Well, after weeks of preparation and planning, Pete finally dropped me off at the airport and I began my long journey to Bavaria. My seat mate from Atlanta to Paris was a physician's assistant who was on her way to Europe for the first time, and she had obviously been lurking at the airport bar before takeoff. She didn't miss any opportunity to take advantage of the free wine and champagne that Air France serves either, but she was pretty amusing, so the long flight didn't seem too bad. I had just over one hour to make the connecting flight to Munich at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, (yes, I ran) but I printed out a CDG airport map from the internet before I left home, and it helped me find the terminal I needed. The Munich airport is large, modern and fairly easy to navigate, mainly because I printed some greatairport S-bahn instructions from the English Speaker's Guide to Munich web site before I left home. I just consulted my printout, followed the signs, and found the ticket kiosk for the S-bahn, which is part of Munich's public transit system. The internet printout gave very detailed instructions about how to purchase tickets at the self-serve kiosk, so I just walked over to it, watched a couple of people do it first, then inserted my deutsche marks, punched a few buttons and out popped my ticket. I had bothU-bahn and S-bahn maps on my Munich map and I'd planned out my route beforehand, so it was all fairly straightforward. I just followed the signs and before I knew it I was aboard the S-Bahn train and heading for downtown Munich! Almost like I knew what I was doing or something. I had also visited my localAmerican Express travel office before I left and purchased some currency for each of the countries I planned to visit, so I didn't have to find an ATM at the airport or stand in line. A lot of people will tell you that you don't need to do that, but I felt more secure knowing that I had some local currency in hand, especially when I later discovered that my ATM card did not work in Germany at all! Those DMs came in very handy. I arrived at the bustling main train station, theHauptbahnhof, and as I stepped off the train I heard my first German rap music! Lots of people hanging around, lots of loud music, and everyone and their mother seemed to be drinking beer. Welcome to Oktoberfest! It was a ten minute walk from the train station to the Hotel Atrium and the temperature was a warm and wonderful 74 degrees, so it felt good to stroll after all the hours on the plane. The hotel is so centrally located that I never even used the U-bahn or S-bahn once I arrived downtown -- I just walked everywhere. I did notice some cabarets and strip clubs at the end of my street, but I just made sure I was back at the hotel early and not walking alone after dark each evening. After I checked into the hotel and freshened up, I decided to visit theEnglish Garden -- more specifically, the Chinese Tower and beer garden within the English Garden. I had my map in hand and had no problem finding the park, but it was a much longer walk from my hotel than I anticipated! Maybe because I was so busy ogling at everything that I dragged my feet. Oh yes, a note to the uninitiated (like I was): the sidewalks in Munich are part pedestrian walkway, part bike path, so always make sure you're walking in the pedestrian zone. A couple of near misses with speed demons on wheels clued me in to this. I walked for almost two hours and never even saw the Chinese Tower, I think because the the thick groves of trees obscured my landmarks. The English Garden is one of Europe's largest city parks, and it feels that way too, take my word! Good view of the park from the Monopteros, a circular Roman style temple built in 1837. I was feeling some jet lag at this point though (good excuse, huh?), so I felt like it might be a good idea to forget about the Chinese Tower and visit some of the more touristy areas instead. I ambled over to the Marienplatz, which is the lovely heart of the city and really more of what I was hoping to see. The glockenspiel is magnificent and there are all kinds of cute shops and restaurants around. I wasn't hungry at all though, so I didn't stop and eat anywhere. I saw quite a few people dressed in traditional lederhosen and folk costume, which I really enjoyed. The shop windows were full of folk costumes as well, and the cookie-on-a-string-necklace completed the look. It was beginning to get dark, so I walked back to my hotel to crash and plan for the next day. I switched on the T.V. and had my first taste of German television, which seemed to be a combination of dubbed American shows, nonstop Oktoberfest coverage and German rap music videos -- pretty funny. Day 2 I woke at 5:30 a.m. the next morning, partly because of jet lag and partly because that's when all the street vendors and markets below my hotel window began to stir. I went downstairs to the hotel breakfast buffet, which was quite large and very good. The Germans serve lots of meat and cheese with breakfast, and there were plenty of cold cuts available, but I passed on all that and stuck to fruit and yogurt. My first task was to purchase a train ticket to Salzburg for the following day. I did some research on the Fodor's, Rick Steves and Rail Europe sites and discovered that purchasing point to point tickets would be less expensive than a train pass, at least for my itinerary. I walked back to the Hauptbahnhof, and as I stood looking around and trying to decide how to proceed, I noticed a Euraide office! I'd read about it on the web and knew that they offered hotel and train