Munchen: Oktoberfest 101

Munich during Oktoberfest is the happiest time of year! Contrary to popular belief, Oktoberfest actually begins the last weekend of September and goes into October. As this was my first time going to Oktoberfest, decided to go for the opening ceremonies to get the full Bavarian experience.

If you are considering going to Oktoberfest, it is best to book your hotel at the beginning of the year or you will not be sleeping in Munich. I booked my hotel around March and I only had one option left! It was a bit outside of the city but with the U-bahn, it was very convenient to navigate around the city. Hotel prices will be very expensive so just plan on spending more for a 2 or 3 star hotel then you usually would. I like to use Booking.com for the majority of my hotel bookings as it is easy to narrow down the choices to what fits your hotel desires.

So here is a map of how the beer tents are situated at Oktoberfest. If you don’t have a ticket to one of these beer tents, you will NOT be getting in just by waiting outside. On the first day, we stood outside of the Schottenhamel starting at 9AM to try to make it inside for the official tapping of the keg at noon! No tent or venue will serve beer until this tapping occurs.

While you’re waiting, each beer tent has a horse drawn carriage with the house beer that parades through the festival. We were pretty fortunate with OK weather at that point, but you can not hide from rain at this place. Wear clothing that is resistant to water or else your feet will be wet and cold for the whole day.

After giving up on the beer tents, we found our way into one of the cozy beer gardens before the masses of people came in.

Ladies and Gentlemen are all dressed in the traditional bavarian dress of lederhosen and the dirndl’s that you look quite ridiculous if you are not in the fashion! Beer garden maid’s walk around with up to 10 pints of beer to serve to patrons; it always best to tip these ladies if you ever want to see a beer once it starts getting busy!

Once you have found your spot, it’s best not to move from it. As an American, we like to move from place to place in order to see as much as we can. But in this case, the line to get into a beer garden can take up to one hour! So best to find a spot, take a seat, and enjoy the surroundings! You can still order a proper meal from the beer gardens; and don’t forget to eat as those beers sneak up on you…

The festival grounds are not near the city center where you can find the Hofbrahaus. Any German native will tell you that first timers should go to the Hofbrauhaus for lunch to get a feel for the ambiance; however, you shouldnt spend too much time there. The main events occur at the festival grounds. So we went for lunch: sausages and sauerkraut washed down with Weiss beer….yum!!!

Among the obvious beer drinking that occurs at Oktoberfest, it is mainly a big carnival! Rides, games and shops to cater to all ages can be found at this delightful festival. We took one day to enjoy the carnival side of it and went on the Ferris Wheel ride to see out over the festival and the beautiful city of Munich.

0 Comments Leave a comment

Amsterdam: Canals and Bicycles and Much, Much More!

Amsterdam is a popular destination of friend’s and family who come to see me. As it is a rather short distance from my home city, it is easy and cheap to travel to this city of canals and bicycles. To get to Amsterdam, it is best to check the train schedules as it is a pain to find a parking spot in Amsterdam: an expensive pain at that! Some parking structures will cost around 50,00 euro for the day! Thalys has daily high speed trains to downtown Amsterdam that usually will cost between 40-100 euro, depending on the time you purchase. It is always worth checking first class prices as sometimes they have promotions that make the fare very cheap!

So welcome to Amsterdam! The city is best known for its numerous canals, home of Anne Frank, and of course, the legal use of drugs. But, there is so much more to the city than what meets the eye. Personal preference: Amsterdam is one of the most beautiful and charming cities in Europe. You can easily navigate around on foot, tram or the most popular, bicycle. You will not be able to take a photo without several bicycles in your shot and for the lazy American, is quite a site!

Amsterdam is also home to several important art galleries and museums: The Rembrandt house, Van Gogh and the ever important Rijksmuseum highlighting Dutch painters over the year.

The Rembrandt house lets visitors see the place where Rembrandt lived and worked for his life. Like all of the museums and galleries in Amsterdam, you can purchase your tickets online to skip the queue. I always recommend doing this any opportunity to fully maximize on your time in the city.

The Rijksmuseum has just opened its doors in April 2013 after a 10 year renovation to update the buiding to match the modern era. Personal preference: this is the most influential and important museum to the history of Dutch art anywhere. It is often impossible to have the time for every museum in a city, but if you do have the time, do not miss this!

The Anne Frank House is the most visited attraction in Amsterdam. If you do not pre book your tickets, you will expect to wait in a line for about 30-45 minutes before getting to go inside. On the link above, you can select the time and date of your visit that will allow you to walk to the front of the line.

This is also a must see!! It will not take more than one hour to go through and for those who have read the diary, it puts a very real picture into what the life was during that time for Anne and her family.

