels not just rooms that they prayed in. That's how big this place is. Check out the pictures above. Every sculpture in the mine was made by real salt miners - no artists. Coolest part too - floor, wall, or ceiling, you can give it a lick and you can taste the salt!
The next day I headed my way to Bratislava, Slovakia. Why? Well why not?!
- Matt
Kraków is known for a number of things, but one of the biggest is that it neighbors the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp. The three of us arrives early morning after we took a night train from Prague so we decided to make the most out of the day and booked a day trip to Auschwitz later that day. We spent the morning looking for a McDonalds that my guide book said had a room inside a medieval vault they had found in excavations, but ended up ruining my No-McDonalds-In-Europe rule in a McDonalds on the other side of the town square that just looked kinda vault-ish. I would have been more devastated about the McDonalds streak hadn't the Aussies already convinced me to eat Burger King the morning before after a long night of drinking. Also, the real "medieval vault" room looked like pretty lame when we found it anyways.
After my first European McDonalds experience, or so I'm going to call it, we walked around the old town admiring the massive square (the largest in Europe according to my guidebook) and did a bit of window shopping along the busiest tourists streets. I bought a harmonica with the faint hope that it will keep me entertained on lonely days, but haven't had a chance to play it yet. Kind of sad...but at the same time that's good I guess.
Next was the tour of Auschwitz, and we found the tour company's meeting point and boarded the bus. Ten minutes into the hour long ride the weather took a turn for the worse, as dark clouds covered the sky and rain started to streak the windows of the bus. Fitting, I later realized, for what we were heading towards.
My girlfriend and I had toured a concentration camp outside of Munich about a month back, but nothing, not even that other camp, can prepare you for what you see at Auschwitz. Due to traffic out timing constraint, mixed with the quickly setting sun made it so we did the tour backwards - starting with Auschwitz II - Birkenau, the sister camp and main death camp of the Auschwitz camp network. Right away we were walking through the camp where an estimated one and a half million people were murdered.
Rows after rows of dormitories covered the massive fields, with rows of barren stone and brick chimneys marking the remains of hundreds of more such buildings that the Nazis had a chance to burn down before they took off just days before the Soviet front liberated the camp. Our tour guide showed us their living conditions - their dorms, their "bathrooms" if you can call it that, and walked us through a day in the life of the prisoners. Along with the other burnt down buildings, the Nazis also had time to destroy the gas chambers they used to do most of the mass killings, but walking around the rubble and seeing the stairs that led down into the "changing rooms" was still difficult to see. At first I was almost upset I couldn't see them (as obviously messed up as that sounds) but after I was glad they were no longer there. It was hard enough to see the rubble where more than a million men, women, and children were killed - to see the actual buildings would have been too much. You can not walk around these camps and not just run through your head again and again the question "how can anyone do this?"
From this point people were already silent. We boarded on our bus again and headed down the road to the original camp and the main headquarters of Himmler's evil mind, Auschwitz I. Walking through the main gate that read's "Arbeit Macht Frei" (Work Makes One Free), you get a chill. Bad things happened here. A couple of the old dormitories have been turned into a museum. The Nazis were very organized and kept inventory of almost everything, taking everything they could from their prisoners, and now much of this is on display. There we saw things that send a chill down your spine - the shoes, toothbrushes, combs, eyeglasses, suitcases, toys, just everything, from hundreds of thousands of prisoners, just on display behind glass walls. The hardest one for me - the hair of more than 30,000 women, some just girls, shaved off and collected for further need by the German people. To make matters worse, we then saw the building where the Nazis would perform medical experiments, even one inducing numerous diseases into the uterus' of Jewish women to find a way to make them impotent. Again - how can anyone do such a thing?
The ride back to Kraków was silent.
