The Germans are such a cruel and inhuman race, they have no word for fluffy

The fun and excitement of a 6am train was almost too much for me Monday morning. I was taking 8 hours and 6 trains to get from Gryon to Munich. My friend Jemma from the pub met me at our hostel in Munich. After a brief chance to refresh Jemma and I headed down the main shopping area to see the farmers market and wander around a bit. We decided to be back at the hostel for happy hour to be social. Being as social as we are we quickly made friends with an American named Kevin who was over with his a group from his university to race cars that they had built, and a brit named Alex who was on holiday. We had some beer, played some pool and once happy hour was over the four of us decided to go over to a nearby beer garden for some food and beer. It was cheap and delicious. While we were there we met two more Americans who were in our hostel as well. After filling ourselves up with the food and beer we headed back to the hostel for another drink and more socializing.

First drink in Munich, yay!

Me, Alex, Kevin and Jemma at a beer garden

Early Tuesday morning Jemma and I joined a bus tour going out to Neuschwanstein Castle. We got a history of the castle and the man who built it Ludwig II on the way up before we took a nice nap. It was raining when we arrived at the castle but luckily by the time we got off the bus it had cleared up and turned into a beautiful day. We started with an hour bike ride down to Swan Lake. Followed by lunch and a wild ride down the alpine slide, so much fun. Jemma and I decided to split an apple strudel.

On the bus to Neuschwanstein Castle

First photo op of the castle

Swan Lake

Neuschwanstein Castle and the one Ludwig grew up in (can't remember the name)

Biking!

Woo-hoo!

Going up the alpine slide

The epic slide

After all of that it was finally time to go up to the castle. To get up there we hiked up the gorges by the waterfall. The castle has only 16 of the 60 rooms finished but was quiet impressive none the less, if the rooms that were finished were any indication the final castle would have been so elaborate and just brilliantly done.

One of the waterfalls on the hike up

View near the castle

The castle from Mary's Bridge

Looking down from Mary's Bridge (Jemma took this as I held on for dear life with my eyes closed)

Very fast attempt at getting a photo with the castle behind, I didn't last long on the bridge

More of the castle, no photos allowed inside

Ludwig dedicated the castle to Richard Wagner and his operas. There are even rumors that the two were an item. One of the rooms in the castle that was completed was a cave, that’s about it, just a cave that is one of the ways from Ludwigs dressing room into his dinning room, strange but cool. The tour of the castle didn’t last long, about half an hour in total since so few rooms are finished. The bus ride home consisted of Zoolander and a small nap.

Back at the hostel we quickly showered and changed and met Kevin in the bar to go to the Hofbrauhaus, the big touristy beer hall in Munich. The beers were huge, the food was alright and it was insanely busy. After the beer hall we met back up with Alex and some other people in the hostel bar for another drink before crashing into bed.

Our beers, from left to right, mine, Jemma's then Kevin's

Kevin, Jemma and I at the Hofbrauhaus

Starting our beers

Done

Done

So sad

Wednesday we wandered around town a bit before catching the train to Vienna. We plugged in my computer, watched two movies and were in Vienna before we knew it.

Munich city hall, kind of creepy at night

An ugly boar

A large fish

The first day in Vienna we didn’t do a whole lot, we wandered down the main touristy area to the Hapsburg palace where we got some food from a stand and sat outside the palace eating and on the long way back to the hostel we got some gelato. A very quiet, easy day. As soon as we got off the train from Munich though Vienna didn't strike us as much. There seems to be some passion and life missing from the city. To be honest the whole thing would have been a wash without Jemma there.

Our second day in Vienna we wandered down to the giant food market, across to city hall, saw a few churches. We went back to city hall because they had a large food court set up as a two month long film festival is currently taking place. I decided to go for some traditional Viennese food even though I didn't know what it was. Turned out to be duck with red cabbage ravilio and an orange sauce, so delicious I'm glad that's what I pointed too.

City hall

Hopsburg palaceMmmm duck

After lunch we grabbed desert at a fancy pastry shop before heading over to the Schnaps factory to get a tour from the grandson of the man who started it. He was a very amusing gentleman, quiet delightful to listen to. The schnaps is still made the same way as it was when they first started. We were given a few samples of the products, favorite being an orange one with 23k gold flecks in it.

More food

Schnaps factory with the owner

Tasty tasty

That evening we played some cards while we waited for a friend of Jemma's to meet us. Turns out he was staying with a friend literally right next door to our hostel. Garreth (Jemma's friend) met us with his traveling friend Mike and the friend he was staying with Scott. We had a few drinks at the bar in our hostel before going down to one called The Travel Shack. While we were there the owner tried to teach us how to play this drinking game where you have to hit a nail into a block of wood using the pointed end of the hammer, beyond difficult, it was all a matter of lucky shots to get it.

Dangerous hammer and nail game

Garreth and Jemma looking creepy

Strangley enough while we were there we made friends with two americans in the Air Force stationed in california. On a whim I asked them if they knew my friend Brett Bailey who is doing the same. Turns out the not only did one of them know him but they were deployed together, very very small world.

Friday Jemma and I got ready to go our seperate ways, her heading back to London and me continuing on to Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic where I am know. More on that soon.