Back to Munich

As regular viewers of this blog will know, the three of us went to Munich for Ocktoberfest but didn't really get to see much (any) of the city due to the copious amounts of alcohol consumed. So when Gemma and Vicki said that a couple of their work friends were coming to stay for the weekend I decided it was time to re-visit the city to see what it had to offer.

On arriving in Munich I soon found my hotel which was about a five minute walk from the station and not in the best area of town. Well it was cheap by Munich standards!! My room was in the courtyard area and whilst not with a view it was functional.

After a quick look around the local area (seedy comes to mind) I walked down to Marienplatz and got the train up to Frottmaning and to the Allianz Arena where TSV 1860 Munchen were playing FC Koln that evening. I had booked my ticket previously and was a tad disappointed to find that my "standing area" ticket was actually an unreserved seating area, as I had wanted to experience what it was like standing at a game again as there has been talk of Premier League football introducing "safe" standing areas at games and as a Liverpool supporter I wanted to see what it would be like. However, there were standing areas behind each goal but you could not gain access to these unless you had the correct identification, which is a good thing as it limits the numbers in that area.

My views on standing at games has not changed as during the match there were times when the fans seemed to "surge" forward which could have been dangerous. Overall, the game "experience" as it now seems to be called was quite positive as in my area the terracing was well spaced and you could bring beer into the stands. The bad thing was that fans are still allowed to smoke and Germans do seem to still like to chain smoke.

One thing to remember about the Arena is that it doesn't have a roof to keep out the cold, even though from most pictures you see it seems to have. This is particularly important if there is freezing fog and a temperature of minus 3 and you have left your scarf and hat back at the hotel room!!

Erdinger brewery tour tasting

The following day I had booked a tour of the Erdinger Weissbeer brewery, so it was off to the train station again for the 50 minute journey out to Erding. The tour was "interesting" as the tour I had booked was only in German (other tours on different days can be done in English) and the only words I really understood were Erdinger, weissbeer (wheat beer), hops and wasser.





However, my main reason for doing the tour was that afterwards you get to taste some of the different beers and get to sample some bratwurst and pretzels. This was well worth the 10 euro tour price as the beer and food were all included. Suffice to say that I made sure I tried the different beers of which I found the Pikantus to be my favourite followed by Scheneeweiss, Kristall and Dunkel. 

The only way is up

Sunday was my last full day in Munich and I had decided to do something a little different and I trooped off to the Olympic stadium where I met a few other intrepid souls for our walk along the edge of the roof of the stadium. 



View from the stadium top

After a 15-minute video it was time to strap into my harness and have our safety talk. We then walked back to where we had all met and started our climb onto the roof. As the only English speaker in the group I had a tour guide all to myself. Walking along is safe as well as a bit scary as when you look down into the stadium you realise that you are about 45 meters up.



The best part of the trip was walking up to the top of one of the pillars (60 meters above the stadium floor) where you can jump up and down and feel the whole roof vibrate under your feet.

At the top of the Olympic stadium

Time for a quick trip back to the city centre before going back out to the Olympic Park where I got a ticket to watch Red Bull Munchen play Augsburg Panther at ice hockey. I entered the arena about 5 minutes before the start and realised that I was in the "away" end with all of the Panther fans. They were quite vocal, which being able to drink beer in the stands seems to help. During the break I decided that I would go and stand in the "home" area and this proved to be even more fun and more vocal especially when Munchen scored and we all started singing along to "Nelly the elephant, packed her trunk and said goodbye to the circus".

I was particularly happy as I had paid 16 euros to watch the game and then got to see Bryan Adams perform as well. Even better was when he scored for Munchen! Not too shabby for a crinkly old Canadian!!

After the game there was still time for a couple more beers before heading to bed and an early start the next day.

During the trip to the Erdinger brewery I had intended to buy some beers to take home to Slovenia, however by the time the tour and tastings had finished the shop was closed. So I got up at 6.30am (urrgghh!!) and got the train out to Erding again and was outside the shop waiting for it to open at 9am. Erdinger beers, glasses and a glass cleaner purchased and just enough time to pack them in my bag before the bus came to take me back to Erding station. I got back to Munich with time to spare before my train back to Bled, so I had to do what any sane person would do and popped into a bar for a couple of beers first!!.

Who knows where my next trip will take me??

 

 

 

Prague

Prague was on my list of places to visit so I started looking into how to get there and places to stay. I found that you can get there by train from Bled fairly easily with a couple of changes in Salzburg and Linz. Journey takes a little over 10 hours. Next job was to find reasonably priced train tickets. Individually the tickets seemed very expensive (over 200 euros!) so I went to see the very helpful staff at Lesce Bled station. I found out there are a limited number of 'Prague special' tickets for only 39 euros each way! Only 6 are available each day but I managed to get one which was great value. I would definitely recommend talking to the station staff as they can often advise on great deals which you can't find online!!

The Czech Republic still has its own currency so I ordered some Czech Koruna from our local bank and I was all ready!

We had snow in Bled the day before I was due to go to Prague but luckily it did not hinder my trip at all. Most of the snow in Bled had melted during the day but it wasn't really a problem anyway as they clear the roads and paths so well here! The view from the train was beautiful going through Austria as there was lots of snow on the mountains. Part of the train journey was through a tunnel which came out on higher ground and we were surrounded by snow. Very picturesque! No problems with the trains here though - would be all cancelled at home!!

I was lucky with the weather in Prague; bright and sunny on my first full day if a little chilly. Saw lots of the sights. Prague is a great city and its easy to walk to most of the major sights although there is a good metro and tram system. I decided to walk to see as much as I could.

First stop - Wenceslaus Square which is more like a big street than a square with a large monument at the top then lots of shops! This included all the ones from home - M&S, Debenhams, Subway, KFC, and some we haven't seen for years like C&A!! I resisted a shopping spree and went on to Prague Castle.

St Wenceslaus Square

St Wenceslaus Statue

The castle grounds include lots of buildings and there is loads to see. You can buy one ticket which allows you into several attractions. St. Vitus Cathedral was impressive; full of beautiful stained glass windows. I climbed the South Tower and found a great view at the top. Worth the spiral staircase which made be feel slightly dizzy!! Also worth a visit here are the Old Royal Palace, Basilica of St George and Golden Lane.

St Vitus Cathedral

Stained glass windows in St Vitus Cathedral

View from the South Tower of St Vitus Cathedral

The food and drink was reasonably priced - beer similar to Slovenia; about 2 euros for 500ml :-) Needless to say I sampled one or two different ones! The shops in Prague were similar to other cities - lots of tourist tat amongst the clothes shops! However, there were a couple of street markets selling pictures and christmassy bits and pieces. I enjoyed wandering around these and made of couple of souvenir purchases!

The famous Charles Bridge was as the guidebook warned - full of people! Picturesque though with statues all along each side of the bridge.

Charles Bridge



Another place worth a visit is the Old Town Square. The square is full of historical buildings including the Astronomical Clock. This is housed in a tower (which of course I climbed up!). On the hour the clock chimes and the 12 apostles appear at the windows. Crowds gather below the clock from 15 minutes or so before each hour to watch!

Astronomical Clock

The square also contains lots of bars and restaurants and outside heaters. I enjoyed goulash and dumplings outside next a very warm heater!

All in all I would recommend Prague as a great city to visit!