Germany

Tuesday, 1st October 2019 I had left Munich on the 13:24 regional train to Passau. Arriving 30 minutes late at 16:10 I found my hotel and checked in. As is usual for me, I wasted no time before I was out and about. My aim was to walk down to the banks of the Danube and have a look to see where my group’s cruise ship was moored. Having looked in the guide book I spotted that the key place to visit was St Stephen’s Cathedral. With 17,774 pipes and 233 registers, the organ at St. Stephen’s was long held to be the largest church pipe organ in the world and is today second in size only to an organ in Los Angeles which was expanded in 1994. By the cathedral is a large square (Domplatz) with the Lamberg-Palais. Up on the hill over looking Passau is Veste Oberhaus, a fortress that was founded in 1219 which was the stronghold of the Bishop of Passau. I couldn’t find the river cruise. It was at this point that I received a text to say that because the water levels in the Danube were so low is had moored south of Passau and I would need to get a taxi there in the morning. Wednesday, 2nd October 2019 Up early and a taxi up river to the cruise boat. The luggage was already outside and the coaches there waiting when I arrived. Having loaded the group onto our coach we transferred to […]

Monday, 30th September 2019 I was supposed to fly out to Munich on Tuesday, 1st October and then catch a train down to Passau to collect my group of passengers, but I had another idea. During the last week of September and the first week of October there is a huge beer festival in Munich called the Oktoberfest. I have never had the opportunity to visit this renowned event – teachers aren’t allowed to drop out of school mid-term to go abroad on a jolly [although I did do precisely that when the Rugby World Cup was on in France]. I have always wanted to go and see what the Oktoberfest is like. I asked my manager if it would be possible for them to fly me out to Munich a day early and I would source my own hotel. Great Railway Journeys had no issues with that, so I booked a hotel (expensive during Oktoberfest, but free for me as I was paying with accumulated stay points) and off I went. I arrived at my hotel and dropped off my bag and immediately headed off to the festival. Oktoberfest is about 15 minutes walk from the main Munich railway station and located on a massive asphalt park. It is free to enter and is absolutely HUGE. Each brewery has its own tent with outside seating areas. Interspersed between these are eating stands and a massive fun fair. I was there at 18:00 on a Monday evening. Mondays are the […]