European Escapade

This trip was definitely one of my most memorable travel experience today – 26 days backpacking over 9 different countries; from Amsterdam down to Munich, east towards Budapest and up along the Baltic countries before final destination at Copenhagen. And the best bit was sharing the joys and pains along the way with PT, a good friend from home. We were joined by PS, our beer expert, and Angie in Munich.

The whole trip started with my desire to experience Oktoberfest in Munich this year. And since my work commitments ended around then, a short beer drinking weekend soon transformed into a long road trip to include the exotic Eastern European countries and visit to beer kingdom in Copenhagen since a friend lives there.

It’s pretty hard to pick out a particular favorite place, food, experience etc since all the places we visited differ and had its own charm and uniqueness. Overall, the autumn colours were stunning and the mixture of cities and natural outdoors made us appreciate both better. Rather than bore everyone with a daily account of my big trip, will outline the highlights from each country ventured.

## Many, many thanks to PT for organising all the pictures on Picasa….job well done!

#1 – Amsterdam, Netherlands

#2 – Munich, Germany

#3 – Vienna, Austria

#4 – Budapest, Hungary

#5 – Slovak Paradise & Tatra Mountains, Slovakia

#6 – Krakow, Poland

#7 – Vilnius, Lithuania

#8 – Tallinn, Estonia

#9 – Copenhagen, Denmark

1 – Amsterdam, Netherlands

Amsterdam was not a new city for me, since i came over for a short trip in April to see the tulips blooming at Keukenhof. It was better this time round since i have more time to explore Rijkmuseum, Anne Frank House and Zaanse Schans.

(Series of windmills found at Zaanse Schans)

The main highlight was the leisurely bike ride on a sunny Sat afternoon along Amstel River towards Ouderkerk, about 9km south of Amsterdam centre. It was a welcome change from the busy city and hordes of tourists. We managed to see more of the “real” country – green flat farmlands, beautiful house and locals enjoying a wonderful warm day on foot, bikes, rowing or boating along the calm river.

Along the way, we chanced upon an art exposition where sculptures were exhibited all around a serene garden space besides a villa. It was here that i set eyes on my first spectacular autumn scenery – trees decked with golden colours leaning towards a small canal.

(Autumn colours inside the gallery gardens during our bike ride towards Ouderkerk)

(Watching a bridge being manually open by an elderly man at Ouderkerk)

(Enjoying our bike ride along the Amstel River, which can be seen in the background)

Accommodation – Shelter Jordan www.shelter.nl (central & quiet hostel – great for those who want some decent sleep)

Picture Gallery

http://picasaweb.google.com/mortdevol/ZaanseSchansNetherlands#

http://picasaweb.google.com/mortdevol/AmsterdamNetherlands#

2 – Munich, Germany

Without a doubt experiencing Oktoberfest in full action was the highlight at Munich. The festival site was a collection of 14 big beer halls, food stalls and plenty of amusement rides & games to keep revellers entertained.

Good idea to visit the beer halls early to secure a table space. PT, PS and myself went after dinner one night and had to struggle through several busy beer halls before finally finding an empty table space at the Ochsenbraterei hall. Older crowd of people being entertained by the resident band playing a mixture of classic rock songs. No complaints, since the other main halls were jam-packed with sweaty drunk people and filled with cigarette smoke.

The three of us were pretty happy by then, especially since we have been enjoying our Bavarian beers since mid afternoon. We had a chilled out session at Chinesischen Turm, large beergarden situated in the middle of the English Garden. It was here that our beer expert, PS enlightened us on the differences in the local beers and how to tell if a beer is fresh with a clean tissue paper! Found the weisse (wheat beer) simply awesome and full of flavour.

(Enjoying Bavarian beers at Chinesischen Turm beergarden, English Gardens)

We followed up with more selection of bottled beers during dinner back at hostel over more sausages and roasted pork. I was then introduced to Baltika, famous Russian beer that uses numbers from 1 to 9 to denote their different flavours. Another great beer label to get your hands on, especially no7.

After so much beer, and another giant 1litre glass inside the Oktoberfest beer hall, it was definitely a challenge to stand upright on the narrow, long benches without falling over. There were also moments where we joined in the fun of dancing and jumping on the benches, as we followed the locals in their dance routines in accordance to different songs.

(Festive mood inside the Oktoberfest beer hall)

(Group pic with PS & PT with our giant beer mugs)

Accommodation – Easy Palace Hostel www.easypalace.de (clean and located so closely to the Oktoberfest site)

Picture Gallery

http://picasaweb.google.com/mortdevol/MunichGermany#