Regensburg

I arrived in Regensburg, my last stop in Germany. For now. I wanted to check out one more town before heading to Austria. Regensburg is the only city in Germany that remained completely intact after WWII. So I got to explore and enjoy the medieval city like it used to be. With modern conveniences of course. And it happened to be the same town where my new German friend Philip worked. So I got a chance to hang out with him again. 

When I first arrived at the hostel, I met a German girl who was studying in Regensburg. However, she didn't have student housing and was staying in the hostel until she could find some. School was starting the following week, and there were a lot of students looking for a place to live. I couldn't believe that there was such a lack of housing. Over the course of my stay, the students were gradually finding apartments but it's hard to imagine starting college and looking for an apartment. Especially if you were from another country. I hope it all works out for all of them. On the plus side, a lot of them thought I was also a student looking for housing.

My new friend from the hostel took me on a short tour of Regensburg. We checked out the cathedral that dominates the city, and walked over the Stone Bridge (Steinerne Brücke) over the Donau, or the Danube. The Danube is one of the longest rivers in Europe and goes through 10 different countries. Pretty impressive. 

Regensburg Cathedral. 

The city.

The Stone Bridge.

For dinner, I headed to a local spot and had the most delicious käsespätzle. It was so filling, and I wish I had room for more. It reminds me of mac 'n cheese, and that's probably why I like it so much.

Delicious käsespätzle.

On my first morning in Regensburg, I went for my first run since the Berlin Marathon. It was a little hard to motivate since the temperatures were so cold. It was in the 30s. Way to cold for fall. But it warmed up a little as the day progressed, so I made a move out the door. And I'm so glad I did. Even though my Garmin wasn't happy. It didn't want to work. It was either still in marathon recovery mode or it was broken. The run went well and I'm glad I did it. After 2 weeks off, its always a great feeling to move my legs. And having a nice path along the Danube definitely helped.

First run back.

I didn't do too much the rest of the day.  I decided to stay an extra night, and did a little bit of shopping. I decided more underwear was in order. Mostly so I could do laundry less frequently. I then went to find cafe to sit and chill for a while before meeting Philip for dinner.

We had dinner that night at a nice local spot, and then went out for a few beers at an Irish pub. It was trivia night, which made me happy. We made new friends and attempted to answer the fairly difficult questions. They had the questions in German and English. But I think I only successfully answered one part of one question. Still fun though. 

Found my new friend Philip in Regensburg.

It's possible I had too many beers, including some Guinness. The next morning was a little rough.

Changing up the beer.

But I managed to get going the next morning and take a boat trip down the Danube. I spent 3 hours on a boat checking out the countryside of Regensburg, including Walhalla, the German Hall of Fame.

Boat cruise along the Donau.

Walhalla. 

The river down below.

After my boat cruise, I wandered around a bit more, and settled in at a cozy bar to warm up and journal for a bit. I met Philip for dinner again and I made sure to have some wurst on my last night in Germany. And beer of course. We stopped to have one last beer before the night ended. It was great hanging out but I was ready of get some sleep for sure. I needed to recover from the night before. 

On my last morning, I explored Regensburg a little bit more. I walked around the Herzogspark and along the river.

Roses.

Scenes of Regensburg 

The last thing I did, was spend €2 to climb up the Protestant church tower to get one last view of Regensburg.

Top of the city.

After my last views of Regensburg, it was time to head to Austria. 

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

A bunch of train rides later, but only a couple of hours, I made it to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Probably one of my favorite spots in Germany. I decided to spend a few nights there. But when looking for a place to stay, all I could find was a low budget hotel. I didn't want to pay that much for a night, and if I had known the weather in Garmisch-Partenkirchen was going to be amazing when I left, I would have stayed another night. But I didn't. However having a room to myself for the first time in a few weeks, was kind of amazing. 

It was getting dark when I walked into to the Old Town, but I could already tell Rothenberg ob der Tauber was super picturesque. I spent a little bit of time exploring before getting dinner. 

Old Town at night.

The next morning when I went to find breakfast, and saw the town in the daylight, it continued to amaze.

Lovely buildings.