Now, Amsterdam has a lot of museums to offer but make sure you spend some time enjoying the social pleasures of the city! And yes, I do mean indulge in a space cake if it pleases you! In Amsterdam, a Coffee Shop is a place to buy and enjoy a variety of marijuana substances. So, if you are looking for actual coffee, you are going to be sadly mistaken!! But, with any recreational item, use with caution and care 🙂 The Heineken brewery is also an option for the beer drinkers out there; but for 20,00 euros per ticket, i would rather spend that money on drinking actual Heineken at a pub across the street!

If you have the time, take a boat ride through the many canals of Amsterdam. There are many boat companies, but I prefer Lovers one hour boat tour that departs and returns at the main train station. They have many different options based on what you would like to do. This gives you a nice overview of the city and some historical information of each part of the city.

Here is your first Dutch lesson: Kaas = Cheese. And you must eat kaas while you are in Amsterdam. You will find many kaas shops in the city but my favorite is De Kaaskelder located near the floating flower market in downtown Amsterdam. They have so many different flavors, styles, cuts of kaas that anyone can find something to his/her taste.

So when to come to Amsterdam? There are many festivals and holidays that welcome many tourists so it is up to you if you are someone who likes crowds or prefers the quieter times. Other than the usual Catholic holidays and Christmas, King’s Day (April 27th) is a day to celebrate the country’s royal leader. It has been Queen’s day for the past 200 years and in 2014 marked the first year of the change to King’s Day with the succession of Queen Beatrice’s son, King Willem Alexander.

0 Comments Leave a comment

Berlin: Leave your suitcase behind

There’s a German saying about Berlin. “Ich hab noch einen Koffer in Berlin” (“I still keep a suitcase in Berlin”)

And I can see why!

Berlin is this amazing city in Europe that might as well be its capital. There is so much culture and life here that makes it incomparable to any other main city. We spent a long weekend here in April 2013 to satisfy my boyfriend’s craving for techno. A lot of the city’s main attractions are free of charge so this is an excellent city trip if you’re on a budget.

But before we hit the techno scene, we hit the attractions. I wanted to focus more on the impact of the Cold War and the Berlin Wall; it was not hard to find. And the best way we decided was via bike riding!! There are several bike rental companies in the city that charge only 10 euros a day. Worth the cost and an excellent way to see the entire city.

Checkpoint Charlie was the entry point of American soldiers in and out of East Berlin. At the end of World War Two, the Allies split Berlin into four sections: the French, American, Russian and British sectors. Naturally, the Russian sector was what we know as East Berlin and they cut it off from the rest of the Western world. Today, you can see the difference between East and West just by looking at the architecture. The Western side has more modern buildings while the Eastern side has the same industrial style block look.

Our hotel was on the East Berlin side at the Holiday Inn at Alexanderplatz. Alexanderplatz is one of the main stations in the city and usually has a lot of street performers in the area. In this picture is the old Television Tower that was used while the wall was still up. You can climb to the top to see a lovely panoramic view of the city.

There are pieces of the Berlin Wall scattered throughout the city for all to see. The East Side Gallery is the only piece of the wall that is still intact and runs for 1.3km in its original position. A must see!

Brandenburg Gate is the most iconic architectural structure in Berlin. It was located on the West Side of the Wall and has served as a victory post for several years. This is a pedestrian zone with lots of coffee shops (including a starbucks) to grab a drink and enjoy the view.

The Holocaust Memorial is quite unusual compared to other memorials in Europe. This is in the heart of the city and has created some discussion on what the symbolism of the memorial really means. One of the things I love about this city is how it en-captures its history right in the middle of everything, for all to see.

The Trabant was the staple car of East Berlin while the wall was up and quite the basic car!! We ran across Trabi Safari and just had to take advantage of the opportunity. My boyfriend was beyond excited for the opportunity to drive this car–but beware! You need to know how to drive a manual or you can not do this tour. Even my experienced man killed it several times 🙂

Our tour was through East Berlin because let’s be honest, both of us were more in love with the East over the West.

Bernauer Strasse Memorial

We hear a lot about the bad people and the victims of war but it’s rare there is a memorial to heroes. When the wall was built on this street, tunnels were built to get people out of the East side and into the West. This touching memorial honors the people who helped save lives and get people to safety.

0 Comments Leave a comment

Reims: The only pain in your life should be champagne

UPDATE 2018

Holy Moly. If I knew what all Reims was about when I went five years ago, I don’t think I would have left. Sure, I did one of the most famous champagne houses, which was lovely, but just a half hour drive away are little villages FULL of champagne makers just waiting to be discovered. And the prices…25 bucks for the top vintage of any year. I was in HEAVEN.

This was in a cute little cutey cute village in Epernay, France. And because we went in January, it was super quiet and we basically felt like we had the entire champagne village to ourselves. These fine residents only speak French so be prepared to have patience if you are only English speaking.

