From Zürich it was time to make our way to Munich, and one of the other things, along with the cricket, that I had planned for as one of the highlights of the trip, OKTOBERFEST!!. Yes you read that correctly, the biggest party in the world, and we were lucky enough to get our timing right so we could get there! I have to say it was one of the best experiences of my life too, so much fun. The accommodation was probability the only downside, ill get into that later.
The first thing we did when got into Munich was slightly cliched but come on, you have to right? Of course i am talking about a Schnitzel and a stein of beer.
On the first night we stayed at a cheap Ibis hotel, but from then on we moved to a campsite with the Fanatics. As you can see below it was pretty crowded with tents, and it was COLD. We hired blankets but it was still not enough really, it was freezing at night!
Fanatics campsite. Probably 200 tents in all and this was only a very small part of the massive campsite!
Another part of the campsite was being a bit rowdy, and apparently they were told to move on and didn’t, so about 15 police vans and 40 odd police rocked up!
The first of the bad experiences with the Fanatics was on the first night. When we checked into the camp, they were promoting a walking tour of Munich, complete with beer etc. We thought that sounded like an awesome idea, so we paid our money, and then took the bus and train into the centre of the city, about a 45 minute journey. When we got there, we found the tour guide, but there were no other Fanatics to be seen, only what looked like a bucks show. Apparently the Fanatics organisers had rang up and cancelled the tour, 15 minutes before it was due to start. This was pretty damn annoying, given we had taken all that time to get into the city. It left us with a bit of a sour taste in our mouth about the organisation of the Fanatics, and that kind of set the scene for the general incompetence that was to follow.
The only good thing about going back into the city was that we found a department store that was selling the Bavarian costumes, which is called a Dirndl for the ladies, and Lederhosen.
After we finished the shopping, we went back to the camp, and got our refund from the camp organisers from the walking tour, and let them know our displeasure and then down to the campsite bar to get our drink on!