After breakfast, I had to check out of the hotel so I headed back for a little bit. I also spent some figuring out what I needed to do for my absentee ballot. I was going to make sure my vote was counted. It took me a little while to figure out what to do, but I got the Federal Post Card Application printed out. All I need to do was fill it out, choose a location to have my ballot sent to, and send the form back home.

After that was figured out, I walked on the city walls and got a nice view of all the red roofs, one of the things that's notable of the town. It was a nice walk, and all the while I couldn't help but think about the people living there, and how they feel about tourists practically gazing unto their windows.

Red rooftops.

Before checking into my hostel, where I was staying for the following 2 nights, I had to go check out the Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas ornament store, and the Christmas Museum, Deutsches Weihnachtsmuseum. I was thinking it was December, not October. I can only imagine what the town is like at Christmas. I will return again specifically to visit a Christkindlmarkt. I did get in the Christmas spirit by learning about the evolution of what we know as Christmas today. 

Presents.

Käthe Wohlfahrt store.

Upside down Christmas tree.

After checking into the hostel, which was in a way better location, I wandered around the cute and narrow streets, and came across plönlein, one of the prettiest spots in town.

Plönlein.

The following day, I continued on like the day before. I explored another part of the city wall, went outside the wall to see the city from a different view, and walked through a vineyard.

Adorable.

Vineyards.

Me.

But eventually I had to stop and do laundry, so I returned to the hostel for a bit. But since it takes so long, I was able to leave to explore and get some shopping done. I had to buy some ornaments. Obviously.

More cute buildings.

Love the flower boxes.

I spent my remaining time drinking wine at a bäckerei and photographing. I'm so glad that I came across Rothenberg ob der Tauber in my research. And I can't wait to return someday.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen

After a couple of bus rides, I made it to my next stop, Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the Bavarian Alps. The 1936 Winter Olympics were held here, and you see Germany's highest mountain, Zugspitze. I figured it would be a pretty spot to explore. 

I arrived in the evening so I didn't get a chance to do much. My hostel was a little ways from town, so I relied on getting dinner at the local OlympiaHaus for food. I was well fed, but definitely have had better käsespätzle (yummy cheese noodles). After dinner, I ate one of the schneebälls I got in Füssen. They were tasty, especially with chocolate on them. But I think they would be better with ice cream. But lets be honest, almost anything is better with ice cream. 

The hostel was near Partnachklamm, a gorge 702 meters long and in some places, 80 meters deep. The following morning, I packed my day bag, and went for a hike.

Standard Bavarian scenery.

After about 20 minutes, I made it to Partnachklamm. It was pretty cool walking through the gorge. None of my photos could do it justice. 

Partnachklamm.

When I reached the end of the gorge, instead of turning back the way I came, I went for a little hike up into the mountains. I was looking for a change of scenery even if it was cloudy.

Mountain hiking.

After a bit of a climb, I came back down above the gorge and took a walk across the bridge to the other side.

Partnachklamm from above.

When I made it to the bottom, I walked around the Olympic ski jump. In 1936 both the Winter and Summer Games were held in the same country for the last time. And these 2 Olympics would be the last ones until 1948 because of WWII. Garmisch and Partenkirchen were 2 separate towns until Hitler combined in anticipation of the Olympic games. 

Ski jump.

I looked into possibly going down the ski jump, but it didn't look like it was an option. Even if I wasn't skiing down it, it still would have been terrifying.

Home of the 1936 Winter Olympics.

The weather still wasn't great but I was hoping for the best. So I headed into town to walk around and walk up to Wallfahrtskirche to see if Zugspitze was visible. No dice. After checking out the church, I arrived at Panorama Restaurant. The mountain was still not visible but the sun was trying to peek through. So I got a warm beverage, Jägertee, and took a break from all my hiking around. The jägertee was a little sweet for my liking but I definitely warmed up. When I left, the clouds still hovered around the peaks, so I gave up seeing Zugspitze.

Jägertee.

Zugspitze hidden away.

I went back down the hill to explore the Old Town a bit more. Which really just involved buying chocolate, and stopping at a bäckerei for wine and streusel. I mean, are you surprised?

