Oktoberfest

How to sum it up?  Three days of drinking the hugest beers ever, with a bunch of Germans in Lederhosen and silly dresses! (Not at the same time, obviously).  We managed to see nothing of Munich except the underground, the road to our hotel and the Theresienwiese - the park where Oktoberfest is held.
When you first walk in the park it feels more like a big fairground than a beer festival, loads of rides, big rollercoasters (they were fun!), bumper cars, ghost trains, food stalls and souvenir tat.  Then you notice that there are a lot more adults than children, and in the occasional corner is a figure lying on the floor with others trying to help them.  Although, I will say this was a lot less frequent than I would expect from the amount of alcohol consumed. 

The beer tents are huge - several thousand people in each, and when you first shove your way in, you are assailed by the raucous noise of the drinkers.  It is all very good humoured, lots of singing along to the bands, standing on benches and clapping to encourage someone to down a litre in one go!  I could hardly hold one up, let alone drink it down in one.  At regular intervals the band strike up a popular drinking song which everyone gets up and swings their glasses to, the first time we looked slightly bewildered but after a bit more beer we did our best to join in.  The words were difficult to distinguish amongst several thousand drunken Germans so we made up our own lyrics - something along the lines of "My cosy, tea cosy, it keeps the teapot warm".  No-one seemed to mind as long as you clinked glasses and drank at the end. When we googled it the words are actually "Ein Prosit, ein Prosit, Der Gemütlichkeit", which translates (sort of) into "A toast, a toast, to cheer and good times". It encapsulates the general feeling of good cheer and friendliness.  Everyone is very friendly and wants to chat, and you share a long table with lots of others - it can get a bit of a squeeze.

The first evening we arrived, it was too busy in the tents to find a seat (some people apparently reserve tables a year in advance!), so we found a seat outside and proceeded to order beers - we hadn't realised beforehand that they only do 1 litre steins, but we made do....  Also, different from beer festivals back home, they only have one type of beer per tent, so if you want to try more than one you have to move, which can be problematic once you've found a seat!
Each tent has a price for the litre of beer of about 9.40 euros, but the staff don't bother about giving you change, so you pretty much pay 10 euros wherever you are!

After our first reconnoitre, we decided that to enjoy the bands and the atmosphere, the best idea was to arrive early and drink very slowly.  In all we managed to try four different tents some more exciting than others, on the last day we tried the Augustiner tent which turned out to be "more sedate" than some of the others.

 

 

 

After the beer drinking we tried the rides at the fair - even managed to get Vicki on some rides.  As the picture proves - not sure she liked me much after!

 

 

 

We did get a good deal on the public transport, as we managed to get a "Partner" day ticket which allows up to 5 people to travel on the one ticket for 10.20 euros each day, this covered the tube, the S-trains, trams and buses.  Plus, you can buy it in advance and then validate it on the day you travel. Much cheaper than the single tickets at 7.50 euros a go.

 

If you enjoy beer (the cold, fizzy type) in large quantities, like lots of noise, singing and crowds I would recommend Oktoberfest.  But is was quite nice to get back to normal size glasses afterwards. Cheers!

 



The Grand Plan

As you will know from the recent blog from Vicki, the 3 of us went to Italy recently. I was OK with going to Venice but not so keen on going to Rome so I decided to do something a little different whilst Gemma and Vicki were in Rome. It started off as a silly idea but then grew from there in that whilst they were in Rome I could visit a few other countries to add to my list of those visited. Thus the Grand Plan was born.

When it came time for us to leave Venice, I caught a train to Milan and then a connecting train to a little town called Ventimiglia which is about 9kms from the French border. On arriving there I found my hotel for the evening and went for a wander round the town. It was your typical border town in that there were plenty of shops that sold cheap stuff and most of it you wouldn't want. However, I found myself a nice little bar and settled down to my chicken salad and carafe of wine whilst deciding on the plan for the next day.

Having looked at various websites it looked as though I could leave my bag at Ventimiglia train station whilst I ventured across to Monaco. However, I should have checked this out when I arrived the previous day as when I went there the following morning it had closed down!! Not to be deterred I carried my, quite, heavy little bag onto the platform and waited for the train to Monaco. The journey was really good and very scenic as the rail route ran right next to the sea so you got some great views over the bay to Monaco.

