Southern Germany -Munich

This is what I was waiting for... Munich! The typical view on what Germany looks like, right? Lederhosen, beer steins, bar maids, and a cute Bavarian Village! Munich is the home of Oktoberfest which happened Sept 18th-21st. Thankfully we left Sept 11th before we got caught up in the ridiculousness of it all. AND we were informed that IT IS ridiculous. I guess they have to set up a temporary Australian Consulate because all the Australians always get stupid drunk and lose their passport. I can't even describe how much I love Germany! Munich was amazing and so beautiful. So, many flower boxes, lots of young families, amazing food, beautiful flats and houses. BUT the draw back is it's expensive to live there. We were actually fortunate to find housing for free. So, here is the cool story. As many of you know that Geoff & I host a annual Death Valley Couchsurfing Camping Trip and our very first year we had a German David Goldwich who was funny and ended up getting nicknamed "Macaroni Art" another story for another time. Well he lives in Berlin about an 8 hour train ride from Munich. He had a Best Friend he went to High School with in the Bavarian Forest and he and his wife now live in Munich. Granted I hadn't seen David in like 4 years and his best friend Hans and his wife Daniella have opened up their home to us without hesitation. AAAAMMMAAAAzing! Who does that? Like really?! Who on earth opens up their house to strangers just left up on faith on a friend of a friend he had meet four years prior?! AND that folks is the reason why we belong the couchsurfing community. Such a great group of people! We of course made jambalaya for them and brought them some Las Vegas magnets. We hope to meet them again they were a great couple that we stayed up late into the weee hours just talking and drinking some great wine, cheese and grapes. On our way up to Neuschwanstein Castle (the Cinderella one) we had meet a black guy from Atlanta who was doing a 3-month trip all over Europe and had spent about 3-4 Days in Germany so far and he said "Oh yeah, another cute Bavarian Village" like he was tired of seeing them. I was like "OMG another cute Bavarian Village" like I wanted to stop and walk around each one. I didn't care, I wanted more... It was like a drug. More cute villages, more, more, more. I love them. The charm, the fairytale, the smell, the the colors, the people. This area is known for their Coo coo clocks and of course I had to have one! I didn't care that I still had two more weeks living out of this backpack. I would carry it all the way home dammit! Thankfully, I didn't get a huge one totally worth the effort. Now, east vs. west... Berlin! I will add an entry when I get home. I can't input it on my phone.