12th OCTOBER-MUNCHEN...MUN-SHEN, MUNICH!

Dmiti & Lederhosen at the OCTOBERFEST.

Although the flight from London was not long, yet we lost one hour of time somewhere along the way. Munchen flughafen or Munich airport, for you and me, appeared quite small, more like a railway terminus. All the instructions were in German and we were quite illiterate looking at the boards and sign posts. We needed to buy tickets to reach our Hotel. A friend had kindly given us the train details and directions to reach our hotel from the station without spending a fortune on a taxi! We did manage to buy the tickets and boarded the train in the correct direction. We even managed to change the train at the correct changing station by spotting alphabets rather than reading the name of the station. The names were so long and strange to us!

As we reached our station Theresienweise, we saw a lot of people going about on the platform dressed in beautiful, colorful costumes which I had normally seen on German dolls. The girls were wearing full flared skirts,  lace blouses with puffed sleeves, an apron and a large bow tied on the waist.These I was told are called Dmiti. The men were in leather trousers which went only a little below their knees and had  buttons on the side of the legs. These trousers are called lederhosen. They also wore  patterned shirts with embroidery.It all looked very festive and fancy.

At the funfair-Octoberfest.

We got off at our station and saw hordes of people in similar costumes going about happily chattering and laughing away. We had landed right in the middle of the "Octoberfest"! I had heard about this Fest but was very pleasantly surprised to know that I could now actually partake in it. Our hotel was located right next door to the fest grounds. After checking into our Hotel, we went to the Fest. It was open to all, entrance was free. There was no checking, no queues and no jostling too. The crowd was stupendous, there was a lot of joy all around. The giant wheels and all the other fun fair rides were there and every place was full. October fest is a 16 day festival which started in 1810.  Prince Ludwig of Bavaria was married to Princess Therese on 12th October 1810. (Incidentally, on this very date about 160 years later, yours truly also got married to TNN who these days goes around trying to look like Prem Chopra in his most villainious days!)To celebrate the event, the people of Munich were invited to take part in the Royal festivities. Thereafter this festival was held every year and now it is a traditional festival which completed 200 years, two years ago.

Worn by men around their necks traditionally.

This is the Worlds largest fair with more than 6 million people attending the event every year. As the weather is very good in the end of September the festival starts then and ends usually in the first weekend of October. The main activity is beer drinking. Only beer made in and around Munich can be served here and it can contain upto 6% alcohol. Special beer is made for consumption during the Octoberfest.

A Beer Hall at Octoberfest.

Soon we spotted the Beer halls which  were gigantic. I was told some of these halls had the capacity to take in 10,000 people at one time. This was one place where we saw Bouncers at the door. They checked the bag and then allowed one to enter. Beer could be bought only if you had a table, and all the tables were full. There was a live Band playing and all the people were dancing, swaying and enjoying the Beer, the music, the joy and spirit of the evening. This fest actually celebrates Beer. 

TNN with Beer

There were loads of stalls selling Pretzels, Snitzel, sausages,pop corn, sweetened nuts and lots of fish and chips too. I was surprised to see the crowds as it was a Monday and yet thousands of people were in the Fest.

I had always been  associating Munich with the 1972 Olympic massacre and Dachau, the Nazi Concentration camp located nearby. Now I got an opportunity to see the beauty of the place.  Maximillian, Ludwig, Bavaria were names I had heard. Bavaria the word has always fascinated me because in Hindi we have a similar sounding word which means crazy...as in, I became  bawaria ("crazy") after falling  in love with him/her.
 Munich is located on the river Isar and is north of the Bavarian Alps. The motto of the city is, Munchen mag Dish or"Munich likes you".

Poplar trees lined road.

 The Karlplatz and Marianplatz are at the City center and there are a number of beautiful buildings all around the place. The Maximillian Strass is beautifully lined with huge Poplar trees. The Church, and other buildings in this area are grand. Munich was devastated during the bombings of the Second World war. It has rebuilt itself. There were three old city gates in Munich, of which one gate has been repaired about halfway and the top remains as it is, to remind people of the devastation suffered. 

The top of the gate is left unfinished.

Hitler had come to Munich from Austria in 1913 and had started his Nazi movement here. No one likes to remember him or talk about him. Yet, Dachau Concentration Camp is an eternal reminder of this tragedy and is located very close to Munich. 

Eternal flame

There is an eternal flame that burns in memory of all the people who lost their lives during the holocaust. It is enclosed in a black metal cube with a criss cross pattern on it. 

Munich has been home to many notable persons. The present Pope was the Archbishop of Munich. Some persons who were born here were Richard Strauss(Musician), H. Himmler,  and Eva Braun. There were many famous persons who lived here. Amongst them were Lenin, Hitler, Albert Einstein, Freddie Mercury, Mohd. Iqbal of Saare jahan se acchha fame, Arnold Shwarzenneger and Richard Wagner.

The city encourages walking and cycling. The cycle tracks are marked out and pedestrians and cyclists have priority zones.

Munich is industrally very advanced. The head quarters of BMW ( Bawarian Motor Works), Siemens AG, Man AG (Trucks), Allianz (Insurance), Osram the lighting giants, are all here.

It has lovely public parks and gardens. The Englischer Garten is a huge public park designed like an English garden. It is one of the worlds largest urban park. Interestingly it has a nudist area, as well as a jogger's track and a bridle path.

The Palace grounds at Linderhof.

A little away from Munich, Ludwig II, Ruler of Bavaria,built a beautiful palace based on the  Palace of  Versaiiles of Louise IVX. Ludwig II was a great follower of The Sun King as Louise the IVX was called. This palace is smaller, but has a lot of gold adorning its walls.   Taking pictures was not allowed inside, so there are no pictures on my blog. Ludwig II was a bachelor and Wagner the composer was his friend. Ludwig ate alone and his dining table would be lowered to the kitchen from the first floor, food would be laid on it and then the table was pulled up. Ludwig II slept through the day and kept awake by night. He therefore had huge and beautiful chandeliers. In one room filled with mirrors the effect of the candle light became manifold as it kept reflecting ad infinitum. The most expensive chandelier in the palace was one made of Ivory.

Ludwig II, palace garden at Linderhof.

 The garden and grotto of the palace were beautiful. The public at that time were quite angry with this display of wealth. Ludwig II died by drowning in the pool by the palace, and his death remained a mystery.

Nevertheless, as I left Munich I was happy to have visited the place as  now I carried with me memories of a city where people  love life, live well, share bon homie, and enjoy as if there is no tomorrow!