Munich and Oktoberfest

With a successful trip to Prague behind us, we looked ahead to the second leg of our "15 days for 15 years" European tour:  Munich.

Getting There

Departing from Prague could not have been easier. The airport is clean, well marked and customs took no time at all.  

Air Dolomiti is an Italian based carrier and the only nonstop option from Prague to Munich.  We had never heard of them prior to our trip so of course we created all sorts of fictitious visions in our minds about the dilapidated old planes that we would be strapped into.  That could not have been further from the truth.  The planes were new, clean and the flight attendants actually provided service on a 60 minute flight.

Iran Air...don't see that much!

When we landed in Munich there were no customs to go through since we were coming from Prague.  The Munich airport is huge compared to Prague but it took no time at all to claim our luggage.  Our driver was waiting for us and we were off!

Downtown is about 45 minutes from the airport.  Part of the drive was on the autobahn but it was dark and let's face it...some of the excitement is lost when you are in a minivan (even if it is a Mercedes).

Where We Stayed

We stayed at the Le Meridien which is directly across from the main train station in Munich.  It is also about two miles from the Marienplatz and within walking distance of the fairgrounds.  It is on a busy street with lots of options for food and entertainment.

There is a bar in the lobby and in the mornings they had a coffee cart in the lobby. They also have a more formal full service restaurant.  This is primarily a business hotel so the rooms are very crisp and sleek.  We looked out over a busy side street where the lights never dimmed but the blackout shades were great.

The concierge desk at this hotel was the best we have ever dealt with.  In addition to helping us with some dinner and transportation arrangements in advance, they moved mountains to help us with a day trip to Salzburg that had originally been booked as a group tour via train but was cancelled due to the refugee crisis.  The concierge found us a driver within 48 hours of our arrival.  More on Salzburg in a separate post.

What We Did

Geisel's

We arrived in the early evening, just in time to see tons of Oktoberfest revelers heading to the train station.  It was very easy to spot them...lederhosen and dirndls were everywhere.

After checking in to our hotel, we headed to a late dinner at Geisel's Vinothek.  The restaurant was several blocks from the hotel and is itself located in a hotel.  It is a great tapas style restaurant with a very large wine list.  It was the perfect place for a low key dinner before Oktoberfest and lots of beer drinking the next day.

Muncher Stubs

On the way back, we continued to see more Oktoberfest revelers so we decided to stop for a drink so we could watch them.   Munchner Stubn is a Bavarian bar and restaurant located just a few doors from Le Meridien.  We found a table by the window and proceeded to spend the next two hours watching the drunks walk by.  There was no better show in town.

The Idiots

Of course, after watching this and having several beers of their own the husbands decided that they HAD to have some lederhosen for the next day.  So off we went in search of clothes for the idiots.  If you have ever been to a Final Four, Super Bowl, Mardi Gras or any other large event then you know that pop up shops with souvenir items are everywhere.  We went to several storefronts but wound up at the pop up tent by the train station because their prices were at least 20% lower than other stores even though the products looked exactly the same.

After watching the guys try on various styles as well as watching a drunk guy urinate all over the bicycles parked in front of the train station (remember this if you decide to rent a bike!), we were ready to hit the sack to rest up for our big day.

Oktoberfest

We didn't know much about Oktoberfest other than the fact that you have to have a ticket to get into most of the beer halls.  After doing some research and talking with some friends who had been before, we realized that booking a tour through Viator (an online tour and activity company) would be the best and cheapest way to go.

We booked our tickets several months in advance because knew that they tend to sell out pretty quickly.  We met at the train station in the morning and went with the group over to the fairgrounds.  The package also included a tour of the fairgrounds.  Initially we weren't all that fired up about it but in hindsight we are really glad that was included because we actually learned a few things rather than just drinking beer all day.

Changing of the kegs

First, each of the breweries makes a special brew for Oktoberfest each year and only their beer is served in their tent.  They also make a big deal of bringing new kegs to the tent because a team of horses decked out in their finery lead the beer wagon to the tent to change out the kegs.  Additionally, an Oktoberfest brew averages about 12% a.b.v..  As reference, a Budweiser is 5.0%.  Also, a can of Budweiser is 12oz. while a stein at Oktoberfest is 40oz.  You do the math.

The "hill" in the distance

Second, you don't want to wind up "on the hill".  There is a hill leading to the exit of the fairgrounds. Every night there are dozens of individuals who can't quite figure out how to make it out of the ground and wind up sleeping it off on the hill.  Luckily we all made it out!

Finally, Oktoberfest is like a state fair in that there are tons of food stands and rides throughout the fairground.  The best piece of advice we received is to make sure to not walk under the giant swing ride after mid afternoon.  (Think about it).

