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Munich
Know worldwide for the Oktoberfest, Munich is the Disneyland of Germany. Heavily bombed during WWII practically nothing in the town is older than 60 years. Walking around the city though the place looks much older. This is because during the war the Nazi’s did massive amounts of photo cataloging of the buildings in Munich and from these reference photos Germany was able to rebuild the city to it’s original glory. It was also the center for the Nazi movement, being the setting for some of the biggest moments in the rise of Hitler into power (well kinda, his attempt at overthrowing the government while they had a meeting in Munich landed him in jail where he wrote Mein Kampf) and interestingly Munich is one of the few places of Germany where their dark past is almost completely covered up.
Munich, as Germany’s third largest city is famous for it’s beer halls and gardens, both of which I became very well aquanited with. The English Garden with its massive Chinese Tower looming above provided a great setting for an afternoon of massive steins and huge pretzels. Leederhosen are worn everywhere, just as Blue Singlets and Thongs are worn in Australia. The weather was turned on mightly and I was treated to three glorious days in the sun. It was not until we left the very enjoyable Wombat’s hostel that I encountered my first bit of bad weather in a few weeks.
Probably my best time in Munich was my last night, where a few randoms from the hostel and I decided to head out and find an oft mentioned beer hall. Stupidly I left my camera at home, but the night featured tuba players, leederhosen, much too many steins of beer, huge schnitzels, massive piles of snuff and raucous singing. Great times.
As usual, most of the photos you’ll see below are from a walking tour I took around Munich, but check out the party in the park where we danced to drums and drank black market booze. A fantastic day.
Grape Grazing
For a poor backpacker 50 euro seems a stretch. It can cover 25 cheap beers or five cooked dinners or even three nights at a dodgy hostel. So when busabout suggested the Vienna Grape Grazing tour at the princely sum of 50 euro it is no surprise that people were slow to pull out their moth eaten wallets.
How misplaced our apprehensions were. So far misplaced that they may as well have been left in the Czech Republic. From the moment the 25 or so backpackers stepped onto the train that beautiful morning all doubts of our decision were cast joyously to the wind.
The first leg took us to Melk, about an hour by Austria’s beautiful trains from Vienna where we walked through the town to meet our first activity a ferry ride down the Danube. The group enjoyed a couple of wine tastings down sitting by the stack of the boat while we watched the scenery glide by. Our first winery was practically at the jetty we pulled up to, where a little old lady served us generous glasses of four wines. With smiles and a glow in our cheeks we picked up bikes and made for our next stop. We rode through the winding streets along the Danube, through orchards and vineyards, the sun on our backs lifting our spirits.
Stopping for lunch we stepped onto a little terrace and sitting down under olive trees we all looked out over the small towns that spread before us. It is hard to describe just how wonderful a sight it was. After a massive lunch and more than a few more wines we jumped onto our bikes and headed for the Danube for a swim. The icy glacial waters proved a little too adventurous for some, myself included. I wasn’t willing to risk the chaffing.
Continuing down the river we reached the location of King Richard the Lion Hearts imprisonment for 10months by the Austrians. Perched at the top of the hill the ruins of the small fort he called home look out over the vistas that stretch seemingly endlessly in every direction. It was hard to imagine it being much of a horrible time for old Richard.
A short ride later, tired and happy we stepped onto our train home where we finished off a few more bottles for good measure then adjourned to the travel shack to share our experiences with the load of busabouters that just arrived. All in all it was one of the best days of my adventure so far, and by far worthy of my hard earned cash.
The Wedding Cake
The Lonely Planet describes Vienna as a wedding cake and after the three days I spent there I think its’ a fairly apt description. It is a city with no soul. Don’t get me wrong; Vienna is beautiful. I loved my time there. I spent my days wandering the city and checking out the palace gardens under the warming glow of a sun I haven’t seen for nearly 4 months. The City oozes class but everything seems for show. A city built for show. It is only when you leave the city that the real fun starts.
If you’re looking for good schnitzel and don’t mind waiting a little while check out Mozarts around the corner from the Wombats hostel and for Aussies missing a taste of home just down the road is the Travel Shack, a grouse little Australiana bar with cheap drinks, bundy and vegemite.