On arrival in Monaco I decided that I would go up to the Palace and have a look around the place but I had just missed the morning "session" and the next wasn't until 2pm. Quick change of plans and a wander down to the town and the next thing I know I'm in the casino at Monte Carlo. Great place to look around and the walls and ceiling are spectacular.

Decided against going back to the Palace and instead took a boat trip across the harbour and then found a place to have some lunch whilst spending an hour or so soaking up the sun and people watching.

After a quick look around the town it was back to the station for the return to Ventimiglia and then my onward train to Genoa. Another great journey with amazing views of the coast but as I only had my mobile with me the photos are all on there.

On arriving in Genoa, I had time for a bite to eat and to get some water and a snack for my overnight train to Rome which left at midnight. I was hoping that the train would not be too busy and I would be able to stretch out and get some sleep (I was too tight to pay for a sleeping compartment). Turns out that I should have done as not only was the train packed but someone was in my seat. After about 10 minutes of arguing with this person (it helped that they spoke English) I managed to get settled into my seat and settle down. However the train was really hot so I couldn't get much sleep.

I got to Rome just before 6am on Saturday morning and thought it might be a tad to early to wake the girls up so I got the bus to the Vatican and saw the sun come up just prior to going into the churchy place where the Pope goes. It was quite impressive but I thought the paintings and ceilings in Monte Carlo casino were better.

As it was still early I thought I would go and queue up to visit the Sistine Chapel but when I got there there was already a huge queue so went to find the girls and to get some breakfast. Then it was off to the Colleseum and the Forum. These places weren't too bad but as I had seen them on TV quite a few times they weren't as impressive as I thought they were going to be. This might have had something to do with my lack of sleep and that by know my knee was really starting to ache.

The following morning I was again up before sunrise in order to get the train to Bologna Centrale and a connection onto Rimini. All went smoothly and I managed to check into my hotel for night at about 11.30am which I was grateful for as I didn't want to have to lug my bag around all day again like in Monaco. It was then off to find the bus stop for the bus to San Marino.

After a few minutes waiting at the bus stop a lady turned up on her moped and started to sell tickets for the trip to San Marino. It took about 45 minutes to get there but by the time we arrived my knee was aching a lot and had swollen up so I decided to do something that no self-respecting 40ish year old should do and I took a ride on the Dotto Train (how embarassing!!). However, each of the passengers were given a headset and during the trip were given a good lesson into the history of the country. Apart from it being about 62km squared (I think) I don't remember anything else about what I was told. After the train journey I went up to the main touristy area via the cable car, where from the top of the mountain/hill you got great views of the surrounding area and could see the Adriatic.

Spent a couple of hours looking round before taking the bus back to Rimini where after a look around the town a bar was found that sold cheap (for Italy) beer and had the football on. Couple more hours in here and it was time to head off back to the hotel for some well earned sleep prior to the train the following morning back to Venice, via Bologna, to meet up with the girls for the journey back to Bled.

All in all it was an enjoyable trip and I got to visit the 3 smallest countries in Europe as well as experiencing the "joys" of Italian train travel.

On arriving back into Bled it was time for some washing and a few days rest prior to our next trip to Munich and Oktoberfest!!!!

Venice and Rome

 

 

Monday, 10th September

After spending a week relaxing in Bled having joined Gemma and Richard for my 5 months away it was time to explore further afield. Our journey to Italy began with a short car trip to Bled Jezero station. A quaint railway station so quiet you can walk across the tracks quite safely! Our train arrived on time and we were off on a pretty journey to Nova Gorica through the mountains. Just under 2 hours later we arrived at the border town. Our instructions said it was a 100 metre walk across the square to cross the border. There was no obvious square but we wandered down the road and found the border between Slovenia and Italy and all of the sudden there we were in Italy. It felt quite strange just being able to wander between the two countries. The next step was a bus to Gorizia Centrale station. We found a shop selling bus tickets and then the number 1 bus arrived and we hopped on (well struggled on with our luggage!) Final train journey from Gorizia Centrale to Venezia Santa Lucia and another couple of hours and we were in Venice. Short walk (navigated by Gemma!) and we found our hotel. Hotel Dalla Mora was quite nice - compact maybe the word but fine for a few nights. Then it was time to explore Venice - starting off with ......you've guessed it a beer and lunch! We had consulted Trip Advisor and Lonely Planet before we set off to find good places to eat and we headed towards a recommended sandwich shop (Bacaretto). The rolls there were excellent value and very tasty, as was the wine at 60 cents a glass. Richard tried one and it was very good. Gemma and I stuck to beer - bit more expensive!!  We explored some more and enjoyed walking alongside the canals. We walked a long way (several miles I think!) including visiting the Rialto bridge. Thanks to Gemma's map reading skills we didn't get lost.