The next day we booked a more cheery tour. This time we were going to see the Wieliczka Salt Mine, located in the town of Wieliczka in southern Poland. The mine continuously produced table salt from the 1200s up through 2007, making it the world's 14th-oldest company. Pretty sweet right? Ok so it may sound a little lame at first, but get this - he mine reaches a depth of more than 325 meters and is over 300 meters long. In the two and a half hour tour we took, we cover less than one percent of the mine's passages. We also see four separate chapels carved out of the salt by the miners, which are just a few of the 44 down there! No seriously, real chapels not just rooms that they prayed in. That's how big this place is. Check out the pictures above. Every sculpture in the mine was made by real salt miners - no artists. Coolest part too - floor, wall, or ceiling, you can give it a lick and you can taste the salt!
The next day I headed my way to Bratislava, Slovakia. Why? Well why not?!
- Matt
Location:Kraków, Poland
Monday, October 17, 2011
Another Impressive Church
There is a reason Prague is called The Golden City of a Thousand Spires... Here is just one of the reasons why.
Hugeeee Church
Took something like 800 years to build this in the castle walls. Took a while to decide which picture to use to show it, as I couldn't get it all in one photo. This one at least shows it's impressiveness. Incredible stained glass windows inside as well.
Lotta skulls
Just one of the four ostensories that gives me chills to look at even now just looking at the picture. Each one of those used to be a person! Come on!
Coat of Arms... Literally!
The coat of arms, made entirely of bones. Note the bird pecking out the eye of the Turkish warrior on the bottom right...commemorating a victory they had over the Turks way back when. Seriously though, how cool is this? My family doesn't even have a coat of arms!
Posing So Cool On My Segway
Yes I'm purposely looking stupid. Charles bridge in the background.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Czech Out Prague
Seriously, go to Prague. Easily my favorite city I have been to so far in Europe, and for so many reasons. I spent a week there, touring the city, experiencing the culture, and making a million memories - too many to remember...if that makes sense.
My stay started out alone, though I would soon meet up with friends I had made while in Berlin. My hostel was amazing. Named Sir Toby's, though I never figured out why, this place had it all. A quaint and fitting bar in the basement, unbelievably nice staff, and yadda yadda I clearly liked it. I have found that great hostel experiences really influence your outlook on that place/city, and maybe it helped me love Prague that much more. Or its just cause Prague is so awesome.
I spent the first two days touring the city, first taking the free walking tour led by brilliantly entertaining guides through the old town and Jewish section of the city, and then the next day over to the castle grounds. Walking through the old town you can't help but feel like a kid in a candy store, staring wide-eyed around you at the city that seems to take you back in time a couple hundred years. The buildings stun, the atmosphere buzzes with culture and excitement, and...everyone is drinking beer. I made some great friends really fast, and on my first night enjoyed a huge meal with just me and two others, drank a couple delicious local Pilsners, and when the bill came - a whopping 12 dollars each. Greattt start. The following night, we topped this off by checking out an Absinthe bar, where we had the real deal "green fairy" kind of stuff, including one shot that cost me around 50 dollars, for the Absinthe with the strongest amount of the root ingredient that supposedly causes the hallucination effects. No, it did not work. But yes, I got very drunk.
Day Three I walked out of the shower to find two of the friends I made in Berlin had checked in, and not only that - they got placed in my room. We spent that day not doing something I hate...shopping. I bought a hat. I hate shopping. I'm realizing my days are sort of mixing up so I'm gonna just give the highlights of the next few days:
The Aussie friends (Terry, Aaron, and Brandan) and I went to the Communist museum, which is HILARIOUSLY placed between a Mcdonalds and a Casino. Learning about the history of the Czech republic gives you that much more of an appreciation for the city, dealing with a constant change of powers between Communism, Nazi Germany, and back and forth. Centrally placed in Europe, but too small to have a strong enough army, Czech has consistently been the stomping ground of whoever was in power in Europe in their time. After the museum, we thought it would be funny to gamble a bit in the casino next door, and most of us (sorry Brandan) made a good deal of money real quick and we took it and decided to spend it on something fun- a Segway tour!
What this meant, was Aaron, Brandan and I paid a guy to drive around with us on Segways, cruising up and down cobblestone streets and checking out the sites, and changing my view on those tours on Segways (I always thought they were lazy, but damn those things are fun).