assistance in plain ole American English, so I made a beeline. The woman working there was great, very helpful, and after about fifteen minutes of waiting I had my ticket for Salzburg. With that accomplished, I set out for the Alte Pinakothek art museum. The walk to the museum was great -- chestnut trees lined the streets, and I could hear musicians playing the cello and violin in some of the buildings as I walked. I arrived at theAlte Pinakothek museum at 9:00 a.m., only to discover (with the help of my German phrase book) that they opened at 10:00 a.m. So, I took a short walk over towards the Marienplatz and watched as some festival booths and a bandstand were set up in front of the Frauenkirche, the church with the famous domed towers. I tried the doors to the church, but they were locked and a sign was posted. I wasn't able to translate all the words, but I got the feeling that it was closed due to the festival. I walked back over to the museum just before ten and was pleasantly surprised to see only ONE tour bus of Americans waiting in line there, which was a far cry from all the other European museums I'd visited to date. I guess most people were there to experience Oktoberfest rather than the museums though. If you're an art lover, Oktoberfest is definitely the time to visit the museums in Munich. The Alte Pinakothek is very manageable and very enjoyable. The highlights for me were Albrecht Durer's self portrait, and at the Neue Pinakothek across the street, one of Van Gogh's sunflower paintings. I had lunch in the museum cafe and I noticed that I was the ONLY person drinking water instead of beer. O.K., time to start enjoying Oktoberfest... After a brief rest in at my hotel room, I was off to the Oktoberfest fairgrounds at last! I was absolutely amazed to walk to the end of my street, turn the corner and see the fairgrounds right there! I had not heard any fairground noise until then, but it was right around the corner from my hotel. O.K. my honest first of impressions of Oktoberfest were that it was a cheesy carnival midway with lots of beer tents. Maybe it was because I was a thirty-something female traveling alone, but it seemed more like a giant frat party than anything else. The big attraction seemed to be the opportunity to legally swig beer as a teenager, as there were plenty of VERY young looking American males around. Like I said, just not a big attraction when you're older, or maybe it was just me. It was overwhelmingly crowded and I knew I'd have no chance of entering a beer tent because I had no reservation. I decided to squeeze into one for some photo opps though, and thanks to some very polite young German men who cleared a path for me, (i.e. shoved each other out of the way for me) I was able to get a few good shots. I pushed along through the crowds for a while, taking pictures and absorbing the atmosphere, but it really wasn't my thing. Maybe if I was 18 it would have held more charm. I did, however, really enjoy seeing all the Germans in their traditional folk costumes. Everyone seemed to be dressed up, whether old, young, male or female, with most wearing lederhosen or pretty peasant-style dresses with fitted bodices. My German mother-in-law later told me that the Bavarians in particular really like to wear their folk costumes. O.K., I came, I saw and I experienced Oktoberfest. Now I wanted to escape the crowds and find something a little more subdued. I'd read about theAugustinerkeller Beergarden on the Rick Steves's Graffiti Board, and the traveler who posted the information recommended it highly. I knew it was close to the train station, so I made my way back toward the Hauptbahnhof. I did have a few different Oktoberfest rowdies walk alongside me and make some less than appealing offers, but I learned a few key German phrases from my phrase book, like "Hau ap!" (get lost!) and I was left alone immediately! That and a wave of the hand is really all it ever took to get rid of any weirdo who was bothering me, so it paid to learn a few German "scram" phrases. As I was walking along street behind the Hauptbahnhof I saw a beautiful horse and wagon, draped with flowers, bells and trimmings. I hurried my pace so I could take a couple of photos, and it turned out to be the beer delivery wagon for the Augustinerkeller! I turned around after my photos and there was the beergarden. This place rocked -- I loved it! I didn't even bother to venture inside the building, as I knew it would be smoky, and the garden was too lovely to resist anwyay. Dozens of tables and chairs were placed beneath full grown chestnut trees, and tiny lights were strung everywhere. Red impatiens and other flowers spilled from pots and barrels and beermaids rushed back and forth with foaming beer steins. I sat down at a table and ordered "ein mass weizen" once the barmaid came, but she brought a light colored beer instead -- I guess they had just one kind, as everyone seemed to be drinking the same thing, but it was good nonetheless, and HUGE - ein pitcher. I wrote in my travel journal, took a few photos and laughed with fellow diners as the chestnuts dropped from the trees and konked us all on the heads. Well, one of those he-man sized beers was enough for me! I didn't want to fall down on the streets on the way back to the hotel, although I would have had some company if I'd had. I saw quite a few victims of Oktoberfest snoring comfortably on the sidewalks. Apparently it's all part of the festival and no one minds too much, so what the heck. I just went back to the hotel, washed a few things in the sink and packed my bag for the next day's trip to Salzburg.