Our tour provided us access to the Hofbrau tent for four hours and included two beers (the 40 oz. kind) and a chicken lunch.  At first we were a little irritated because they tried to cram us all into tables in the corner of our section. However, after we were there for a few minutes we realized that they were just trying to make sure there was enough room for everyone so we got up and moved to our own table since we had some friends from Atlanta meeting us.

Bier

The next four hours went something like this:  Order beer. Eat lunch. Find bathroom.  Order beer.  Get excited when friends arrive.  Order beer.  Watch English woman in her late 60's throw up in her bag at the table while her husband has to be physically escorted to the bathroom because he can't walk.  Sing songs.  Take selfies.  Order beer.  Watch a guy from Philadelphia get taken out on a stretcher after blowing chunks and get told by the beer wench that "oh, it's never good to get the mask" then find out that "the mask" is basically oxygen that you get in the triage tents set up out back.  Order beer.  Pay money for the "Hofbrau Cop" to give you a breathalyzer.  Watch our drunk tour guide almost get in a fight with his surprisingly more sober U.S. customer over who won WWII.  Order more beer.  Have a drunk girl propped up for you to hold while her friend goes to the bathroom.  Act shocked when you find out you have to leave the tent because it's already been four hours.

Hofbrau Tent

When 5pm rolled around, we had to leave so that the next group of reservations could be seated.  Because we didn't have a reservation anywhere else, we headed to the Lowenbrau tent because they had an outside beer garden that didn't require reservations. After about an hour and several generous "tips" our waitress said that she would be able to get us into the tent but that we wouldn't have a table.

We had gotten separated from one of our friends a bit earlier.  When we got inside, he texted us and it turns out that he was also in the Lowenbrau tent and he had a table for us up front with some new friends of his.  Needless to say, navigating through the crowds in the tent in the evening is a lot more challenging than during the day.  We were thankful to have our 6'5" friend with us!

AC/DC Polka Style

When we got to the table it turns out that the new friends were from Chile (Or Brazil.  Or maybe Argentina.  It's all a bit fuzzy.) and the table was located right below the band.  Suffice it to say, you've never really partied until you've danced with a bunch of Latins to a German polka band playing AC/DC's "Back In Black".

Despite our best efforts, we managed to make it out of the tent before midnight and somehow managed to find our way to the taxi stand, successfully avoiding "the hill" and headed off to the hotel for the night to rest up for our day trip to Salzburg (more on that in a separate post).

Munich - Post Oktoberfest

Needless to say, after our early morning wake up call and day trip to Salzburg we were exhausted.  But did that stop us?  Nope.

Zum Alten Markt Dinner

That night we had dinner at Zum Alten Markt which is a quaint little Bavarian restaurant near the Marienplatz.  There were plenty of options for those who weren't quite ready for traditional Bavarian dishes and the service was great.  The decor makes you feel like like you are in someone's mountain cabin instead of a large industrialized city and even though there was a bit of a language gap (no, not English to German but instead hungover vs. not), they handled our group of ten with no problem.

After dinner we had no other option but to visit the Hofbrauhaus beer hall (versus the tent at the Oktoberfest celebration).  After all, when in Rome...

The calm after the storm

It is everything you think it is going to be.  Loud, touristy and lots of beer muck all over the place.  It was easy for our group of ten to find a table and even easier to get ten steins of beer to enjoy.  The band was in full swing moving from table to table and lots of tourists were dancing on tables.  It's worth going just to say you've been but you don't need to have more than one drink here.  There are far better options for finding the local flavor.

Once we were done with our beers it was time to turn in for the night.  After all, we were heading to Florence to kick off all the wedding festivities!

Paulaner Tent

Lowenbrau Tent

Changing of the kegs

Breathalyzer

Lowenbrau Tent at night

Oktoberfest at night

Late night food

Prague

The first stop on our big 15 for 15 adventure was Prague.  I'll admit, I didn't really pay as much attention as I should have to the Iron Curtain portion of history class so I really wasn't sure quite what to expect.

Getting There

After a mechanical delay and a terminal evacuation at DFW, we were off to Europe.  We flew AA to London with a connection on British Airways for the two hour flight to Prague.

When we landed, we didn't have to claim our bags or go through customs.  However, even though we arrived at the same terminal as our Prague flight, we still had to go through security.  FYI, in Europe you have to take all electronics (iPads, cameras, etc.) out of your bag.

Prague Luggage Carousel Art

We hit the Admirals Club for a little bit of breakfast while we waited for our flight.  At Heathrow, gate assignments are not posted until 30-45 minutes prior to departure so it's safer to hang out at one of the club lounges.  The only other choice is all of the shops!

The Prague airport is very modern and it took no time for us to get our bags.   We showed our passport and were on our way.  We had pre-arranged transportation through our hotel and as promised, our English speaking driver was waiting for us right outside security.