The following day we took a day trip an hour and a half outside of Prague to check out the Ossuary in Kutna Hora. Or simply- we wanted to check out the "Bone Church", an Ossuary that is decorated wall to wall by the bones of about 40,000 people. Yeah, take that in for a second. This place has it all as far as creepy bone structures go - in the middle of the chapel there is a chandelier consisting of all the kinds of bones that are found in the human body (picture above), in each corner you can find an ostensory built of thousands of people's skulls and other bones, there is even a coat of arms belonging to the family that bought and owns the place (for hundreds of years) built entirely of bones (also picture above). So creepy, but so cool.
The following day we would manage to top the grotesqueness that was in this place - we traveled to Krakow, Poland, and took a tour of Auschwitz concentration camp. But more on that later.
Go look at those pictures I'm about to add. And again- Go Czech out Prague.
My stay started out alone, though I would soon meet up with friends I had made while in Berlin. My hostel was amazing. Named Sir Toby's, though I never figured out why, this place had it all. A quaint and fitting bar in the basement, unbelievably nice staff, and yadda yadda I clearly liked it. I have found that great hostel experiences really influence your outlook on that place/city, and maybe it helped me love Prague that much more. Or its just cause Prague is so awesome.
I spent the first two days touring the city, first taking the free walking tour led by brilliantly entertaining guides through the old town and Jewish section of the city, and then the next day over to the castle grounds. Walking through the old town you can't help but feel like a kid in a candy store, staring wide-eyed around you at the city that seems to take you back in time a couple hundred years. The buildings stun, the atmosphere buzzes with culture and excitement, and...everyone is drinking beer. I made some great friends really fast, and on my first night enjoyed a huge meal with just me and two others, drank a couple delicious local Pilsners, and when the bill came - a whopping 12 dollars each. Greattt start. The following night, we topped this off by checking out an Absinthe bar, where we had the real deal "green fairy" kind of stuff, including one shot that cost me around 50 dollars, for the Absinthe with the strongest amount of the root ingredient that supposedly causes the hallucination effects. No, it did not work. But yes, I got very drunk.
Day Three I walked out of the shower to find two of the friends I made in Berlin had checked in, and not only that - they got placed in my room. We spent that day not doing something I hate...shopping. I bought a hat. I hate shopping. I'm realizing my days are sort of mixing up so I'm gonna just give the highlights of the next few days:
The Aussie friends (Terry, Aaron, and Brandan) and I went to the Communist museum, which is HILARIOUSLY placed between a Mcdonalds and a Casino. Learning about the history of the Czech republic gives you that much more of an appreciation for the city, dealing with a constant change of powers between Communism, Nazi Germany, and back and forth. Centrally placed in Europe, but too small to have a strong enough army, Czech has consistently been the stomping ground of whoever was in power in Europe in their time. After the museum, we thought it would be funny to gamble a bit in the casino next door, and most of us (sorry Brandan) made a good deal of money real quick and we took it and decided to spend it on something fun- a Segway tour!
What this meant, was Aaron, Brandan and I paid a guy to drive around with us on Segways, cruising up and down cobblestone streets and checking out the sites, and changing my view on those tours on Segways (I always thought they were lazy, but damn those things are fun).
The following day we took a day trip an hour and a half outside of Prague to check out the Ossuary in Kutna Hora. Or simply- we wanted to check out the "Bone Church", an Ossuary that is decorated wall to wall by the bones of about 40,000 people. Yeah, take that in for a second. This place has it all as far as creepy bone structures go - in the middle of the chapel there is a chandelier consisting of all the kinds of bones that are found in the human body (picture above), in each corner you can find an ostensory built of thousands of people's skulls and other bones, there is even a coat of arms belonging to the family that bought and owns the place (for hundreds of years) built entirely of bones (also picture above). So creepy, but so cool.
The following day we would manage to top the grotesqueness that was in this place - we traveled to Krakow, Poland, and took a tour of Auschwitz concentration camp. But more on that later.
