"Live, travel, adventure, bless, and don't be sorry." - Jack Kerouac Several months ago, in the midst of all my trip planning I knew I wanted to do something special for my 21st birthday weekend. Germany seemed like my ideal location... beers and pretzels the size of my head? Sounds like my kind of town. I can't believe this weekend has already come and gone; how quickly the time is passing is really insane. Not only my time abroad but time in general, 21?? Let the celebration commence! Zum Wohl! Once we arrived we were ready to delve into Munich's famous Hofbräuhaus, the world's most celebrated beer hall. Beer drinking and pretzel devouring has been going on here since 1644, originally built in 1589 by Bavarian Duke Maximilian as an extension of the Hofbräu brewer. This place was just too great. The "Oktoberfest" feel was very much alive in that there is hardly any organization... Fight for a seat at any of the very large wooden tables and benches and grab the attention of the dirndl or Lederhosen wearing beer girls and guys and order yourself a stein of brew and a sausage. Many are also wandering around selling pretzels and traditional German cookies. Guests are talking loudly, the traditional Bavarian band is playing and the "regulars" are singing old drinking songs and chants. Chaos is always half the fun. It is definitely a very popular tourist attraction but I found that it's actually very common for the locals to be frequent guests as well. They have a list "Our regular guests" that has a schedule in which they are assigned their own table on certain days of the week, month and year. Each "regular" even has their own fancy and decked out stein class that is stored and locked in their own cubby, as requested by those that wanted a safe and separate storage space for their personal and valuable beer steins. I love it ! Something tells me Dad and Ben would be among those proud "regulars" had we lived in Munich.... The atmosphere of the HB can be felt as soon as you walk through the beer hall doors. Experiencing the Bavarian way of life first hand, in an institution created hundreds of years ago and sharing in Germany's hospitality, ugh. Just so great. What a way to kick of the birthday weekend! Aaaaand oh SO thankful I got my pretzel fix. Much needed. Saturday morning, we got up and headed toward the city center to Mike's Bike Tour. An absolute MUST. The tour guide was so informative and also super entertaining, making for a fantastic four hour bike ride through the city... Riding through the Englischer Gartens was my favorite part of the ride. The sprawling English Garden is one of the largest city parks and a huge attraction for all sorts of activities. We saw people horseback riding, running, playing music, walking their dogs and even surfing. Yes, surfing. The Eisbach, German for "ice brook" is a small man-made river flowing through the park. A wave has been created in one section where extreme surfing has been a happenin' trend since the 70's; officially the surfing has been made legal in 2010. I loved watching all the locals take turns riding the wave. Hang loose, Munich! Next pit stop? A nearby beer garden for a stein of beer and huge pretzel, of course! Perfect mid-day treat. The rest of the day we walked around and stopped in tons of little shops around Munich. Most of the official Christmas Markets were opening the weekend following our visit; we saw tons of the preparation, set-up and decorating in the works! We did find this smaller market nearby which was darling- tons of food, Christmas decorations, plants, drinks, etc. I wish I could have picked up one of these wreaths, I love the smell of fresh greenery and berries... Got me looking forward to being home for the holidays and to help Nanc with all the house decor! Germany is known for their Cuckoo clock, you know the ones that have the little cuckoo bird emerge every hour on the hour. I had no idea how intricate and expensive these clocks are; several of the ones below were nearly 2,000 Euro. Crazy! They are manufactured in Germany's Black Forest and are a coveted German symbol. Each clock was so unique and all very beautiful. Sunday morning... Day trip to Innsbruck, Austria, the capital of the Alps! Okay, talk about a hidden paradise. The line between city and mountains is hard to distinguish in Tirol's capital city. With the Nordkette Mountains in the background and historic buildings in town, the destination for culture and outdoor activity is prime. Several times throughout the day we would say, "this can't be real, I feel like we are on a Lifetime movie set of a little ski town." The scene is certainly picture-perfect. Those mountains in the background, the turquoise river, colorful houses... stunning! The Christmas Markets in Innsbruck were in FULL FORCE. We were so excited about this. Christmas decorations, trees and lights everywhere... The German sausage, sauerkraut, potatoes, hot wine, beer, pretzels... all of it was so so yummy. I love being able to have different dishes at a market rather than sitting down at a restaraunt. The atmosphere outside was just too wonderful and festive to not soak it all up! Hot spiced wine punch is a staple at the Christmas festivites in Europe. Everywhere you go during the month of December, you will most likely find steaming Gluehwein. And I loved the adorable little souvenir mug... After lots of exploring throughout Innsbruck, we bumped into a ice skating rink ! Yes, I was super excited about this but these two New Orleanians were even more stoked to skate. Clearly... Cheers to 21 years of life and to the wonderful friends that made my birthday so special. Prost! Shine On
-KRIS10
3 Comments
Ezra
11/25/2014 09:46:46 am
Kristy Girl!!!!
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dad
11/25/2014 12:35:14 pm
wow what a great place to spend your 21st. It looks like all the stuff I love good beer and food and Christmas. Those buildings with so much color looked really pretty.You picked the right place.I want to hear all about it and see more pictures. It won't be long now can't wait. Enjoy your last trip before you come home.leb wohl bis wir ins wiedersehen
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MOM
11/30/2014 01:03:11 pm
Beautiful photos Kristen!!! Looks like you enjoyed your birthday celebration. HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY K. love you
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