When traveling though Austria though remember: you need to buy half a fare for your dog on the train.
Prague
Being sick while traveling is never fun. It gets in the way of everything, and when you’re on a relatively tight schedule it can stuff with a lot of plans. I got sick in Prague which was unfortunate as I really wanted explore the city. I could have stayed in bed, nursing a throbbing headache, aching muscles and running nose, or I could fight it. Through a constant haze of the flu, I did force myself out into the streets to see the capital of the Czech Republic.
Prague is an unusual place. It oozes beauty. Every building is stunning. The winding, cobbled streets scream to be explored. You can practically taste the history of the place, but it doesn’t smack you over the head with it like some other cities. Prague is subtle, gentle and gorgeous.
Wandering the streets of the city are the Czech people. A race stuck in the eighties. I am not sure if it is by choice or if they just got forgotten when the universe was handing out the “please remove the mullet and stone wash jeans” memorandum. Eighties music pumps in every venue and pastels, pinks and fluoro are worn without humor or irony. Decor, signage, advertising are all throw backs to a time when perms were fabulous and greed was good.
At night the city transforms. Glittering lamp lights chase the creeping dark into corners and down streets. A warm blanket of tungsten covers the city. All sense of time disappears as the city heaves with people strolling the cobblestones and enjoying the evening at terraces and bars.
I heart Prague. The small taste I got has left me hungry for more.
Terezín
Located in the Czech Republic, Terezín is a small garrison town and fortress with history dating back to the 18th century.
Originally created as garrison point for potentially 11,000 soldiers the fortress covers around 3.8 square kilometers. During WWII Germany took control of the town and its fortress and used it as a Jewish Ghetto. Here around 150,000 Jews were interned with around 90,000 people being processed through the concentration camp there, housed in the “Small Fortress”.
I did a tour of the prison which acted as a forced labour camp while we did a quick stop in the area. The guide was very informative and had an hilarious accent. It was mildly disturbing to wander around such a beautiful site knowing it was a place of much torment and sadness. I wonder if the inmates ever saw as beautiful weather was we did that day.
Berlin Pub Crawl
Here’s a tip to anyone who thinks being hung over on a bus is a good idea: it isn’t. There is no possible way to have a worse bus trip than fighting off the effects from a blinder the previous night.
With that out the way, the Pub Crawl I stupidly scheduled for the night before I left Berlin turned out to be a Blinder. Populated almost entirely by Busabout adventurers we hit some cool small and large bars around Berlin. Here’s another tip: just because you get a free shot of jager with every drink you buy in most clubs doesn’t mean you have to drink said free jager shots. We finished up at a club under my favourite part of the city and I wandered back through the cold, lost, hungry and alone. Was a fantastic night.
One day I’ll take my own advice, but for now: I am having just too much fun. Check the photos.
Ich bin ein Berliner
Berlin is a wonderful place. It is a place full of history. Of sadness. Of reconciliation, tolerance and acceptance. Its redevelopment and reunification has lead to the creation of one of the most beautiful, open and modern cities on the planet.
From the moment I walked into Berlin I felt welcome and relaxed. I spent pretty much the entire of my time in Germany wandering Berlin on foot, discovering something new to see around every corner. Everything has been created or redeveloped with the past in heart and with the future in mind. It is unfortunate then that Berlin has one of the highest rates of unemployment in Germany (almost 15%) and the city feels almost empty. For such a wonderful place to go so unpopulated and be struggling seems a tragedy.
WWII is of course a major focus of many of the attractions on offer in Berlin. All highlight the horror of the events that occured leading up to 1945, and many of the museums and exhibitions can be confronting. I am very into my WWII history, however I found the history of Berlin since the war, the formation of east and west Berlin, and the Wall just as interesting.
If you get a chance to visit Berlin you can’t miss the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, probably the most striking piece of architecture in the city. A visit to Check Point Charlie is an obvious shouldn’t miss although evidence of the Wall that divided the city into West (Allied) and East (Soviet) Berlin can be seen all over the city. In fact: I have a small souvenir piece in my bag right now. The city by night is beautiful and as always I suggest taking one of the free (or cheap) walking tours on offer to get a good feel of the place.