The airport is a 20-30 minute drive from the town through lots of farmland.  Once we got closer to town, our driver took us through some of the back roads so we could get a feel for the various neighborhoods.

Hallway at Boscolo

Where We Stayed

We used Marriott points and stayed at the Boscolo Exedra.  It is within walking distance of Old Town but far enough away that you don't feel like you are in the middle of tourist central.

It is a beautiful property with marble floors and vaulted ceilings but lots of modern amenities.  Breakfast (included) offered everything American travelers could want as well as a lot of Eastern European options.  Overall, the service was great and rivaled that of any Ritz Carlton or Four Seasons.

What We Did

The key to surviving your transition to the European time zone is to resist the temptation for a nap.  So, after a quick change of clothes we headed out.  Our first stop was for some lunch.

Republic Square

We stopped at Republic Square which is a great place for people watching, grabbing a quick bite and of course an Aperol Spritz.  Afterwards, we headed off to the "Hop On/Hop Off" bus stop.  We've found that this is the best way to get acclimated to a new city.  We are tourists after all so we might as well embrace it!

It is very important to note that there are two types of vehicles as part of the "Hop On/Hop Off" Prague tour.

Speed 3 - Czech Mate 

One is a small bus that apparently can only be operated by a graduate of the Dale Earnhardt school of driving.  I have no idea what we saw on the first half of the tour because we were going so fast...the driver was a good 2-3 steps ahead of the taped tour audio.

Luckily we had to change buses at the Prague Castle and were able to get on a bigger bus that physically couldn't go that fast.  Prague isn't that big so the tour only takes about 1 1/2 hours to complete (or 38 minutes if you stick to the small bus).

Astronomical Clock

Following our live action Speed 3 experience, we headed down to Old Town Square.  There are cafes lining the square as well as lots of street performers.  The Astronomical Clock is located on the square and is beautiful.

River at night

Dinner that evening required a walk across the Charles Bridge which is simply mesmerizing at night.  The bridge crosses the Vltava River and links the castle with the Old Town.

On our second day, we spent the morning walking around.  They were having a wine festival outside of the Palladium Mall so we spent some time sampling the local flavors.  Of course, we then had to find a restroom so we headed into the mall.  From the outside, Palladium Mall just looks like an old building.  However, once you get inside it is a huge, modern shopping mall.

Wine Festival Prague

During the afternoon we did the half day city tour through Prague City Tours.  We took a bus through town up to Prague Castle where there are great views of the city from the Castle.

Walking back to town

We walked back to Old Town from the castle.  There are great views along the way as well as vineyard on the hillside where another wine festival was taking place (no wonder we liked Prague so much).  There were also street musicians playing along the way in the small parks and grassy areas.

A couple of interesting things I learned on this tour:  Prague Castle is not really a castle.  Prague has a ton of churches and synagogues but approximately 65% of its population is atheist. Prague is basically intact from the war because Hitler wanted to preserve Prague and it's synagogues to show history what he had eradicated (I'll never understand how someone can be that twisted.)

Festrunk Brothers 2015

That afternoon was spent drinking Guinness at a pub which led to our husbands deciding to recreate Steve Martin and Dan Ackroyd's "Two Wild and Crazy Guys". Not much else needs to be said about that....

Vltva River

We had a late afternoon flight on day three so we did a boat cruise in the morning.  It was a national holiday that day and the weather was perfect so there were a ton of people out on the river in kayaks and paddle boards.

Where We Ate and Drank

Plzenska Restaurant - part of the Municipal House and located in Republic Square.  If it is warm out, this is a great place to grab a snack and just watch everything happen around you

Hemingway Bar - one of the best cocktail bars.  Ever.  If Grant Achatz and Thomas Keller had a
cocktail bar, this would be it.  I had a great whiskey drink with cardamom and my husband had a drink that involved construction at the table via a syringe.  Very interesting!  Located near the Charles Bridge on the edge Old Town.  Reservations are a required.  We saw several people turned away.

Kampa

Kampa Park Restaurant - sits on the Vltava River and looks out on the Charles Bridge.  They have outdoor seating upstairs as well as a true inside restaurant downstairs (where we sat).  I admit I had pessimistic expectations of Czech cuisine in general prior to our trip but the food here was just as good as any upscale restaurant in any other big city.   Don't miss the Brown Butter Trilogie for dessert.  I might get on a plane and go back just for that!

Teras U Prince

Teras U Prince - this rooftop restaurant would be great during the day or at night.  We were there after the sun had set and it really was kind of magical.  You could see the lights of the city as well as the Prague Castle.  While it is on the roof they have lots of heat lamps so temperature was never really an issue.  While the food was good, the main draw is the view.  If we had the same meal on ground level I'm not sure I would recommend it as highly.

Black Angel Bar - located downstairs at the U Prince.  We walked in but didn't actually have drinks here.  I really wish we had.  It is in an old dungeon, has a great cocktail list and doesn't allow photos.  How could that not be fun???

