It was about 6pm on Monday by the time we figured all of this out. Jack suggested we call Caroline and meet her at the HofBrau Haus for dinner! I was so excited! Hofbrau Haus is considered by Germans as a "tourist spot" because the environment mimics that of the Oktoberfest bier tents, which is PERFECt because we weren't able to get into one on opening day. Spending Monday night - our last night - at Hofbrau Haus, roaming the streets of Munich with Caroline couldn't have been more perfect! Hofbrau Haus is humongous and it was packed to the brim, but we luckily snagged half a bench right at the front entrance! I had called Caroline earlier from a payphone at the train station. She had just been leaving her job so the timing was perfect. We agreed to meet at the HB Haus right away, so Jack and I jumped on a couple of Ubahn lines. We had to ask a few strangers where it was - the streets are so narrow and winding, it seems like it would be waiting for us around every corner. I kept saying "I can smell it!"
Due to the amazing seats we had, Caroline spotted us before she was even through the door. She had sounded so excited and surprised when we had called her earlier! I was very delighted to be seeing her again so soon! The Hofbrau Haus was a MAD HOUSE of drinking, laughing, yelling, dancing...People would jump up on tables to dance to the oopma band that exhuberantly played. At random, tables would burst into song (in German of course) and usually Caroline would know the words and we would all sway to and fro with our drinks high in the air in front of us, prosting and cheering! Other times the room would rumble with the sound of people slapping the wooden tables and stomping their feet, like is sometimes done on the bleachers of a sports event, the din increasing with intensity until you're unable to hear your own shouting, all this taking place within a matter of seconds!
We ordered a Radler for Caroline before she arrive - the minimum amount is enormous: 32 oz. Jack tried a few different types of German beer. We watched the oopma band play and we also got to see the dancers - a guy and girl in German outfits dancing together and a group of guys playing wooden spoons on their legs, knees, and wrists. There was a group of girls twirling around too but I couldn't see them very well from where I stood. Caroline showed me the outdoor area, which was very pretty and decorated with christmas lights. We all talked about various things including Caroline's day with Anton, the possibility of her British friend Becky coming in for the weekend, and Jack's & my itinerary for the rest of the week. I ordered fried Bratwerst and sauerkraut for Jack. I had Spaetzel, which is a dish of egg noodles SMOTHERED in cheese (gouda?) and mixed with sweet, carmelized, fried onions. The meal was fantastic and totally German. The salad I ate with it had pickled cucumbers that weren't quite pickles, yet weren't cucumbers...it was very delicious!
From there we wandered the brightly lit Munich Streets. The night air was perfect. Caroline bought us ice-cream -- I had 3 scoops: Banana, Cookies n' Cream, & Dark Chocolate. CnC will always be my favorite, but I was surprised how fantastic the dark choclate was! Omg it was good! SER goot!I'm already looking forward to trying it again! On our ice-cream eating stroll, we luckily ran into this phenomenal violinst Caroline had told me all about. He is a street playing musician and she had shown me a video of his playing the other day. He is extremely skilled!! Caroline even teared up while showing me the video, it was that pretty. That night he was playing with a backup group -- another violinist, cellist, and a percussionist who also played the same "box" we saw the other night. They played a very beautiful piece that showed off his technical skills and then they played a rendition of Paccabell's canon "in D Major" that was totally hiipped up. It was very upbeat with awesome percussion and a very jazzy bass part. I couldn't help from bouncing up & down, nodding my head profusely. I was compelled to start beatboxing! We threw them what shrapnel in our pockets we could afford and continued on.
We eventually found ourselves in some main sqaure, chilling by this big fountain. We took pictures of the beautiful scene that surrounded us and of each other. The water sprayed so tall it blurred the brightly colored lights of the building signs, fading the light to a soft glow. It was very relaxing and beautiful. I sat on Jack's lap. I can remember Caroline's smile. Care took us to the train station and we hugged many times before boarding. She thanked us for coming and told us to be safe.
Munich Hauptbahnhof
The overnight trains, we discovered, down have 1st class cars but luckily we had a small room of six seats to ourselves for most of the night. Surprisingly I slept pretty well, waking up off and on, considering the uncomfortable circumstances. Our train left a short time after midnight. Jack woke me at 6am when we arrived in Budapest, the destination he suggested we scope out first. I had spent some time in the middle of the night reading up on Hungary and Budapest, its history and guide of things to do. Caroline had lent us a "Let's Go Europe" book that Jack found in her room; it had been left there by the last tenant. It has proved to be very helfpful so far. I suggested we stay in Budapest during the day and head to Vienne in the evening where we could stay in a hostel for the night. We walked around Budapest, heading towards the House of Terror. People gawked when we mentioned we were walking the 3-5 kilometers it took to get there. It was a bit tiresome with the backpacks, but totally worth it.
Posts
