The second day in Munich was not as eventful as the first day but still a lot of fun. On Sunday we decided to head to the Andechs Monastery and Brewery. We met up with the other "Tourman" people going and hopped the train out towards Andechs. We arrived in time to watch a memorial parade going through the Monastery before heading to grab some wonderful German food. We indulged in pork, pretzels, and of course beer. The beer was the local Andechs Monastery beer.
Part of the parade at the Monastery:
The Monastery Cathedral Tower:
Inside the most ornate Cathedral I have ever been in:
We took a wander around the beautiful cathedral and Monastery grounds before heading back into Munich to partake in more Oktoberfest festivities. When we arrived back at Oktoberfest we immediately got separated from Andrew. We had been talking about going to the Lowenbrau tent so we just decided to head there, in hopes that he would remember our conversation. The four of us found a table outside (it was a beautiful day and not nearly as crowded as Saturday) and it wasn't too long before Andrew turned up....yeah the group was back together again.
Greg at the Lowenbrau tent:
The Lowenbrau Lion:
The Lowenbrau was not nearly as exciting as the Hacker tent, it seemed more touristy, but they did have a huge lion out front that every few minutes woud roar "Low-en-brow" loudly and pull his stein to his mouth as if he were drinking. There was a second lion on top of a very tall pillar that also danced around in circles. After more pretzels, sausages, and of course beer, we headed off to walk around the actual carnival area of Oktoberfest. We walked through a couple other tents and then rode some bumper cars.
Here are some of the signs at Oktoberfest (notice the beautiful blue sky):
Okay, I have to explain their bumper cars, it was so funny. We are used to a line of people waiting for their turn on the cars. When one ride is over, everyone leaves the cars, and the new group takes over. Well, in Germany it is more every man for themselves. The cars stop, and everyone just runs towards the cars to try to grab a free one. The thing is not everyone leaves, so at one point I was stranded in the middle of the cars without an actual car to jump in, so I had to run to the side to make sure I didn't get run over. When it is time to go you just put a token in the car and it will start moving. It was a blast, but we all didn't get to ride at the same time.
Me on the bumper cars:
Dan and Rebecca laughing at me on the bumper cars:
Next we headed to the "Devils Wheel". We had heard about this so decided to pay admission and go in. It is a German tradition and was so funny to watch. Basically there is a spinning floor in the middle of the room. It starts out not moving and a bunch of people run to the center. Then they start the spinning and people start slipping off the floor and off the ride...they are out at this point. The object is to be the last person on the spinning part of the floor. Once the majority of the people slide off they start doing things like a flying ball on a string to knock people off and then throwing ropes out to pull people off, until everyone is done. It was hilarious to watch. We watched a few rounds before heading back out of the carnival and out to town for dinner.
Me and my giant candy floss....ummm...I mean cotton candy:
Here are some of the hilarious building entrances, this is to show you what is inside (they stand roughly 8 feet tall at least):
We ended our Munich Oktoberfest trip by going to Marienplatz and enjoying a marvelous German dinner at Hofbrahaus, the most well known beergarten in Germany. We sat near the oompah band and had a blast. We decided to head back early since we had to get up at 3 am to head to the airport for our return trip to London.
Rebecca and Me with our German hearts:
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