Previous Edition 2013

My boyfriend and I like to travel for our birthdays as a way to spoil each other and to see a bit more of Europe while we do it 🙂

For my 26th birthday, I wanted to go to Reims, the Champagne region in France, and tour a champagne house. From Gent, it was about a 3 hour car ride. Reims has a train station in the city and can be accessed via train.

We arrived to our hotel, Hotel Des Templiers with Emmett (pet friendly hotel!) and quickly checked in. The front desk manager was very nice and helpful in regards to what we can still see in the city so late.

The Notre Dame in the center of Reims is beyond breath taking. I took my time walking around this cathedral and kept saying to myself, “Pictures don’t do it justice.” You must take the opportunity to really let the beauty of this cathedral sink in. Luckily, it was not damaged in the war much so most of the original cathedral is still there.

The next day, we needed to decide which champagne house we would visit. Our concierge recommended Mumm House and we gladly took his selection.

We took Emmett with us on the tour and thankfully, they let us take him inside! Typically dogs are not allowed in the house but we kept him in his bag. I would not recommend trying this because even then, the staff was very reluctant.

The tour explains how champagne is made and why it is specific to that area in France. Once you have seen how it is made, you get to experience the fun part. Tasting!

After toasting my birthday over a delicious glass of champagne, we walked around the city a bit before we headed home. A short trip but one to remember!

0 Comments Leave a comment

London: when you have a little more time

You can spend a lifetime in London and never see all of it. Most first timers do the main sites as listed in my previous blog; but if you have the luxury of returning to London, you may like spending time in these spots!

Harry Potter World

I can hear all of you snickering. Go ahead. Laugh. But it is AH-mazing. So amazing that I went twice. Even if you aren’t a fan of the books or movies, you can not help but get wrapped up in the magical world that is created right before you. They offer every Harry Potter experience fans are craving: taste of butterbeer, photo opportunities in the Weasley car, walking right up to the house on Privet Drive, and walking down the original Diagon Alley.

I’m in ravenclaw!

This place is for all ages!! It takes some time getting out to the location but worth the experience. You have to buy tickets in advance and while the website says to be there 15 minutes before your time, you dont really have to. I have always arrived later and never took the complimentary bus from the arriving train station to the studio. If you find yourself in my shoes, it will only cost you around 8 pounds in cab fare.

Hyde Park

Just take an afternoon and be in Hyde Park. Pack a picnic. People watch. Sit under a tree.

Or, my favorite activity…

Feeding the squirrels! They will come right up to you and take nuts from your hand. Some of them are quite picky though, don’t get offended if they don’t take your treats.

Harrod’s

Spend an afternoon inside the massive store for the full experience. Do a little shopping and have lunch or dinner at one of the many fresh counters offered to customers: fresh fish, sushi, thai, burgers, pasta…anything you want!

SoHo

This part of town is so much fun! Alive with bars, cafe’s and young people, you can certainly find something to your liking.

One of my favorite spots in Soho is Cafe 1001 introduced to me by my “hate everything touristy” boyfriend. He is great to travel with because I can always count on him to take me to new places off the beaten path. We had a great lunch and coffee here while enjoying the splendid, hipster interior.

Shakespeare’s Globe Theater

I am a huge fan of the arts: plays, opera, musicals, all of it. While I haven’t had the opportunity to see an original Shakespearean play in the Globe, I can only dream what the experience will be.

Tate Modern

Set in an old, abandoned building, the Tate Modern doesn’t look very appealing from the outside. But this free museum holds some classic pieces of art that are worth seeing. One piece that comes to mind is “Waterlillies” by Monet. Worth the visit also just to go outside to the terrace for the stunning view of St Paul’s.

Strolling around the South Bank

I love being in this area for a more business casual type evening. The South Bank has a lot of bars to accommodate the young business adult. I was here during the Olympics and had such a blast meeting different people from all over the world!

0 Comments Leave a comment

London: City Trip in 3 days

The original “Mommy Meet” was in London last year. She wanted to see all London has to offer in three full days. Three. She was really outdoing herself this time…

She arrived in Heathrow at 10pm on a Thursday night and I arranged for a private car to pick us up. There are several ways to get into the city: taxi, bus, express train that goes to Paddington station or private car; and I have done them all. The express train is nice if you have the time to change to the tube at Paddington to your final destination. However, knowing my mother and what time she arrived, this would not be an option. I booked a car from London Heathrow Cars and found a rate that was only 10 pounds more than two tickets on the express train! They were waiting for us outside baggage claim and drove us direct to our hotel, Club Quarters St Pauls. If you are trying to penny save on your city trip, the don’t come to London. This is an expensive city any way you slice it. This hotel is in a great location! Within a stone’s throw of St Paul’s and walking distance of Millenium Bridge. Bonus feature: free water throughout the hotel with bottles! You can fill as many water bottles as you like in the lobby. We stocked up for each day to save on buying drinks later.

