Hey again,

Here I am to finish off the writings about the end of the Oktoberfest trip. Im so pissed off at the old website I was writing through. It just wont let me log on anymore so Im on this new one, hoping it will treat me well.

So the next morning after the serious snuff night, we headed on the bus down to Austria. It took a few hours to get down to Kirchdorf, where we would spend the night partying underneath the picturesque mountains. On arrival most people got settled and had a bit of a nap. Me being me, kicked a few asses and told people not to waste time and put together a group to go for a light stroll up the mountain valley. It was a great opportunity to check out the local houses, animals that roam around the mountain agriculture and to taste the local apples off the trees. We stopped a few times to knock down apples for a snack along the way. We arrived at a small village and played with some mountain goats then headed back down to the hotel.

That afternoon some of the group went Canyoning about 20 minutes away. We put on a few different drysuits/wetsuits, which would keep us warm in the 12-odd degree water. This was such a great adrenaline rush and absolutely destroyed any sort of hangover that was showing signs from the previous night. We abseiled down a canyon about 15 meters and then jumped 6 meters down into the waters below. The views inside the canyon were like nothing I'd seen before, the only thing to be heard down there was the gushing of water and the barely audible speech between group members, which was always overpowered by the torrent of water smashing off the canyon walls. The group then bouldered around a few walls and slide across some rocks and then abseiled down another waterfall. We then had the opportunity to climb up some rocks and jump down into a pool of water 7 meters below. After the first jump I had to do it again. A few more slides down and we reached the end. Back at the hotel we bragged to the others what they had missed out on while they were sleeping. It was then party time down near the sports club at the foot of the mountains.

I just had to put the batman suit back on one last time.

When we got down there, the party had already began, with a whole heap of Australians, Kiwis, South Africans and a light mix of others were drinking and feasting away. It took us a while to get into the mood and soon were mostly all in the swing of things. We were all dancing, drinking, snuffing and having a good time in the tent, altogether with some other tour groups. I drank with some young Austrian boys for a while, which was fun. The girls went back to the hotel early that night as they couldn't get in the mood. I think the boys were happy to have a boys night from then on. We ended up dancing to the band in a moshpit. I, as batman was urged on to crowd-surf, which I did momentarily until my legs were in the air and my head on the ground. Luckily batman was saved by the rest of the boys. We then danced on tables and mucked around til we were booted out, then proceeded to have a bread roll fight on the road and in a paddock nearby. Later on this turned into an apple and pear fight closer to the hotel. I recall Ian hitting Trav and I in the face with an apple that split off a picket fence and snotted us both. The remainder of the boys, Kai, Ian, Trav, Lloyd, Phil and I then decided to climb a mountain on the far side of the town. I think we were actually looking for cows to play with but didn't find any. We got a few hundred meters up and were soaked and cold and decided to head back down.

The following day we had a nice breaky and then left for Neuschwanstein castle, which is actually back in Germany. It's a really beautiful place and worth a look. Looks like something from a movie, that's why it was used in a movie. ;) We arrived back to the campsite in Munich that afternoon and headed into the beer halls a few hours later. We sat and watched some young kid spew out the front of a tent and then proceeded to knock the steins back again. That night Kai, Lloyd and I went into the Lowenbrau tent and had decided to go out after it closed. I had been tipped off about the Milchbar being good after Oktoberfest closes. So we headed there, somehow losing Kai along the way. Lloyd and I drank and danced the night away in the Milchbar and got home at god only knows what time.

The next morning, I was apparently slightly out of sorts, not looking anywhere close to 50% full brain capacity. I was still clearly drunk stumbling all over the place. I ate breakfast and then we headed into Oktoberfest for one last afternoon. Today was a non-drinking day for me. I went around with Kai, Llloyd and Dean for a few hours. I spent about 50 Euros just buying things and playing all of the stall games, darts, shooting, smashing frogs, etc. I had to then walk around and ask some locals for photos after posing as batman the first few days here. It'd be really funny to see some of the photos from others cameras.

So we left that afternoon from Munich on an overnight bus all the way back to London. I scammed the back seat, which I was well proud of. Deano and I shared it for the trip home. Trav had decided to drink a bottle of vodka in a few hours that night and ended up shouting at everyone to tuck their straps in from the overhanging luggage and that he could see ghosts. Absolutely hilarious. So over the Channel on the ferry, it was like a bomb had hit us, everyone was scattered across the deck of the boat completely exhausted. So we made it back to London and swapped emails with those we had become close to and said farewell. For me it was back to London life and work.

I was hesitant about going on an organised tour but by the end realized it is such a great way to meet other people and experience things with them. I have made some good friends that I will keep in touch with over the 8 days. I like to travel in small groups and alone mostly, but this is also a way I can see myself travelling in the future. From these readings you really cant get a grip of how it is there until you have been, a must do in a lifetime. Next year, well I plan to go again, but maybe couchsurf with locals or camp with some friends rather than a big tour group.

Take care,

Morgs