Go look at those pictures I'm about to add. And again- Go Czech out Prague.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Berlin in Pictures
If you haven't noticed, I just posted a bunch of pictures I selected from my stay in Berlin. Berlin is full of too much history and whatnot that it would have taken me way too long of a post to describe it all, so this way is easier for all of us. Czech them out and enjoy.
- Matt
- Matt
Location:Berlin, Germany
German History Museum
This photo sneakily taken inside the German History Museum shows Napoleon's clothing from the Battle at Waterloo. I just couldn't resist, too cool. Spent about three hours in this museum, wish I had more pictures to show for it but this will have to do.
Neue Wache
Neue Wache, meaning the emperor's "New Guardhouse" is from the early 19th century, but when the wall fell this memorial to the victims of fascism was transformed into a national memorial. The statue in the middle, also the lone figure in the room, is called simply "Mother with Her Dead Son", surrounded by nothing but thought-provoking silence. This marks the tombs of Germany's unknown soldier and the unknown concentration camp victim. Even more interesting- the memorial is open to the sky (see the circular window above the statue), incorporating all elements falling on to the statue, sunshine, rain or snow.
Pedestrian Light in Berlin
Along Unter den Linden, the most important street that cuts down through the middle of Berlin and leads you to/from the Brandenburg Gate, you can find these DDR-style pedestrian lights. These communist-era icon was almost changed by the West after the wall came down, so someone has a sense of humor.
Hotel Adlon
Used to host such notables as Charlie Chaplin, Einstein, and Greta Garbo, but you and I mostly might recognize it as the place where Michael Jackson hung his baby over the railing (second balcony up, center over the facade). Most pointless picture I'm adding, but kinda funny.
Checkpoint Charlie
The Checkpoint Charlie street scene, where Checkpoint Charlie used to stand. Just behind me from where I stood taking this picture is a photo exhibit stretching down the street with descriptions and stories about the wall and this checkpoint. So much more interesting and moving when you are actually standing there.
Reichstag Building
The parliament building and the heart of German democracy. Sadly I could not get in as my guide book was published just over a year ago and in that time some lunatic tried to bring in a gun or something, so now you have to book a reservation three days in advance. But check out the glass cupola on top - if you look closely you can see the two sloped ramps spiraling up for the grand view down into the legislative chamber down below...so that the German people can keep a close eye on their government from now on. At least I got a kick out of that.
Curry Wurst
The most "Berlin" food that Berlin has, pretty much just a wurst covered in curry with some weird semi-spicy sauce on top. Not recommended, especially if you are like me and don't even like curry that much, but I had to give it a try.
Victory Column (Siegessäule)
Built to commemorate the Prussian defeat of Denmark in 1864, then reinterpreted after the defeat of France in 1870. Then the German's covered in in those gold cannons surrounding the column. Now you can climb this and get a great arial view of Central/Eastern Berlin. Such as the picture next.
Brandenburg Gate
The historic Brandenburg Gate, the once symbol of a divided Berlin, now crawling with tourists. First stop along my history-packed few days in Berlin.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
The Fantasy World That Is Oktberfest
Woaw. So Oktoberfest was a blur.
After my stay with my friends in Ellwangen, I took a train to Munich that arrived midday. I spent the last afternoon wandering around the massive Central Station and munching on a giant pretzel, admiring all of the men and women in traditional bavarian gear, the men wearing Sennerhut and Lederhosen, and the girls in Dirndl dresses. I had barely left the station...actually I hadn't even left the station, and I was already feeling the electricity that stirs the city during the festival. I eventually took a city train to the airport where I was meeting my girlfriend to go with her to her hotel, where I would be sleeping on the floor for the three nights we stayed there. In budget travel, a free floor to sleep on is better than any bed you have to pay for, as long as you have my sleeping abilities (anywhere, anytime, any position) and if the cheapest bed in town costs 70 Euros.
