Day 30 - Munich

Last night we stayed in the hostel bar and watched the Real Madrid match whilst once again setting the world to rights. We also attempted to decide where everyone in the hostel was from. There are a lot of Australians.

Today we got up and had hostel breakfast, which was good but they had no proper tea. I am beginning to struggle without it. We left the hostel and headed for the main square. It was cold, very cold, and rainy. It seems like we have gone from summer to winter overnight. We were not prepared for this at all so we had to go to H&M and buy something warm. H&M has been our saviour on this trip, it's been there when we have misjudged the weather, needed to replace something thats been worn out or needed something less scruffy for the opera. Thank you H&M, thank you. Onward we trekked in the cold and the rain and we came upon a wonderful place. A cuckoo clock shop. It was the most magical place in the whole of Bavaria, it felt like Christmas. A bit further down the road we got to the main square just in time to hear the glockenspiel that plays every day. The square was packed with tour groups who had been waiting to hear it. It was lovely like, it all felt very traditional and I'm all for a good bit of percussion, but it did go on a bit. By this time we were very cold. We hunted down a coffee shop to warm us up a bit and Dee and I had some wonderful apple strudel. Marvellous.

Munich is a beautiful place, it is exactly how I pictured it to be. It's the kind of place that suits the cold weather, like you would love to be all wrapped up walking around the markets and then sitting in a beer hall to warm up. On this trip we have found love for a good market. We arrived at Viktualienmarkt and had the time of our lives. There was so much food and so many stalls full of trinkets and tat. It was just my kind of place. I could happily have emptied my bag of clothes and filled it with stuff from this market. I resisted temptation and only bought one thing, a present for Ange. So she can't tell me off for buying crap at the market cos its her crap now. This market made me excited for Christmas. That's deffo not a hint at Ange's present...

After the market we walked through to the 'Frauenkirche' (the Cathedral of Our Beloved Lady) which was a really beautiful place. It wasn't as over the top as the churches or cathedrals we have already seen, which made it even more lovely. It was the kind of cathedral Grandma would have loved so I lit a candle for her birthday at Our Lady's alter (she would also have loved the cakes at the bakery next door, they had giant custard tarts). We left the cathedral and found a little restaurant because we were now starving and very cold. Not a good mix. We had tomato soup and it was probably the best tomato soup in the world. It warmed my toes. Then we tried to order bratwurst, but the waitress decided that wasn't big enough for us and recommended something else and all we understood was potatoes. Our jaws hit the floor when it arrived. It was basically a giant slab of sausage with an egg on top and loads of potatoes. It was a struggle, but we managed to finish it. I had to go out for air when I had finished because I was having meat sweats. I decided to ring home and Patrick answered. He thought I wasn't coming home until new years day (wishful thinking) and he was (hopefully) made up that I'm actually home on Monday.

We waddled back to the hostel, the four of us all full to the brim and feeling fit to burst, and had about half an hour to recover before the evenings events. We had decided to go on a beer hall tour for 'an authentic Bavarian experience'.

An 'experience' was one word for it. We had the funniest night of the trip so far. There was only 15 of us on the tour and alongside us four and our beer tour friends was our guide, Severin. Severin loves life. He oozes happiness and it is rather infectious. He made an effort to speak to everyone, try to remember names and ask about what brings us to Munich. He gave us our first free beer out on the street. Now this is not something we are used to, we felt very German just swigging our bottles of Hells in the street. We had to 'Prost' (cheers) everyone and learn some names, then we set off for our first beer hall. We made friends here and had a special Oktoberfest beer. We were enjoying our tour. Onto the second beer hall and we had to split up from the group because it was jammed. We made friends with a Canadian lady and I had a litre stein and a pretzel that was bigger than my head. Sarah and I got our pictures with the oompah band and the euphonium player obviously loved his job, he was posing for pictures with us whilst playing. The final beer hall we went to served us the Pope's favourite beer (I was unaware he drank beer, but he is German after all) and it was here that I encountered a scary toilet attendant. I didn't take my bag to the bathroom therefore couldn't tip her and so I practically ran past her so she didn't snap me in two.

We left the third beer hall and went to a hostel bar where we got our final free beer and a shot of jaeger. Luckily for us, this hostel was next door to ours. We spent the rest of the night gabbing to our new beer friends and swopping travel tips, we even invited one to stay with us if he comes to Liverpool. We liked our beer friends. We have some wonderful pictures with them. We said our goodbyes, went next door to our hostel and collapsed into bed.

Munich is a wonderful place, it's so relaxed and the people are really lovely. Thinking about it realistically, even though we loved Italy so much we won't be able to afford to go back there soon. Germany on the other hand, we have also fallen head over heels for and can definitely see us returning very soon, especially to Munich. Hopefully at Christmas time.

Tomorrow we leave for Brussels at 11am, that's if we can actually get out of bed...

Ps, mother I only bought 2 tops in H&M to keep me warm. You wouldn't want me to freeze in the chilly Bavarian winds now, would you?

PPs, Joseph I can see exactly why you enjoyed Munich. It a wonderful place and I think we should go. I miss you a bit lird, I can't wait to sit you down and show you every single one of my 1,698 (and counting) photographs. LOVE YOU BABES!