Too Münch Fun

Oktoberfest in Munich lived up to the hype. I had an amazing time that featured 1 litre beers, singing, lederhosen, dirndls and a bunch of crazy Irish guys. It also featured the first travel headache of my time abroad. I had my wallet stolen during my sewcond day at the festival grounds. I guess its not truly a Euro vacation until you lose a wallet, camera or other valuables somewhere along the way. Losing a few Euros is not a huge deal, but being without a credit/bank card can make life difficult. Thanks to Jen Christie and Jonny C for spotting me cash while waiting for Visa to get me back on track. Enough about that junk…The moment I arrived in Munich I got caught up in the festive atmosphere and became the proud owner of a pair of lederhosen within the first few hours in the city. I did a quick walk of the festival grounds in the evening and then headed back to the hostel to drink water and rest up for my first shot at the world’s most famous beerfest. I did some research and settled on spending my day at the Hofbrau Festzelt. Most of the tents require a table reservation and that you are seated in order to be served delicious beer, but not Hofbrau. The hall of choice is one of the few spots that has standing tables that don’t require a reservation and are an easy way to meet other Oktoberfesters. I arrived at the tent just after a tasty lunch of Bratwurst and settled in with a group of Belgians for the afternoon shift. I spent the afternoon using my rusty French and swapping travel stories with the guys from Brussels before they headed off to the train and I moved on to make new friends. It wasn’t very long after I arrived that I learned my first ever German song:

"Ein Prosit, Ein Prosit, der Gemutlichkeit.
"Ein Prosit, Ein Prosit, der Gemutlichkeit."

Anyone that has been to a beer tent in Munich will know this song, and if you plan to visit in the future I suggest you learn it. The tune is sung several times an hour and is followed by a toast (ein zwei drei suffa!) and a drink of the previously mentioned delicious beer. It was a great night. I parted ways with the Irish crew and made the somewhat stumbly walk home. I had such a great time at the Hofbrau I decided I’d spend a good chunk of day 2 there as well. I was in conversation with a couple locals (Munichans? Munichites? Munchens?) when team Ireland from the previous night showed up. I guess they had a good time there as well. It turned into another great night of singing on tables to polka versions of classics like bohemian rhapsody, shook me all night long and other German songs that included summer camp style actions. The lads convinced me I needed to add Dublin to my travel sched, and that has now happened! My final day in Munich was spent trying to sort out getting new cards and figuring out a way to get some cash. One of my hostel roommates was nice enough to take me for lunch and to keep me company while I sorted everything out. It made a rather stressful day much more relaxing. I was able to get some cash and get myself on the night train to Florence (Firenze). I will NEVER take a night train again. It is next to impossible to get any sleep with all the train noises, station announcements, sudden stops and other crap that made for a miserable night. I arrived in Florence at 7am exhausted and in a pretty shitty mood. I had a tough time finding my hostel as street signage was apparently not the strong suit of the mighty Roman Empire. A rough start to Italy would be only that. Italy is amazing! If I don’t make it back to Canada in December there is a good chance you will be able to find me somewhere in Italia!