Well, I am sorry I have taken a very long break from blogging. I am back and I will do my best to keep posting a few times a week as I have lots to share. For those of you that do not know, we went to Oktoberfest in Munich September 20-24.
We booked very last minute, 10 days before literally!! We were blessed to get a room at the Park Inn. It was not centered down town nor was it in walking distance to the festivities but it was a great quiet location with a 3 minute walk to the U bahn and a 10-15 minute ride to the center of town. It was about a 15 min ride to Oktoberfest. Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures of the hotel this time. The only major complaint we had was the sofa. It was gross with stains. The housekeeper was nice enough to give us an extra blanket for us to cover the couch.
So the first day we arrived in the afternoon and checked in. We went on the very first weekend of Oktoberfest but decided it would be best to avoid the festival during the weekend. After doing some research and talking with a few others we learned it would be too crazy for Ivy and it would be way too crowded for the stroller. So after checking in we walked through the city a little bit then found a great local restaurant called Andescher am Dom. Due to the number of people in town the restaurant was crowded so they offered table sharing. We sat down with a local German couple whom we had a nice conversation with. They helped us order some local Bavarian food and we talked a lot about Oktoberfest. They recommended Kevin order Schweinshaxe and Ivy the spaetzle (which is a different kind of noodle in Germany). We had a delightful dinner with them.
Sunday, we went to the city center to see the Costume parade. I have posted just a few pictures here, but they just don't do the parade justice. I have to say it was buy far the most creative and festive parade I have ever been too. It was mostly a parade of the many different dirndl and lederhosen but they also had beer barrel floats and cannon and gun displays through the years. We all enjoyed it!! Ivy fell asleep for the last hour of the parade but it was a perfect time for her to nap.
After the parade I bought a dirndl and then we headed to Dachau concentration camp. If you are going to Munich this is a must in my opinion. It is so emotional and heartbreaking to see what people inhabiting the concentration camps had to endure. I can't even put into words what they must have gone through. I was very shocked at the many different ethnicities, groups, and reasons for being imprisoned in those camps. Very sad but a huge part of German history that is very important. Here are a few pics from the camp.
Then we headed to the largest beer house for dinner and a beer, Hofbräuhaus. Look at these huge
beers. Now we went early as it was more appropriate time for Ivy. Later would have been very crazy and probably a lot of drunk people.
The next 2 days we spent at Oktoberfest. Monday, Ivy fell asleep on the way to the festival and took a fairly long nap so we were able to sit outside and enjoy a beer. Monday was nice, fairly warm, and they had outside heaters on the patio of the Hacker Pschoor Tent. After lunch we walked around and let Ivy ride a horse and a few other rides. Here are some pics from that day!!!
Tuesday was family day so we went after Ivy's nap. We ate a late lunch/early dinner at the Löwenbräu tent. Ivy had a great time listening to music and goofing off. Then we ended the day with more rides and a quiet evening at the Hotel.
Well I hope you have enjoyed hearing about our trip to Munich, Germany and Oktoberfest. I have some more things and more Ivy pics to post so please check back this weekend!! I hope you all are having a great week.
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