Bavaria, beer, bikes & bratwurst.

Last night was excruciating; it turns out my tent was about 6 feet away from a football pitch where the local youth teams went on playing late into the night;, the tent next to mine contained at least two small children neither of whom wanted to go to bed and the very vocal about it. When I did finally managed to get to sleep I was woken at 5am by the sound of church bells, unable to get back to sleep I got up, packed up and left.   I was on the road before 7 o’clock and heading flat-out towards Germany.  The ride was uneventful but I noticed the strangest thing:  Since leaving Romania people seem to think of road signs as gospel.  If a sign shows a speed limit people obey it as if it’s some sort of law.  So far (and for the past 18 months in Jordan) road signs have been treated as advisory and generally ignored for getting in the way of progress.  I seem to remember it being the same in the UK, I had better pay more attention.  Now what does the yellow diamond mean again?

I made good time on the motorways across Austria and into Germany where the speed limit is 130kph.  The bike seems happiest cruising at 127kph so for the first time ever I haven’t had to hit the brakes when I see a speed trap, which is nice.

Apart for taking a wrong turn in Munich I arrived with the fuel light on having completely drained 2 full tanks.

Was lovely to see Uli again and I was made to feel like a member of the family straight away.  The village they live in is the stuff of postcards and the area really is something special.  I’m going to take a tour tomorrow and explore towards the south.  I followed her into the house and was greeted by their dog, Meo, and budgies.  After a quick shower Uli gave me a delicious bagel and we set off with her daughter (Merle) in tow to collect Amrei and Tadeu from school.  With the group complete and the ladies wearing beautiful traditional Bavarian dresses called dirndls we headed for the train station and jumped on. 

When we arrived in Munich we were greeted by Hanna who took us onto the underground which deposited us right by the site of Oktoberfest. 

The site is massive and the atmosphere was fantastic, everyone was clearly having a good time, some lubricated by strong local beer and others high on the sights, sounds and sugar being sold everywhere you looked.

The first attraction we visited was a “Flee Circus”.  Now, I had always thought this was a gimmick and couldn’t possibly be real.  However, after watching real flees pulling tiny carts, kicking a miniature football into a goal and gently spinning small doll dancers I can report that it is very real and extraordinary.  

Flee Circus. Carts being pulled and the goal in the background.

With my surprise still fresh we walked past streets of stalls and past a shooting gallery where, to my amusement as it looked so incongruous, a woman in dirndl was expertly handling a rifle.  I made a note not to get on the wrong side of a Bavarian with a gun. 

We were walking down one of the main streets past stand after stand some with souvenirs, some with sweets and some selling turns on vomit inducing rides (more on that later) when I spotted a motorbike and a sign advertising the “Wall of Death”.  Most people have heard about the Wall of Death but I haven’t seen it in action and nothing could have prepared me for the reality of it.  It’s simply mind-blowingly awesome.  I don't have any pictures of this because I only had my phone and they were riding so fast I couldn't get a good shot. 

The main act (the work “act” doesn’t do it justice) was an Indian gentleman wearing a "Worlds Fastest Indian" hoodie riding a vintage Indian motorcycle with open exhausts on the wall.  But he wasn’t simply riding it he would set the throttle and sit side saddle and whilst waving both hands at the crowd.  Then he would sit astride it and ride it flat out from the bottom of the wall up the side at the crowd then pull away at the last moment while flicking the rear wheel up the wall inches from our faces.  I started off feeling nervous for him and by the end I couldn’t get enough.  Each time the bike came close the exhaust would deafen and you could feel the heat from the engine.  If you ever get the chance to see a Wall of Death in action, then: GO. AND. SEE. IT!

After the excitement of The Wall we went in search of food and beer, in that order.  Uli was very clear that drinking a Bavarian Oktoberfest beer (which must be brewed within the city limits) before food isn’t a good idea.  We found the tent that was rumoured to have the best food around and sat at a large sturdy table while the stereotypical waitress’s carried handfuls of litre steins around us, the current record is 24 steins carried over a 40m distance!

Soon we were all nursing a stein and the food was on its way, with Uli’s warning ringing in my ears I sipped at mind until my food arrived.  I had opted, on advice, for a local dish of meat with veg and a token salad which was very good and and matched the beer perfectly.

With a full tummy we set off looking for something sweet and bought some traditional sugar coated roast almonds from a stand and munched them as we strolled towards the ferris wheel.  On the way we looked into another tent where Oktoberfest was in full swing with people dancing on the tables to Bon Jovi’s Livin’ on a Prayer.  

Live music in one of the tents.

When we got onto the wheel the view over a now darkening Oktoberfest and Munich was wonderful.

View from the ferris wheel.

  After the ride it was time to head to the train station but not before my mind thought, against the better judgment of my gut, it would be a good idea to have a go on one of the rides.  I approached it with Merle and we were soon inside.  It was a simple ride.  You went in and stood against the wall of an oversized, vertical washing machine drum, when it was switched on the centrifugal force pinned you to the wall as the floor moved away from your feet leaving you stuck to the side and unable to move easily.  As soon as it got up to speed I knew this was a bad idea.  While I laid motionless focusing on a single spot my mind was telling my body that we were upside down while my body was sure that we hadn’t changed axis.  While I was struggling with this Merle was rolling around clearly enjoying it.

Yes, that is a large stuffed poo...

When it stopped I felt as if I was extremely drunk, a feeling that lasted most of the way home.  When we got back Theo was there and we met with huge grins, it was great to see him and before going to bed he showed me a great riding route for tomorrow.  This afternoons fun made the mornings ride over the cold heights of Austria more than worth it.  Now for some Bavarian riding!