Good Bier, Good People, Good Times

We absolutely love exploring new countries and like all rich things, moderation is key. Our bodies aren’t 22 years old anymore (cue in Taylor Swift), and we need more rest and days for errands. That led us to change our plans and stay in Vienna for a week which was not our original plan. Previously we planned on visiting Amsterdam and Copenhagen before Munich. We have grown tired of baggage fees (since we have months worth of clothes and such on us) and airports in general. After running the numbers in comparison to Vienna, we estimated that we would save at least $1,000 since we could take a bus from Zagreb and train to Munich. AND most excitingly, more nights in the same apartment and city. We very much want to visit these places together and plan on doing so in the future. Until then, we changed our plans fairly quickly and set sail (or set FlixBus?) to Vienna. On our way to Vienna, we received great news from my sister - she welcomed her newest baby to the world, Bennet Arlo. He is absolutely adorable, and we cannot wait to meet him! He discovered immediately coming home how loved he is with three older siblings who love him to pieces. Jeff and I look forward to the stories of their mischief and pranks since we imagine it will be endless!

We gradually became acquainted with Vienna and felt that one week was not enough time. To be fair, we now believe one week anywhere isn’t enough time and are well aware how this journey is influencing our perception of time and annual vacation leave :) We really enjoyed the walking tour with Prime Tours and our guide Christina; she was seamless with the information and stories she told, and we believe that she should narrate audio books with her voice. Vienna has such a rich history, and our guide did not shy away from controversial topics which we appreciated. Out of all of the fascinating things we learned about, I am writing to you about croissants because I had no idea that they originated from Vienna! Specifically the kipferl, its mother who is a sweet crescent bread roll, and the kipferl was introduced to Paris by a Viennese baker named August Zang in 1838 - the first verified evidence. Legend has it that Marie Antoinette was homesick for the Viennese treat and introduced it to Paris. The legend also credits the crescent shape to mimic the crescent moon of the Ottoman flag, celebrating the country's victory against the Ottoman Empire during the Battle of Vienna in 1683 (and giving a whole new meaning to eat your enemies for breakfast). The kipferl however apparently existed centuries before the battle since a poem mentions it as a Christmas treat that was given to Duke Leopold. At the end of the day, we appreciate the Viennese for making one of our favorite pastries and the Parisians for making it fluffy :)

St. Stephen's Cathedral - South Tower, Vienna

Another interesting and obviously more important thing we learned about Vienna is their social housing. It’s impressive to me how there seems to be little to no stigma surrounding social housing, it’s accessible and widely available, and fairly distributed among the city. Over half of the city’s population live in subsidized housing and many are designed with intention and creativity. One of my favorite neighborhoods which is a social housing complex, the Hundertwasser Village, is designed to bring nature and city residents closer together and to break free from straight lines which the designer, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, considered to be “godless and immoral.” The village is brilliantly colorful, and you can see the designers love for natural shapes given the curved walls and ceilings. Before coming here, I first went to the Kunstcafe, a coffee shop nearby which I highly recommend! It’s a cozy cafe with delicious cakes and while I was there, a documentary was playing about the designer, Friedensreich Hundertwasser. I ordered the sacher-torte - we heard from multiple locals that you can order tasty sacher-torte in most cafes or bakeries. The famous Café Sacher Wien makes them with the original recipe which does not necessarily mean that it’s better according to our sources :)

Our days in Vienna, aside from catching up on errands, consisted of many walks and cafe visits - including a vegan ice cream shop, the first one we’ve seen in months, so we went twice! Before leaving, we went to Prater Park (huge city park WITH an amusement park) and St. Stephen's Cathedral. The cathedral is free to walk inside and admire its gothic beauty. We walked up the South Tower for about 5 euros, and it was really cool to see the city and nearby woods 343 steps high (worth the trek). Given the rainy days and activities we had other days (including “lazy days” at coffee shops), we didn’t hike in the Vienna woods but definitely recommend it if you’re visiting. Some of the trails pass by wineries which would be a fun way to hike!

