auf wiedersehen

On Monday we walked through the city and did a little site seeing. We stopped at the market where a few from the group visited a famous horse butcher and snacked on some horse sausage. I just couldn't do it! That's like a pet! Then we climbed to the top of the old Saint Peter's to take in the view. Another climb to add to our lengthy list! It was just a bit too hazy to see the Alps, especially through a camera lens.

Above is a picture of Munich Frauenkirche, the tallest landmark in downtown Munich. We visited the church but the tower was closed due to some reconstruction.

Later in the afternoon, we found our way back to the festival and stopped in Lowenbrau. The weather was perfect so we didn't mind sitting outside.

We were trying not to repeat any tents, but since we were the only ones of the group who had already visited the famous Hofbräu-Festzelt we agreed to go back. Before finding a table in the garden, we strolled through Augustiner Bräu.

...but it was pretty full!

We got lucky again, maybe because it was a Monday night, and were able to spend our last night inside a tent, standing on table benches and chanting with the crowd! 

Auf Wiedersehen Oktoberfest! You showed us a pretty great time!

Tag zwei

After having a hard time getting two people into a tent or garden on Saturday night, we decided to go straight to the festival and check out the difficulty of day two. After it looked like we would have luck, we walked through the carnival and took in the sites! We found a seat around noon at Hofbräu-Festzelt.

Later, we walked through more of the carnival and indulged in a pretzel and sausage before making our way to Hippodrom. I swear we did more than just drink... hardly, but we did! We decided to take a picture of our beer at each place we visited so we wouldn't forget which tents we'd been to. Good idea - that German language is tricky. There is no way I could have remembered all the names!

Even though all the tables were reserved inside, we were able to get in to walk around. It was the first tent we saw and it was so fun! We knew we had to find a way to get inside somehow during the trip!

Mark had friends coming from college. We met up with all of them and found a big, empty table in the garden of Armbrustschützen.

We got lucky late in the evening. An unreserved table inside opened up. Music, dancing, chanting and PROST!

 

oktoberfest in münchen

After finding and checking-in to the apartment we rented through the help of a older German woman... thankfully, we had the address written so there was a lot of pointing and German jargon on a street corner, we found our way to the Augustiner Bräustuben.

...where the steins were bigger than my head! Augustiner is the oldest brewery in Munich and they serve some pretty hearty and tasty grub! We decided to continue our heritage exploration by making our way to a shop full of lederhosen and dirndls. It might have been one of the most overwhelming experiences - they are not kidding around! The shop was packed! But that didn't stop us from finding what we wanted. Next stop - Oktoberfest!

First off, it's a carnival. I had no idea. Second, they aren't really tents. I had an image of a large field or park filled with picnic tables, covered with tents, full of German women carrying so many steins their arms could break off. Well the women carrying steins part, 100% true! The tents though were more like huge buildings surrounded by an outdoor area, also known as a biergarten. We roamed through the crowd and finally decided to try to get into a tent or garden. Neither of us had any idea how difficult that would be! After standing in a few lines that didn't move, we were ready to cut our losses and go back to a brewery outside of the festival, but before leaving, we took one last stab at a side gate we found... success!

Serving Spaten - Schottenhamel garden. Our waiter's name was "Wolfy" and we were sitting at a table of 18-20 year olds. They thought we were old. This is also where we discovered that 1/2 Hähnchen meant 1/2 roasted chicken and it was d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s. It might have become the meal of choice!

Our first day was a great start for the rest of the trip...  

l'été est terminé

summer... is... over. Remember when I was bragging about how fantastic and beautiful the summer was here? Well, I think it's O.V.E.R. And I'd forgotten how dreary it can be when the sun doesn't shine for days. To cheer us all up, here are some bright flowers from the garden of Château de Chenonceau.

We are off to explore our German heritage this weekend! Can't wait to cheers a stein in a beer garden!

42 kilometers

... that's how far we rode our bikes to see the most beautiful gardens at the Château de Villandry.
First we found a spot on the river to replenish our nutrients through a sandwich and bottle of wine!

Between some of the gardens, we caught some shade under some grape vines...and maybe tasted a few.

Below is a picture of the vegetable gardens. The paths between each veggie patch were for the monks to easily walk through without getting their shoes dirty... and to make it prettier, obviously!

After strolling through the gardens, we were ready to hop back on the bikes for our trip back to Tours. We may have found a couple stops on the way for a cold beverage. After returning, we somehow had enough energy to go down to the river and share a bottle of wine before we all went separate ways in the morning. The valley was so beautiful and we didn't even begin to see all the castles, but I'd like to think we saw the best ones! We also visited Château du Clos Lucé in Amboise. It was home of Léonard de Vinci during his last four years of life. We toured the chateau and looked at some of his invention models. Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos worth sharing. It was so great seeing friends especially during a week that Mark was gone. He felt like he missed out so maybe I can convince him we should take another trip to the area?!? Two thumbs up for the Loire!

cinderella's castle

I've been wanting to visit the Loire Valley since I heard about it. A valley full of chateaus, gardens and wineries. What's not to love? Unfortunately we haven't had time yet but lucky for me, a best friend from home took a Euro-trip and wanted to visit. After just one day, we decided to extend the trip another day. We stayed in Tours and visited three chateaus. First on the list, the BEST, was Château de Chenonceau. What makes it so unique is it's built over the river.

 Stay tuned, there's a few more coming this week!