Chloe in Europe: Monday in Munich

On Monday, September 18th we arrived in Munich, Germany. We checked into our hostel, which I was initially concerned about, before I actually saw it. We stayed in a big room with 4 different sections, each section with 10 beds. So a room with 40 people. It was actually a very nice, safe and clean hostel with very friendly people working there.

After checking in, we went out for dinner to the Hofbräu Haus which is the beer house (or bier haus) that Hitler supposedly started the Nazi party. It's quite the tourism hot spot, with the upstairs being a quiet restaurant atmosphere and the downstairs a loud, rowdy, cafeteria-style seating section. After a long train ride, we chose the quiet upstairs. I ate bratwurst with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. It was good, and I definitely became a fan of the bratwurst.

Emma & me at dinner

Salter & Emma

Dinner

After dinner we window-shopped, including some traditional German wear for Oktoberfest. A lot of people were really walking around in lederhosen and dirndl. I felt so underdressed!

Then we checked out Oktoberfest. I would describe it as a big carnival for drunk adults. It was a lot of fun, but not at all what I was expecting. I was thinking it would be more like a fair than a carnival. I expected German folk music (not "Sweet Home Alabama"--no, I'm not joking), lots of food and beer and people all outside, maybe some dancing. Instead there were a lot of carnival rides to get you dizzy, a lot of pop music from the States, and there was junk food aplenty, but drinking had to stay contained in the beer halls which were very crowded and loud and hot. It was still quite the experience, and there is nothing quite like walking into a beer hall with everyone standing on tables with beer steins, singing and dancing and yelling.