Day 14 (Sat) - Munich, Prague [Germany, Czech Republic]

Today can be considered as a testament to how travel doesn't always work out, especially when you don't plan in advance for anything.

I sadly left Salzburg that morning, but excited because I was enroute to one of the biggest parties on the planet - Oktoberfest in Munich. I took my time getting to the train station in Salzburg, and ended up having to catch an early afternoon train to Munich, which meant that I wouldn't get there until 4ish.

The train station in Munich was an absolute madhouse. There were more people there than I had seen at any station yet. Many of them were dressed in the traditional dirndl & lederhosen, leaving no doubt where they were headed. I had to fight to find an open locker (normally there is always one free), and when I did, it was impossibly small, and I have no idea how I stuffed my whole pack in there. I also left my camera in the pack, so there aren't any pictures of my trip :(

I followed the great throng of revelers headed towards the bier tents, and as we walked along, those dark clouds overhead unleashed their fury. In the rain, we all hurried to the grounds, and unfortunately, everyone there was trying to get in to one of the big tents.

Apparently, today was the last saturday of the festival, the day when all the locals go. I also learned, a little too late, that you should reserve space in the tents, and once they fill up, they only let people in on a one-for-one basis. After standing in line for an hour or so and getting drenched, I gave up, promised to return in the near future, and headed back to the train station, missing out on Oktoberfest.

The train to Prague was quite boring, except when I got slightly harrassed by the fuzz when they checked my passport going into the Czech republic. The train was actually empty, which was a first. Then we pulled into one of many stops, and a great cheer arose from outside. A huge crowd was waiting for the train, and boarded with singing, cheering, and in nearly every hand, a bier.

Turns out that we just pulled into Pilsner, Czech, home of Pilsner Urquell,apparently, the home of the original pilsner style of brewries. They were having their annual celebration, a huge shindig that people came from all over Europe for.

So, in the course of a few hours, I missed two of the biggest parties in Europe.

I eventually made it to Prague and followed a couple of Australian kids to their hostel (since I didn't have a place to sleep). I got in late and woke up my four Brazilian roommates, apologized profusely, and crawled into bed.