Rialto Bridge

After all this walking we needed some sustenance in the form of liquid refreshment so we found a bar. We ordered our beers but unfortunately there were no menus with any prices available on the tables. We now think this is deliberate so you don't just walk away!! Having got used to cheap beer in Slovenia (just over 2 euros for 500ml), the bill was a bit of a shock - 13 euros for 2 large and 1 small beer!! We later found out that that was relatively cheap for Venice and soon got used to paying 5 euros per beer! We even saw it up 7.5 euros! Shocking - probably good for our livers though!

Tired after the travelling and walking we went to a resturant next door to our hotel for dinner. Food was quite nice especially the sea bass filled ravioli but very expensive!

We had a list of sights to see and on Tuesday we began with an enjoyable trip on a vaporetto. This is a water bus effectively and enabled us to travel along the grand canal and see the sights from the water without the extortionate cost of a gondala. This took us all the way to St Marks Square. In fact looking at how busy the grand canal was I was glad not to be in a gondala - bit choppy for my liking!



On the vaporetto

 

Once we got to St. Marks Square the queuing began! It was very hot by this point and we queued to get into the Basilica and had a look round (refused to pay extra to see the treasure!!) and then we queued to go up the bell tower. Unfortunately there is only a lift so a very long queue (saved our legs I guess!) but the view was good from the top.



Richard and Gemma at the top of the bell tower

Bridge of Sighs

Doges Palace is worth a visit (shorter queue than other basilica or bell tower) but we were all a little weary by the end partly due to the heat. We walked over the Bridge of Sighs inside and took some more pictures from outside.

This left us with just the Peggy Guggenheim Collection which Gemma wanted to see. This gave me time for shopping - love a bit of tourist tat shopping and Richard went for a walk. This was followed by a pizza slice for lunch and an enjoyable hour or two sampling a couple of glasses of wine!

On Thursday it was time to move on. Richard started his grand plan with a train to Milan and Gemma and I travelled to Rome. After an enjoyable train journey watching people with ridiculously large suitcases struggle to stow them away and blocking the aisles completely we arrived in Rome Termini. Then our next stage of queuing began as our return train tickets did not have seat reservations and having seen the chaos on the train on the way down we did not fancy not having a seat. Despite my previous conversations with Rail Europe who assured me we did not need seat reservations it turns out that we did. An hour after joining the queue we finally got tickets sorted for our return journey at some expense! Stroppy email going to Rail Europe shortly!!

Whilst we were in the station a monsoon had started outside so we were glad to get to the apartment! Small studio appartment but well situated. Then it was time to explore our new surroundings. I had the best pizza I have ever had for dinner that evening! Beer is still as expensive here but we are used to it now!

View from the Cupola

One of the halls in the Vatican Museum

St Peters Basilica was impressive. I was stunned by its size - enormous and so ornately decorated. We joined yet another queue to walk up to the Cupola - all 551 steps. Felt every one especially the very small steps with sloping walls - was very glad to get out of them! Enjoyed the view at the top all the more as we had walked there! We went to the Vatican Museum in the afternoon expecting more queues but 3.20pm is the time to go (tip for anyone visiting!) - no queue at all - straight in. We walked through many beautiful rooms but the main attraction was the sistene chapel. They make you walk the whole length of the museum to get there! The signs in the chapel clearly say no pictures but half the population obviously can't read as they were clicking away. Gemma had fun ticking people off!!