Old town.

The following morning, I packed up my things and was sad to leave since it was a beautiful morning. Of course it was warm and sunny the day I leave town. I was a little regretful of my decision to leave but figured the next stop would also be great. Off to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. 

Füssen

After celebrating Oktoberfest in Munich, I needed to go somewhere recover. And I prioritized going to Neuschwanstein. I've been wanting to go for years now. So I took a train to the southern part of Bavaria to go see the Sleeping Beauty castle in person. I arrived in Füssen, and went in search of food. I enjoyed a little bit of the Old Town as I looked for a place to make up for not eating much that day. Although I went a little over my head and ordered the pork shoulder. It was delicious but I just couldn't finish it. I hope the restaurant doesn't hate me for it.

Dinner.

Feeling more like myself after a full night's sleep, I woke up to clouds and rain. This wasn't ideal weather to head to Neuschwantstein at all. I lingered a bit in town and got breakfast. I figured I waited long enough and finally decided to head out since I didn't want to wait in the long lines that I heard about. I boarded the bus with a bunch of other tourists, and after arriving in Hohenschwangau, I found the ticket line asap. Good thing I walk fast, as I passed a bunch of people. After about 40 minutes of waiting, I got a ticket for the 2pm tour. That was great. Except now I had a few hours to kill. Fortunately, there was a bunch of hiking in the area. So I headed to Alpsee and spent my time walking around the lake. At some point, I had to turn around, but not without some great views. And even better as the sun as the sun was trying to emerge. 

View from Alpsee.

I headed back towards the castle, and hiked up the hill in order to get to my tour in time. I wanted to explore around the castle, but I didn't have enough time. I also hoped that the weather would continue to improve. And it did. At my designated time, I met the fairly large tour group, and we were led into Ludwig II's summer home. We only got to see a few rooms, and since we couldn't take any pictures, you'll have to go and see for yourself. They were pretty impressive though, but a few of them were unfinished. Ludwig II wanted a medieval castle, even if it was 1869 when construction started. But he couldn't help to include some modern conveniences, like a flushable toilet.

Where the commoners live.

After the tour, I walked up towards Marienbrücke. On my way I got a great view of Alpsee and Schloss Hohenschwangau down below.

Alpsee from above.

Once I arrived at Marienbrücke, I had to wait in another line to see the most popular view of Neuschwanstein. Fortunately a lot of people didn't cross the bridge since it wasn't very large. I walked across and up the hill on the other side a bit to change up the view a bit.

Marienbrücke.

Looking for dragons.

Neuschwanstein.

After getting my fill of the castle, I walked down the hill and took another short walk along Alpsee. With the sun out, it was way more stunning. 

Boathouse.

Afterwards I headed back to town and walked around the narrow streets for a bit before dinner.

Evening walk.

And managed to catch the sunset.

Sunset.

The following morning I found a local bäckerei to have breakfast outside before walking to Lechfall. 

Breakfast at a local bäckerei.

Füssen streets.

The Lech River is primarily used for energy production in Füssen. I thought the water was really pretty and would have loved to have taken a dip if it was warmer. 

Lechfall.

Hike through some fields.

Soon it was time to go and head to the next spot. Before leaving town, I bought some fresh bread and Snowballs to take with me. Stay tuned on how they taste. 

Schneebälle. 

I'm glad I spent some time in Fussen instead of doing just a day trip. Where to next? I made a last minute decision to see more of the Bavarian Alps.

Munich

My next stop was Munich. I was finally returning after 12 years, and this time it was to celebrate Oktoberfest. Excellent.

I arrived at my new friend Philip's place, and put together some semblance of an outfit that would pass for Oktoberfest. Philip and Kaj were clothed in traditional lederhosen like most of the guys. I didn't really want to spend the money on a dirndl, so I wore a black dress and my checkered flannel shirt. I had a dress and checkers. That was the best I could pull off.

Once we were decked out, Philip played tourist guide for a little bit. We walked along the Isar River. It was lovely weather, so there were a bunch of sunbathers and swimmers out. 

Sunbathers.