Last but definitely not least, take some time and visit the Reichstag Building and check out the “Transparent Goverment” at sunset. Wonderful. For all you history buffs out there, Berlin is not to be missed.
Enjoy the photos, taken during my two days of constant walking of the streets.
Rotter-DAAAAMMMN!
Thanks to my Queen’s Day posse my last night out on the town in Holland ended up being one of the best nights out I have had on the Odyssey. Not only was I surrounded by 6 gorgeous girls all night but they provided entertainment for the whole of Rotterdam. I couldn’t stop smiling.
The girls took me from club to club. We saw a girl fight at ladies only night at the Cinema, burned the dance floor at Vibes and did a ridiculous amount of free shots at some bar I forget the name of, unsuprisingly.
All in all, a great night. For those who adhere to the “fotoz or it didn’t ‘appen” rule: marvel in awe of the beauty of the Queen’s Day Posse!
Queens Day
Just a few photos from Queens Day. I’ll write up a proper article and update this post in a couple of days. For now: I am off to Amsterdam!
UPDATE: Alright now! I am back from a great couple of days in Amsterdam. I hope you’ve all had time to peruse the photo gallery and are probably wondering what the hell was going on. Well let me tell you.
Queen’s Day or “Koninginnedag” in Dutch is (usually) a day of great celebration in the Netherlands. Occuring every April 30 it is one of the countries few national holidays. It celebrates the Queen’s birthday and unites the whole of the country in revelry. While not exactly the current Queen’s birthday (she was born on January 31st, making me and my Aunt Beatrix birthday buddies) it has a bit of history surrounding its position on the calendar. Originally the celebrations were held on August 31st, starting from 1885 in celebration of Princess Wilhelmina’s birth, but was later moved to April 30, the birthday of Queen Julianna. Since then Queen’s day has been on that date, making it more of a celebration of the Royalty than a specific birthday.
The day is full of celebrations. Markets are opened everywhere, turning the country into one massive garage sale. Everyone decks themselves out in orange and the partying begins. This years celebrations were marred by a certain idiot driving a Suzuki Swift through a crowd of people killing himself and six others in an attempt to attack the royal family. Most of the official events were canned although a lot of people still hit parks, clubs and bars not to be dissuaded from partying by the horror of the morning.
Myself, Martine and a few of her friends found ourselves at a big party in Rotterdam, which is where all the photos came from. The girls were full of energy garnering a lot of attention from other party goers. I didn’t drink all that much, had some lunch and Martine and I were back in Waddinxveen by around 9pm. I had a great Queen’s Day and I can throughly recommend checking out Holland around April 30th!
Madurodam
Kitsch is one of those words that is bandied about a little too freely. It has gone from being a word used to describe tasteless or overly sentimental “art” to becoming a label slapped on everything from stripper pens to pop art tissue boxes. Cheese on the other hand is, in my opinion, a much better word for describing these things. Pieces of work created with the complete understanding of their lameness are cheesy. The cheesy grin your sibling puts on in all your family photos is a great example.
When Martine and Marion took me into Madurodam the first word that popped into my head was cheese. The place seemed to be the biggest, cheesiest place I had ever come across. Opened in 1952 Madurodam is named after a Dutch war hero. It is a collection of models showing the major highlights of Holland in 1:25 scale. I looked down over the minature representation of Holland that spread before me and I could practically smell the mature cheddar that lay in wait. But then something magical happened. I fell in love with the place.
The closer you look in Madurodam the more you see. The detail that goes into every inch of the place is exquisite. Each building is absurdly detailed, right down to individual bricks. Trains run around and through the miniature country side constantly. Cars drive around tiny streets. Little figures engage in imagined arguments and ogle hookers in the itsy-bitsy red light district.
We spent hours wandering the park, finding new things to look at with every turn. I still marvel at the detail put into the buildings. If you didn’t know better, looking at some of my photos you would think I was standing in the streets taking photos of real places around Holland. Seeing them in real life just validates their accuracy. Check out my photo of the Peace Palace from my first day in Holland, and compare it to the shot of the miniature.
If you’re in De Haage, check out Madurodam. As I put in their guestbook, it’s: “The most fun you can have in Holland with your pants on!”