On Saturday Richard joined us for the day and we visited the Colloseum and Foro Romana. Lots more queuing. Handy hint to anyone visiting - go to the Foro Romano first as less queues and your ticket gets you into both!! As you can see from the pictures the sun came out :-)






Foro Romano





We endeavoured to use the local buses to get to the spanish steps and eventually we did. Buses do not always go exactly the route you expect according to the map though! However we made it to Piazza di Spagna, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon and Piazza Navonna. There seemed to be an abundance of McDonalds in Rome at virtually every tourist attraction (we did manage to resist!). I was impressed by the sheer size of the Trevi Fountain - makes the fountains in London seem small! The Pantheon is another impressive building which probably wouldn't still exist today had it not been taken over and used as a church.


Spanish Steps

Trevi Fountain

The Pantheon

Time to plan the next trip now........... Munich and Oktoberfest!!

Lake Balaton, Hungary

Since you can never get enough of visiting lakes, we decided to visit the largest lake in Central europe - Balaton in Hungary.  We had originally planned to visit later in the year, but our research said the resorts close for the winter in September so we decided to go the last week in August.  There are a huge number of towns and villages on Lake Balaton, and a bewildering arrar of places to stay.  We eventually picked on Keszthely as a town to visit as it said it was quieter but had plenty to see and do. 
The drive from Bled was good - all motorways and no queues!  As we got close to the border I was getting a bit bored of the motorway and wanting to see a bit more of Hungary suggested we take a cross-country route on the smaller roads and through the villages.  The first impressions of Hungary were it was very flat, the roads are very empty, any cars seemed old and probably wouldn't pass an MOT.  The fields looked extremely dry, and crops were looking dead in the fields.  Bad summer?  Even in Keszthely, it was surprisingly quiet for late summer and little traffic - although the cars that are around drive a bit fast.  This was demonstrated by us witnessing a car crash at the junction next to where we had lunch on the second day.  Interesting! 

One thing of interest, if you ever intend on driving in Hungary - you must buy a vignette before entering the country.  Hungary have an e-vignette system that means you can buy them on-line, although I couldn't work out the website.  For dense foreigners like me you can buy them at garages.  They are not just for the motorways as in other european countries, a large number of their "A" roads need an obligatory vignette, so you can't get round it by using the smaller roads as you might in France, for example.  The shortest time you can buy for is 10 days, at around 2900 hungarian forints or approx 11 euros.  You must tell them your number plate and country of origin, and if stopped you must show your receipt, so keep it handy.

Another area of research was, of course, the alcoholic beverages.  Thanks to a little kindle book - Beer in the Balkans, we had a bit of information beforehand.  But this didn't prevent us trying all the different Hungarian beers.  The first one was Dreher - a bit bland but okay, nothing to get excited about.  Then, Richard tried an Arany Aszok which wasn't good, I'd accidentally ordered a german beer, Hofbrau and it was much nicer.
Later in the evening we stopped to try a Borsodi, which the book said was better.  Again, not very interesting, and we got seriously ripped off - 800 Hf for a half litre, all the others had been around 450-500 Hf.  I made a couple of scathing comments when we got the bill. 
Last, but my no means least, we found a bar near the Festestics palace that served Soprani, and this was definitely the best of a bad bunch.  Not on a par with Belgium or even German beers but drinkable and fairly pleasant. 
Overall, I wouldn't recommend Hungary as a great place for beer, they sell a lot of German and Czech beer and you can see why.  We did try a very nice bottle of the local white wine though.  Probably more of a wine-drinking country in conclusion.

A couple of words about Lake Balaton perhaps? It is big, and wet. No hills around so not very exciting to look at or photograph.  When we went in for a swim:
i) we had to pay 860 Hf each for the privilege of using the beach (nearly £3), and extra for sunbeds,
ii) the bottom is sand/mud so not as painful on the feet as Lake Bled, but is very squelchy and a bit horrid, and the lake looks very dirty,
iii) the water is so shallow you can walk 200 metres and still only be up to your waist, not good for swimming!

We did the tourist-type things - visited the Festetics Palace.  Interesting library.  Swam in the lake and went on a boat trip.


Keszthely boat pier

Enjoyed the food - tried the goulash soup, very nice and the venison stew (goulash, back home!), very tasty.  But a lot of the food was a bit stodgy and had a bit of a Germanic theme.  In fact, Keszthely seems very popular with the German tourists, and it is the second language spoken there.  A bit of a change for us, and painful to have to dig around for our few german phrases.  Richard kept reverting to Slovenian accidentally.

Interesting place to visit but as far as lakes go, Bled is prettier, cleaner and they speak English!