We woke up the next morning at 8 o'clock to make sure we made it to the festival early enough to get comfortable seating at a table with all of Taylor's friends. (Well, the girls woke up at 8, I got up at 9 and was still ready to go before some of them. Its good to be a guy) We made it to the festival by 9:45, which turned out to give us plenty of time to wander through the streets of clutter from the night before, and the festival workers preparing their stalls and eateries before the rush of the day began, before meeting up with friends inside the Hofbräu Haus tent. Right away we were herded into the beer tables, wooden, two feet wide boards on legs that were big enough to hold your beer but small enough not to take up too much room so more people could fit and enjoy the festivities. We were lucky enough to take up almost an entire length of a table and meet a small handful of fun people that we all quickly made friends with.
The rest of the day went fairly smooth. Drank some, ate some pretzels, some chicken, made a million cheers (prost!), sang along to bavarian songs we didn't know, and...well, did the Oktoberfest thing. In the afternoon Taylor and I separated from the rest of the group for a bit to check out the festival outside of the tent. We did a few side games, just like they have at any carnival (yeah, I shot the little target every time and won her a fake rose, sooo manly). We even rode the Olympic Looping roller coaster, the largest portable roller coaster in the world. After we asked a stranger to take a picture of us, and it turned out to be the "little" fraternity brother of my best friend growing up -- small world. We ended up staying the whole day, even going back to a tent for another beer and were there until closing.
The next day kind of hurt. Woke up even earlier because it was a weekend and therefore would be more crowded. We went back to the same tent and met up with the other girls, lucky to all be at the same table again. After a pretzel and a beer, I was starting to feel a bit better (healthy breakfast, always helps). Soon we met up with the friends we made the day before, and all was going smooth just like the day before.
And then I got in a fight.
I don't know if you can really call it a fight. Let me lay out the situation for you first- I'm talking to one of the guys we had met, Chris, playing a friendly drinking game and just enjoying hanging out when over comes this Australian with a mohawk, Prada sunglasses, and a shirt with a black and white picture of some sort of nakedness. I had seen him earlier in the morning getting booed by the entire half of the tent for being one of the guys to stand up on a table and show everyone he can chug his beer, but failing miserably and puking half of it back into his mug before he could finish. Yeah, one of those guys. And then a couple other small encounters later like when he was bragging near Taylor and me about how he had drank 8 beers, which we clearly called him out on. So maybe he had a reason not to like me before, but what set the final match was this- When Chris and I were sitting there, he comes and sits on the table and says in our direction something along the lines of "I'm seriously about to fu$%ing punch some of these girls". Well okay, I don't know about you but when a drunk idiot says something like that, and I am the only guy with the group of 20 girls, I'm going to say something. I ask him why he would want to hit a girl, and he responds, brilliantly, with "I'm going to fu&%ing beat your ass too in like two seconds." I figure he's just full of it, and turn my back to him to talk to someone I actually care about, when he apparently, saw his chance.
Next thing I know he jumps on top of me (mind you he was sitting on the table), and starts hitting the top of my head. I realize if I hit him back I could get thrown out, and unlike him there are people there that cared if I got kicked out, so I do what I can to grab his arms and lift him off of me (thanks to the help of Taylor pulling his ears back from behind- the first thing she could grab - thanks Tay ;) ) Before I know it he's dragged off by security and I'm left confused, with a bit of a headache, but generally pretty happy because I don't want a lunatic like that hanging around me, my girlfriend, or her friends. Not to mention its a good story.
The rest of the day Taylor and I wandered the festival with one of her friends and Chris, enjoyed the day and had an early night. The next day Taylor and I did something actually productive and went to check out the famous Dachau concentration camp. Not much to say about that, its a concentration camp. That being said, it was an experience everyone should have if they get a chance, its a real eye-opener.
Next stop: Hamburg, Germany.
- Matt
After my stay with my friends in Ellwangen, I took a train to Munich that arrived midday. I spent the last afternoon wandering around the massive Central Station and munching on a giant pretzel, admiring all of the men and women in traditional bavarian gear, the men wearing Sennerhut and Lederhosen, and the girls in Dirndl dresses. I had barely left the station...actually I hadn't even left the station, and I was already feeling the electricity that stirs the city during the festival. I eventually took a city train to the airport where I was meeting my girlfriend to go with her to her hotel, where I would be sleeping on the floor for the three nights we stayed there. In budget travel, a free floor to sleep on is better than any bed you have to pay for, as long as you have my sleeping abilities (anywhere, anytime, any position) and if the cheapest bed in town costs 70 Euros.