Lederhosen.

Then we got some delicious food and our first beer to kick off Oktoberfest.

Pre-Oktoberfest meal.

Once we were fed, we headed to Oktoberfest. Now I really didn't have an expectations and maybe that was good. I knew there was beer, and since I'm part German (don't ask how much), I just wanted to partake in the festivities at some point in my life.

We arrived and I felt like I was at a small state fair. There were people everywhere, food stalls, and amusement rides. That I didn't expect. The fair-like vibe. We also got a glimpse at the beer tents. And they were massive. This is no rinky dinky beer tent like back home. These temporary structures can hold up to 5,000 people. Yikes.

We decided to go into the Hacker-Festhalle tent, known for the sky murals on the ceiling, at Philip's suggestion. He is the expert since he goes several days throughout Oktoberfest, and has been going for the last several years. He's from Munich, so he's been going since he was a kid.

We found a spot in the middle and soon made friends. We joined them at their table and promptly got on the benches to dance along to Sweet Caroline and a bunch of German songs that I got really good at pretending I knew.

Prost.

New friends.

The beer tents close around 10 or 10 :30. Which is probably a good thing. Get everyone out of there, so they can recover for the following day. Since we had an early dinner, we did get a bit hungry. I of course was looking for a  New York pizzeria. But of course there was only a Burger King at the train stop. I got fries.

The next morning, I didn't have much of a hangover, which was a bit surprising, given the amount of beer I consumed. I did wake up with a ton of bruises on my shins though. Have 6 people dance on a bench while drinking liters of beers, means they will fall over a few times during the evening. We proceeded room eat some breakfast, shower, put our outfits back on and head back to Oktoberfest. Since it was Friday, we wanted to be sure we got inside a tent before it closed. We took a roadie for the ride and we arrived in the afternoon. We walked around a different part of the grounds.   

We went into the Schützen-Festzelt tent and sat in the biergarten for a couple of liters. Keeping an eye on the door of course. We wanted to be sure we got inside before it closed on us. Fortunately it was so nice, that a lot of people had the same idea and the doors didn't close for a while. But once they were, we hurried inside. We had another good afternoon and evening of dancing, drinking and making new friends.      

Oktoberfest.

This is considered a small tent.

Second night of Oktoberfest.

On the 3rd day, I wasn't sure if I was going to make it to Oktoberfest. Fortunately since I had paced myself the night before, I woke up in a similar fashion as the day before. I did get some laundry done. So I wasn't only drinking while I was in Munich. And then figured, I should make one last appearance. A smaller group of us headed to the Käfer's Wies'n-Schänke tent, where the celebrities hang out. Although I didn't see any celebrities ( I was secretly hoping for  David Hasselhoff spotting), it was a fun spot to be outside. There wasn't any dancing on benches but I still had a wonderful time. 

Käfer's Wies'n-Schänke.

Beer goals.

As I was confirming the beer tents names on the Oktoberfest website I came cross the lost and found. I just had to share. 

At the end of the Oktoberfest, the lost and found office had collected about 2915 items: 680 pieces of clothing, 660 wallets, 580 passports, 410 (smart)phones, 250 glasses, 220 keys, 90 bags and rucksacks, 55 umbrellas and canes, 55 pieces of jewelry and watches and 15 cameras.

Notable finds were: One pair of brown and one pair of beige high heels, a pair of children's leather pants, black cotton trousers, one jeans, two novels "Nie wieder Blondinen" with a dedication in them, an iPad, two GoPros, a pink camera, a doctor's certificate for work disability for the duration of the Oktoberfest, one box of Paracetamol, two hearing aids, 510.10€ in cash and a municipal time card. One gentleman claimed to have lost his "old lady", but could not be helped at the lost and found office.

I didn't lose anything but it was entertaining to read through the list. I did find new friends, 2 German kisses, and a desire to return again one day.

On my last day in Munich, I spent a short amount of time sightseeing. Which included the Frauenkirche and Glockenspiel. After that, it was time to head south and recover from all that beer.

Frauenkirche.

Glockenspiel.

Next stop: Füssen and the Disney castle.