Irish Times - located in Old Town, it's exactly what it sounds like.  An Irish bar.  They have outside seating on the square during the day and a traditional bar environment inside at night.

Other Observations

• Weather in September can change very rapidly so layers are important. 
• There are lots of Thai Massage parlors, most of which have the fish tanks for getting a pedicure.  Not happening with these feet.
• Prague likes to smoke.  Everywhere. 
• English is widely spoken.  In fact, most people speak it better than we do.  
• They do not participate in the EU.  They use Koruna.  Everything is much more affordable in the Czech Republic but it can take some getting used to when your dinner is 2,500 koruna.  Also, be prepared for the numerous references to and reenactments of Puddy and Elaine.

Overall Impression

Prague stole our hearts and we can't wait to go back.  While you can see most of the main tourist things in 2-3 days, this is place where I could easily come back and spend more time doing nothing other than just soaking everything in.  

Next stop:  Munich and Oktoberfest!

River Fun

Nighttime view from Teras U Prince

Something you don't see every day...

Love Locks on a Canal

Typical Square in Prague

Street Life

Tower

Kampa Park Restaurant

Prague Castle

Wallenstein Square 

Municipal House

15 Days for 15 Years

The beautiful couple

2015 was a pretty big year for us. Some close friends were going to tie the knot in Italy and by some
miracle my husband and I had managed to survive fifteen years of marriage ourselves.  The wedding coupled with our ability to rationalize just about anything only meant one thing.....we were off to Europe!

We spent months figuring out the best places to go, stay and eat.  The list of places we wanted to visit was endless.  Brussels or Budapest?  Amsterdam or Athens?  Lyon or Luxembourg?  After much thought and debate we decided on our itinerary:

Prague

Rome

Salzburg

Oktoberfest 

Tuscany

Amalfi Coast

We started planning our trip as soon as the lucky couple got engaged in late 2014. (There may also be a slight chance that they only got engaged because they made the mistake of sharing their dream of an Italian wedding with us and we pestered them about when it was going to happen for the better part of two years...)

We booked our airfare and hotels months in advance but there were a couple of other things that we also discovered as we got closer:

Luggage - Packing for 15 days oversees is tough.  Add black tie wedding attire and it becomes a challenge.  Consider the fact that I'm basically married to Diana Ross when it comes to packing and we were in full fledged crisis mode.  There was no way we would be able to manage multiple bags through the various cities not to mention the fact that we would be broke from all of the excess baggage fees on our intra-Europe flights.  

To make sure that (a) we both returned from our trip and (b) would hopefully still be married, I enlisted help from Luggage Free.com.  It's not cheap (about $5/lb) but was worth it to not have the stress of dealing with everything.  We packed our wedding attire and items for the second leg of our trip and let LuggageFree do the rest.  They needed five business days to ensure delivery by your desired date so it was a bit weird packing for a trip so far in advance (imagine how Diana Ross felt!).  

I scheduled a pickup with them and the guy was there within the 30 minute window I'd been promised.   I received email updates when it left the US as well as when it arrived in Italy.  When I got to our villa, our bags were waiting for us.   We had our wedding attire and a bunch of clean clothes.  After the wedding, we packed up our black tie items and dirty clothes and sent them home.  It was perfect!  

The only hitch came when we returned home.  The couple we traveled with on the front half of our trip also used LuggageFree.com.  We both had our return luggage picked up from the same hotel.  When we returned from Europe we found that we had one of their bags and vice versa.  Luckily we live very close to one another so it was not a big deal.  It's quite possible that the hotel mixed up something but our names were also clearly marked on each of our bags.  

Passports - Our passports were due to expire in March and our trip was in September/October so we never even considered there might be an issue until we randomly happened upon an article about increased passport requirements in some locations.  Some countries will not take passports that expire within six months of your arrival so be sure to check each destination location if you are nearing your passport expiration date.

Travel Agents - Enlisting the help of a travel agent is really useful when traveling to Europe.  We booked our own airfare and hotels in the big cities but we were clueless when it came to the Amalfi Coast and rail travel in general.  We used Sherry Lane Travel and gave Kelly the agenda we had put together ourselves and she helped fill in the blanks regarding transfers, train travel, day trips and hotels.  It was perfect because we didn't have to worry about any of the details.  

Internet - We contacted our provider prior to leaving and got an international plan.  In hindsight, we were glad we had it because there were times where we needed navigation help but most cafes have wifi .  It's probably easier to take a break with a glass of wine at a cafe and use their wifi.  You can also take an old phone with you and purchase a sim card in Europe which significantly reduces costs. The down side of this is that you have a European number and you don't get your text messages, etc. from your regular phone.  

With our passports ready and half our luggage on our way, we were ready to go.  First stop...Prague!