Hi Again!!
Been a while since I made some noise. Ok, let me tell you in this piece what a beautiful place the South of Germany is. The area I shall describe is just inside the southern border of Germany with Austria and Switzerland.
Our trip was for two days by road and we covered as many places as possible in this region. There are many places I would love to see again and some which I missed on this trip.
Let me share with you the magical beauty I enjoyed. To make this narrative more enjoyable and the contexts to be precisely understood, I would recommend you take a look at the map of Germany at: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/europe/germany.jpg
To Garmisch-Partenkirchen:
We drove off in a Ford Focus early on Saturday morning towards the South via Ulm and Augsberg, two old towns of Germany. We did not stop by these towns on this trip because they were not our main destination. However I could tell you a couple of interesting facts about these two towns.
On the Romantic Road (a scenic driving route), Augsburg was founded by Roman legions: The town name comes from the Emperor Augustus. Among the interesting sights are the unusual Dom (cathedral); St. Anne's Church, where Martin Luther took refuge; the Romisches Museum (housed in a baroque church); and the shining Renaissance Golden Room in the Rathaus (Town Hall). Must see is the Fuggerei, the world's first social housing project for the poor. (The rent is the same as it was when it was founded in 1519.)
A bit to the west of Augsburg (and 30 mi/50 km northwest of Munich) and worth a look is the city of Ulm, which features a Gothic church with one of the tallest spires in the world (525 ft/160 m) - the view from the top is worth the exhausting climb. Some of the medieval city walls remain, and there's a nice town hall with an astronomical clock that dates from 1520. A walk through the Fisherman's Quarter to see half-timbered houses would be a good idea. Ulm is on the Danube and is a pleasant place to spend a few hours. A monument across the street from the main train station marks the location where Albert Einstein was born.
We went past these places and through München (Munich) to a town on the foothills of the Bavarian Alps. This beautiful town is Garmisch-Partenkirschen. Garmisch is a small quaint town that has been pulled out of a picture postcard. With snowclad peaks around and pure white ski slopes, intermingled with fat cows and goats grazing languidly in lush green grass, the mind registers a snapshot you will never forget.
There is a single Main Road that enters and exits this cul-de-sac town and beautiful houses and small churches with pretty steeples adorn either side of this ribbon. We had not made any reservations for accomodations but found one easily enough. We spotted a 'Zimmer Available' sign and found ourselves two rooms for the evening at €25 per person, which is quite cheap considering that it would cost you almost four times if you were to book accomodations in advace in a bigger stead. The Gestate Reiter is actually a small banglow which has several rooms and has been converted into a guest-house by the owner for the sake of making some money out of the tourist population. A neat flower garden in the front and an apple tree by the side set a very happy and idyllic ambience. We lugged out stuff to our zimmers and the grand view from my window took my breath away! Maximum returns for €25!
Oktoberfest!
Our timing could not have been more correct to be in this neck of the woods, for it was Oktoberfest time. Oktoberfest is the beer festival of Bavaria and Munich (München in the local lingo) is the most important city in the Bavarian district of Germany. We set off to München by train from Garmisch to take in the atmosphere of the Oktoberfest fair. The primary attraction there is the beer that flows like a river in spate, but even for a teetotaler an evening at the Wiesn (as the Oktoberfest grounds are known) is an outing to remember.
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Been a while since I made some noise. Ok, let me tell you in this piece what a beautiful place the South of Germany is. The area I shall describe is just inside the southern border of Germany with Austria and Switzerland.
Our trip was for two days by road and we covered as many places as possible in this region. There are many places I would love to see again and some which I missed on this trip.
Let me share with you the magical beauty I enjoyed. To make this narrative more enjoyable and the contexts to be precisely understood, I would recommend you take a look at the map of Germany at: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/europe/germany.jpg
To Garmisch-Partenkirchen:
We drove off in a Ford Focus early on Saturday morning towards the South via Ulm and Augsberg, two old towns of Germany. We did not stop by these towns on this trip because they were not our main destination. However I could tell you a couple of interesting facts about these two towns.
On the Romantic Road (a scenic driving route), Augsburg was founded by Roman legions: The town name comes from the Emperor Augustus. Among the interesting sights are the unusual Dom (cathedral); St. Anne's Church, where Martin Luther took refuge; the Romisches Museum (housed in a baroque church); and the shining Renaissance Golden Room in the Rathaus (Town Hall). Must see is the Fuggerei, the world's first social housing project for the poor. (The rent is the same as it was when it was founded in 1519.)
A bit to the west of Augsburg (and 30 mi/50 km northwest of Munich) and worth a look is the city of Ulm, which features a Gothic church with one of the tallest spires in the world (525 ft/160 m) - the view from the top is worth the exhausting climb. Some of the medieval city walls remain, and there's a nice town hall with an astronomical clock that dates from 1520. A walk through the Fisherman's Quarter to see half-timbered houses would be a good idea. Ulm is on the Danube and is a pleasant place to spend a few hours. A monument across the street from the main train station marks the location where Albert Einstein was born.
We went past these places and through München (Munich) to a town on the foothills of the Bavarian Alps. This beautiful town is Garmisch-Partenkirschen. Garmisch is a small quaint town that has been pulled out of a picture postcard. With snowclad peaks around and pure white ski slopes, intermingled with fat cows and goats grazing languidly in lush green grass, the mind registers a snapshot you will never forget.