We woke up the next morning at 8 o'clock to make sure we made it to the festival early enough to get comfortable seating at a table with all of Taylor's friends. (Well, the girls woke up at 8, I got up at 9 and was still ready to go before some of them. Its good to be a guy) We made it to the festival by 9:45, which turned out to give us plenty of time to wander through the streets of clutter from the night before, and the festival workers preparing their stalls and eateries before the rush of the day began, before meeting up with friends inside the Hofbräu Haus tent. Right away we were herded into the beer tables, wooden, two feet wide boards on legs that were big enough to hold your beer but small enough not to take up too much room so more people could fit and enjoy the festivities. We were lucky enough to take up almost an entire length of a table and meet a small handful of fun people that we all quickly made friends with.
The rest of the day went fairly smooth. Drank some, ate some pretzels, some chicken, made a million cheers (prost!), sang along to bavarian songs we didn't know, and...well, did the Oktoberfest thing. In the afternoon Taylor and I separated from the rest of the group for a bit to check out the festival outside of the tent. We did a few side games, just like they have at any carnival (yeah, I shot the little target every time and won her a fake rose, sooo manly). We even rode the Olympic Looping roller coaster, the largest portable roller coaster in the world. After we asked a stranger to take a picture of us, and it turned out to be the "little" fraternity brother of my best friend growing up -- small world. We ended up staying the whole day, even going back to a tent for another beer and were there until closing.
The next day kind of hurt. Woke up even earlier because it was a weekend and therefore would be more crowded. We went back to the same tent and met up with the other girls, lucky to all be at the same table again. After a pretzel and a beer, I was starting to feel a bit better (healthy breakfast, always helps). Soon we met up with the friends we made the day before, and all was going smooth just like the day before.
And then I got in a fight.
I don't know if you can really call it a fight. Let me lay out the situation for you first- I'm talking to one of the guys we had met, Chris, playing a friendly drinking game and just enjoying hanging out when over comes this Australian with a mohawk, Prada sunglasses, and a shirt with a black and white picture of some sort of nakedness. I had seen him earlier in the morning getting booed by the entire half of the tent for being one of the guys to stand up on a table and show everyone he can chug his beer, but failing miserably and puking half of it back into his mug before he could finish. Yeah, one of those guys. And then a couple other small encounters later like when he was bragging near Taylor and me about how he had drank 8 beers, which we clearly called him out on. So maybe he had a reason not to like me before, but what set the final match was this- When Chris and I were sitting there, he comes and sits on the table and says in our direction something along the lines of "I'm seriously about to fu$%ing punch some of these girls". Well okay, I don't know about you but when a drunk idiot says something like that, and I am the only guy with the group of 20 girls, I'm going to say something. I ask him why he would want to hit a girl, and he responds, brilliantly, with "I'm going to fu&%ing beat your ass too in like two seconds." I figure he's just full of it, and turn my back to him to talk to someone I actually care about, when he apparently, saw his chance.
Next thing I know he jumps on top of me (mind you he was sitting on the table), and starts hitting the top of my head. I realize if I hit him back I could get thrown out, and unlike him there are people there that cared if I got kicked out, so I do what I can to grab his arms and lift him off of me (thanks to the help of Taylor pulling his ears back from behind- the first thing she could grab - thanks Tay ;) ) Before I know it he's dragged off by security and I'm left confused, with a bit of a headache, but generally pretty happy because I don't want a lunatic like that hanging around me, my girlfriend, or her friends. Not to mention its a good story.
The rest of the day Taylor and I wandered the festival with one of her friends and Chris, enjoyed the day and had an early night. The next day Taylor and I did something actually productive and went to check out the famous Dachau concentration camp. Not much to say about that, its a concentration camp. That being said, it was an experience everyone should have if they get a chance, its a real eye-opener.
Next stop: Hamburg, Germany.
- Matt
Location:Munich, Germany
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