Hundertwasser Village, Vienna

Oktoberfest, Munich

Our next stop after Vienna was Munich, and we were full of excitement leading up to this since it meant that we were going to see our friends Rosa and Jon from Houston. It was the first time since July in Colorado that we have spent time with friends, and the first time we’ve seen them since June. At times talking with them, we forgot that we were in Europe until we heard someone speaking in German. We had plans to go to Oktoberfest together and not a lot of people commit to flying across the world for that AND bring you Bavarian and winter clothes for the festival and remaining trip! Needless to say, we were happy to spend time with them and are eternally grateful for them bringing us our winter jackets :) 

I feel confident to say that we definitely did Oktoberfest. We were unable to ride the rides however since it was either raining or not good timing after having bier and food. You can’t really “tent hop” to see what they’re like since there are essentially no seats by the early afternoon. We did score seats however and by day 2, we got to the Ochsenbraterei tent bright and early and made an English couple very happy when we left that evening (the aisles were packed with people by then). As a tip to anyone who likes drinking as much water as I do, be prepared since drinking water feels very scarce here! I usually had to pay for water, which I understand, but given that nearly all drink orders are beer, it took time to get the cup of water. I had a water bottle with me but was told that I couldn’t have it out. Eventually I was told to fill it up from the sink in the bathroom and the bathroom attendants (I believe were telling me) that I couldn’t do that (even though an employee at the same time was filling up their bottle). Moral of the story: stay hydrated by all means necessary and play dumb when you need to ;) During our last evening there, Rosa and I went to Oide Wiesn (Old Oktoberfest) which was really cool and supposed to be like walking down memory lane. There are older rides, and the tent felt like we were going back in time (at least how we imagine Oktoberfest was like years before). Beer is served in the ceramic steins (called Keferloher) and the band, dance floor, and decorations are all more traditional. We also noticed more traditional clothing and enjoyed the ambience. Plus, it is much easier to find seats compared to other tents which is a huge advantage during the evenings!

When you’re tired of Bavarian food, we really liked the pho from this Vietnamese restaurant, Binh Minh, and had amazing Thai food at Rüen Thai (Thailändisches) - hands down, the best mango sticky rice I’ve ever had!

After Oktoberfest, we did a day tour to the Linderhof Palace and Neuschwanstein Castle and really appreciated Rosa planning it all! It was years ago when I went to Neuschwanstein Castle, and I’m glad that I went because it is extraordinary; King Ludwig II had very good (and expensive) taste. I liked how each part of the castle is extravagant in different ways - at one point you walk through a “cave” and see this beautiful garden themed balcony that looks like a fairy’s tea party. The Linderhof Palace is more cohesive (at least in my non-designer opinion) and is very French; King Ludwig admired the Palace of Versailles and King Louis XVI. The natural beauty outside of the Palace was unreal and one of my favorite parts, especially with the changing autumn leaves and sunshine that peaked through the fog. We only had a couple of sunny days, and if I had to pick, I’m glad that our tour was during a sunny(-ish) day and accepted the rainy Oktoberfest days.

During our last full day, we did a walking tour with Luis followed by beers at Hofbräuhaus with new friends :) We've been to many cathedrals however, Theatinerkirche St. Kajetan is one of the most beautiful and peaceful ones that we have been to. We're not sure if we visited during a slow day, but we were surprised how few people were inside which made it more special. It was founded by Ferdinand Maria for his long-awaited male heir. I personally think it would have been easier and cheaper to change the script and let one of his many daughters lead in that role. Nonetheless, it is a beautiful cathedral, so I’m glad he and Princess Henriette Adelaide founded it.

We walked by notable sites from the Third Reich and World War II and could sense that significance and eeriness. What resonated with me is when the tour guide said something along the lines of “it starts with fear, demonizing other people, and using policy to hurt other people.”  One of the sites that we appreciated is the Viscardigasse. This street in Munich has a golden path to remember the time when this alley was used as a passive resistance. People who opposed the Nazi party would walk this way to avoid the Nazi salute which was required when passing one of the monuments.

Linderhof Palace, Ettal

One of my favorite parts of Munich is the English Garden. This park feels like an urban oasis and for a moment you forget that you're in a bustling city. It's bigger than Central Park in NYC and is one of the world's largest inner-city parks. There is a nudist section of the park where I assume you go during the summer to avoid tan lines and enjoy the garden ☀️ 😉 Nearby is a beer garden called the Chinesischer Turm which has 7,000 seats (sounds like a stadium to me). You can also check out the river surfers at the English Garden. The artificial river, Eisbach, that runs through the park has a larger wave (Eisbach Wave) permitted for only experienced surfers and a smaller wave (E2 Wave) for beginners. Surfing started here in the 1970’s and became legal to do so in 2010. When politicians proposed to deconstruct the semi-natural river wave prior to its legalization, the surf community and supporters demonstrated against the movement and spoiler alert, they prevailed! It is really cool to watch the surfers and worth checking out if you’re in Munich.

Our visit in Munich was short but packed with love from seeing friends, festivities, and lots of walking. We would definitely visit again and hope to spend more time in Germany overall down the road. If you have visited Germany, we would love to hear about your favorite city!

Much love,

Sarah and Jeff