There is a single Main Road that enters and exits this cul-de-sac town and beautiful houses and small churches with pretty steeples adorn either side of this ribbon. We had not made any reservations for accomodations but found one easily enough. We spotted a 'Zimmer Available' sign and found ourselves two rooms for the evening at €25 per person, which is quite cheap considering that it would cost you almost four times if you were to book accomodations in advace in a bigger stead. The Gestate Reiter is actually a small banglow which has several rooms and has been converted into a guest-house by the owner for the sake of making some money out of the tourist population. A neat flower garden in the front and an apple tree by the side set a very happy and idyllic ambience. We lugged out stuff to our zimmers and the grand view from my window took my breath away! Maximum returns for €25!
Oktoberfest!
Our timing could not have been more correct to be in this neck of the woods, for it was Oktoberfest time. Oktoberfest is the beer festival of Bavaria and Munich (München in the local lingo) is the most important city in the Bavarian district of Germany. We set off to München by train from Garmisch to take in the atmosphere of the Oktoberfest fair. The primary attraction there is the beer that flows like a river in spate, but even for a teetotaler an evening at the Wiesn (as the Oktoberfest grounds are known) is an outing to remember.
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Munich's Oktoberfest is justly renowned as the world's largest kegger, but it's far more than a beer bust. The annual 16-day festival offers some 200 sideshows, carnival rides, and other amusements, so you'll find something to do at the Wiesn (as the Oktoberfest grounds are known) even if you're a teetotaler who disapproves of vomiting as public recreation.
Still, there's no doubt that suds are the liquid centerpiece of Oktoberfest, which traces its origins to a wedding celebration for Ludwig I of Bavaria and his bride in 1810. In a typical year, Oktoberfest will attract some 6 million vistors who collectively down approximately 6 million liters (1.5 million gallons) of special Oktoberfest brew. That's a lot of beer, even when diluted by 87 spit-roasted steer, 459,259 roasted chickens, and 219,405 pairs of sausages.
Most of the serious guzzling takes place in 14 beer tents, or festival halls, which offer tables and seating for 100,000 patrons. Six of the tents are operated by Munich breweries, and each of the 14 has its own unique character--from the relatively intimate 3,400-seat Hippodrom to the 9,300-seat Schottenhamel, where the mayor of Munich cries "O'zapft is!" as he taps the first keg of beer on the opening day of Oktoberfest.
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Outside India, I have not seen crowds of the magnitude that I saw at the Wiesn! The train took us to München in just over an hour. We reached the grounds travelling the small distance from the München Hauptbahnhof (Main Station) on foot. There was celebration in the air! And beer sloshing underfoot! There was dancing, revelling and singing and shouting and just plain merry-making going on all around. We forced our way through the throng, jostling and pushing, shoving and kicking (Mumbai guys need neither invitation nor training in these artful manoeuvres!) towards the center of the ground where we got some breathing space.
There were the tents around us. Huge tents and in different colours and shapes. Emblazoned upon each in different styles was the name of the brewery that hosted the tent. We walked around just taking inthe racous scene and then a couple of guys from our party wanted to have some beer. We tried to get into one of the tents (believe me when I tell you they are no tents but massive shelters that can accomodate several thousands at one time) but they were all fulll and entry was barred. After waiting a bit we decided to have the beer in the open from one of the zillions of outlets. The beer came and went and came and went till it became impossible for anymore to be comsumed. We had in our group of five, one case of I-am-in-seventh-heaven-and-wont-come-down-from-there and another case of Am-I-getting-drunk?-well-I-dont-know-but-I-cant-stand-anymore.
Being five, we managed to get back to the Hauptbahnhof just in time for our return train to Garmisch. An eventful (you dont want to know these events that follow a long bout of drinking) hour later, we disgorged onto the Gleis (platform) at Garmisch-Partenkirchen and lugged our tired bodies towards the Gastehaus Reiter.
Once there, we let sleep take us into the arms of the beckoning Bavarian damsels to dance on the icy slopes of the Alps beneath the Junipers, crushing the acorns into the fresh snow under our feet as we waltzed away into the mists of oblivion.
There were the tents around us. Huge tents and in different colours and shapes. Emblazoned upon each in different styles was the name of the brewery that hosted the tent. We walked around just taking inthe racous scene and then a couple of guys from our party wanted to have some beer. We tried to get into one of the tents (believe me when I tell you they are no tents but massive shelters that can accomodate several thousands at one time) but they were all fulll and entry was barred. After waiting a bit we decided to have the beer in the open from one of the zillions of outlets. The beer came and went and came and went till it became impossible for anymore to be comsumed. We had in our group of five, one case of I-am-in-seventh-heaven-and-wont-come-down-from-there and another case of Am-I-getting-drunk?-well-I-dont-know-but-I-cant-stand-anymore.
Being five, we managed to get back to the Hauptbahnhof just in time for our return train to Garmisch. An eventful (you dont want to know these events that follow a long bout of drinking) hour later, we disgorged onto the Gleis (platform) at Garmisch-Partenkirchen and lugged our tired bodies towards the Gastehaus Reiter.
Once there, we let sleep take us into the arms of the beckoning Bavarian damsels to dance on the icy slopes of the Alps beneath the Junipers, crushing the acorns into the fresh snow under our feet as we waltzed away into the mists of oblivion.
