Day 15 - What a Trip!

We are home now, after what has been the trip of a life time.  There will be more on that later,  as we have one more day to share with you.

In 2010, we described in our blog about how we accidentally stumbled upon the Brauertag (Brewer's Day) celebration.  We planned our 2012 trip specifically so that we would be in Munich for the celebration, so we were very excited to be able to close out our trip with this glorious event.

Each industry or trade has a day of celebration, which typically coincides with the day of the patron saint for that trade.  The Brewers and Coopers (barrel makers) are no exception.

First, there was a concert on the town square (Marienplatz) at 8:00 am.

At the beginning of the concert, they processed out of the nearby St. Stephanskirche (St. Stephan's Church) with what Susan was told was a box containing the original copy of the Reinheitsgebot.

By this time, the Marienplatz had begun to fill up.

After the concert the participants began to line up to process back into St. Stephanskirche for the second event on the agenda, a worship service celebrating the patron saint of brewing.  The procession began with the coopers.

The coopers have a jester along for fun, who was smudging noses with ashes!

After the participants went into the church, we went back to the hotel to eat breakfast and get dressed.  Susan and I decided that the only way to properly enjoy the rest of Brauertag was to be appropriately dressed.

We positioned ourselves for the parade.  Since the weather was so nice this year, there were a lot more people than there were 2 years ago, so it was a little hard to see.

Each city we have been to has had very decorative sewer covers

Then the bier wagons came through, pulled by huge beautiful horses.

The parade ended at the Viktualienmarkt, where a stage was set up.  The Schaefflertanz (Cooper's Dance) was performed first.

That was followed by a speech from the mayor.  Then the breweries pledged their agreement to brew according to the Reinheitsgebot, and the Munchner Kindl's poem was recited.  They also gave graduate certificates to the young brewers who had recently completed their education (and are now ready to work in the brewing industry).  At this point, even though it meant that we wouldn't really get to see what was going on, we went to get in line for the freibier (free beer).  We weren't the only ones with this idea.  Bene arrived to stand in line with us, and was also appropriately dressed.

If you want to see a comprehensive video overview of Brauertag, there is one here. After Brauertag, we walked down to the Altes Hackerhaus for lunch.

Susan and I then spent most of the afternoon packing.  We fully admit to being bad (or good?) tourists this year and supported the Germany economy in strong fashion.  We bought so much stuff (including our Trachten) that we needed to buy an additional suitcase to get all our stuff home.  Fortunately we found an inexpensive yet well-built duffel bag at a nearby shop.  It became our dirty clothes repository, so that one rollaboard could become a carry-on for the Trachten, steins, books, and other things, and the other rollaboard could house the few remaining clean clothes we had plus all those things that TSA won't let you take through security.

Per Susan's and my tradition, we had our last meal of the trip at the Hofbrauhaus.  I don't know if it's because we were tired, or the fact that we're in our early 30's, but the Hofbrauhaus seemed to have lost a little of its luster in our hearts and minds.  It's overwhelmingly touristy nature got to us a little, I think.  Also, I think part of this was because we were able, on numerous occasions, to go out of the city center (where all the tourists are) to some of the biergartens and other restaurants that aren't quite so overwhelmed and are more frequented by the locals.  We enjoyed this experience way more than we have the Hofbrauhaus in the past.

Anyway, after dinner, Bene, Susan, and I went to a Biergarten near Bene's flat.  We arrived in time to catch the end of the football game and celebrate the end of an awesome trip with a few wheat bears.

So that's it, folks!  Our 2012 trip to Germany is over, and what an amazing trip it was.  Mother Nature definitely redeemed herself this year.  Every day (except for a couple in Berlin) the sun was shining bright with temperatures in the 70s and 80s.  This did mean more tourists, but I never felt overwhelmed.

We are both very sad and very happy to be home.  It's great to see our dog and my dad (who picked us up from the airport), and our neighbors and friends.  But, it is really sad that something that we had been planning for so long is now gone.  I know that is a horribly negative way to look at it, but when you spend two weeks in a place (especially when you have been before), it really starts to feel like home, especially when the trip includes spending a lot of time with family and friends.  At least we have 3,071 photographs by which we can remember this trip, along with all our souvenirs! 

Several people have asked what our favorite things were on this trip.  What was your favorite day or activity?  What was your favorite biergarten?  Did you like Berlin or Munich better?  These are all very difficult questions.  We did so many different things that were all wonderful or amazing or moving that you really can not lump them all together.  It was so good to see family and friends.  The Berliner Unterwelten tour was fascinating.  We really enjoyed experiencing Munich traditions (Brauertag).  It was so good to be able to spend time outside at the biergartens and sunning and swimming in the Isar River and all the lakes.  I will say that we did have a favorite biergarten.  This was Zum Flaucher, which we visited on Day 9.  Even though it was right in the city, this biergarten was surrounded by forest, had a great band, great bier and great food, and was a short walk to a great "beach" on the Isar River. 

As for whether Berlin or Munich is better - I don't believe the two can be compared.  We love both for different reasons.  Berlin had such a wide array of cultures and things going on that there were so many fun things to experience.  Plus the people we so nice!  I will say that if I could hit the do-over button, we should have spent more time in Berlin - maybe 10 days.  We had a huge list of things we wanted to do, but because I underestimated how spread out things were, we didn't get to do a lot of those.  Oh well!  We'll just have to go back!  On the other hand, Munich has become a home away from home for us.  Obviously we love going there and we love the bier, but we also love the culture and traditions that are still very prevalent in Munich and its surrounding villages.  So ultimately, we like both, and are certain that both will again be graced with our presence.

And oh man!  Watching the football (in both cities) was the most incredible things I have ever experienced.  That's something I really wish we had here!

Susan and I want to thank all of you for following us on our journey.  We have had a great time, and hope you have had a great time reading and looking at our photos.  So where will the next Eurotrip Extravaganza take us?  I don't know yet, but I know it will be awesome!

Until next time, auf wiedersehen!

Day 14 - Bamberg

Today we made a day trip to Bamberg, which is located about 2 hours north of Munich by train.  Two long time family friends were our personal tour guides.  One of them lived in Bamberg while in University.  It was a beautiful day, and Bamberg was a beautiful city, so little explanation is needed. 

Here is the Bamberg train station:

First we walked up to the Altenburg castle.  The views were amazing.

These are all from the top of the tower:

This block was marked with the year 1056:

This was the prison.  As a punishment, they would lower this cage to the ground, lock you in it, and then hoist it back up for a period of time relative to the severity of your transgression.

Until 1982 they used to keep a live bear in this cage.  Fortunately now it's just a statue.

We walked down the hill towards the old town.

This outdoor theatre was set up for an arts festival.

We had lunch at the Schlenkerla Brewery Restaurant.  Shlenkerla is famous for their Rauchbier, or smoke beer.  It is aged in barrels with charred insides, similar to those used for whisky.  When you open the bottle, it smells like ham or bacon, but the meat candy taste isn't so prevalent once it graces your tastebuds.  This may not sound to appealing, but it's actually really good.

Then there was Little Venice, neighborhood, accessed by small boats, similar to the Italian town.  These houses once belonged to local fishermen.

The Bamberg Cathedral.

And the nearby rose garden

This mural is painted on the side of the old town hall.

We were then invited to watch the German football match at the "public viewing" at Paulaner Am Nockherberg, a HUGE biergarten near the center of town.  Thanks to Bene, we had second row seats in the festsaal.  There were thousands of people there.  There were porbably twice as many people in the biergarten as in the festsaal.

Germany has scored (a few minutes ago), and this was everyone's reaction. People were reacting much more wildly than this photo shows.

It was crazy, as expected, but loads of fun!