Day One: St Paul’s Cathedral, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey

St Paul’s Cathedral is located in the middle of Tower of London/ Bridge and Big Ben/Westminster Abbey. We chose to finish our day with Tower of London because I had a special dinner planned for us later that night.

St Paul’s:

For those Princess Diana fans, you may recall this is where she was married to Prince Charles. My mom recalled watching the wedding and how she looked when she walked down that aisle with her long train. The cathedral is gorgeous and pictures do not do it justice. Entry to this lovely cathedral isn’t free; be prepared to pay 16,50 pounds.

Off to the side, we noticed an entry way that allows you to climb to the top! Warning: do not attempt if you have fear of heights or dangerous stair cases: These stairs are located in the middle of an open area allowing you to look straight down to the bottom of the cathedral. But once you make it to the top…

Gorgeous view!

Big Ben and Westminster Abbey:

We took the Queen’s Walk along the River Thames to Big Ben and the Abbey. I have never gone to the top of Big Ben but the exterior of this clock is just breathtaking.

The weather was not on our side but the rain held out and that is all you can ever ask of London!

Westminster Abbey is the most gorgoeus cathedral I have ever seen. The British Throne is in this cathedral and can be seen behind a sheet of glass. You will pay 20 pounds for entry and you can not take pictures inside. I recommend buying a book after your tour to have a reminder of the inside beauty.

For our last stop for the day, we went to my favorite spot in London: Tower of London and Tower Bridge

You can go up inside the bridge and the section in between is an exhibition on bridges around the world. If you’re on a budget, I would skip this.

Off to the left of the Tower Bridge is the Tower of London. Ticket prices are 22 pounds (I would splurge for the tour book, an extra 5 pounds) and that includes a tour by a “real” Beefeater. These guys give you all of the history of the Palace including King Henry IV, Anne Boleyn, and other gruesome tales of life back then. Your ticket also grants access to the Crown Jewels exhibition; I recommend doing this first before walking about the palace grounds because lines tend to be long. You can not take pictures inside but you see all of the crown jewels, including pearls from Elizabeth I jewels.

Later that evening, I took my mom to an Argentinian steak restaurant that is on the bank of the River Thames, Gaucho Tower Bridge. We were seated near the window and watched the sunset over the bridge. The staff was so nice here and really let us take our time eating!

We walked home to an end of a great first day!

Day two: London Eye, Tour of River Thames, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park

Depending on the season, the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace can be seen every day in the morning. Typically starts around 10AM but be sure to get there at least thirty minutes before to get a good seat.

Hyde Park: Princess Diana Fountain

You can easily find this tranquil dedication to Lady Di via markers on the ground in Hyde Park.

London Eye and tour of River Thames

My mother is brave. She hates heights but still went on the London Eye with me! You have different options and prices for tickets to go up; I chose a flexible ticket to choose the time we got on. We decided to go in the afternoon so we could see the city in the light.

After the ride on the London Eye, we went to the pier to take our river boat tour. You can get a discount on the river cruise when you buy a ticket to the London Eye.

London Bridge…not all it’s cracked up to be!

House of Parliament

Shakespeare’s Globe Theater

Millennium Bridge and St Paul’s

Day three: Kensington Palace, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square

On our last full day in London, we had a “leisure” day and took our time on our last three stops.

Trafalgar Square

In this square is the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery. We just wanted to see the new portrait of Kate Middleton and the gallery is free to enter.

Piccadilly Circus is within walking distance from Trafalgar Square and is nothing more than a smaller Times Square. But the shopping is great on this strip and I highly recommend going into M&M World.

Kensington Palace:

Last, but certainly not least, we trekked across town to Kensington Palace. We hoped to get a glimpse of Will and Kate but they were not in the palace at that time. Navigating around the city via the tube is very easy and very cheap. There isn’t a reason to take a taxi as long as you map out where you need to go. Most hotels provide tube maps for you.

0 Comments Leave a comment

Budapest: Exploring the “Buda” and “Pest”

Budapest, a city split between the Danube River, is such a delightful surprise. I love this city because while it has an underground system, you can walk the entire thing and see what you want. Most Americans who travel to Europe want to see Prague as their Eastern European experience. While Prague is brilliant in its own way, in my opinion, does not hold a candle to Budapest. Budapest is actually two cities: Buda and Pest. Most of your time will be spent on the “Pest” side because it contains attractions like:

Heroes Square

Parliament

Opera House

View from St Stephen’s Cathedral

I usually book my hotel on the Pest side at the Radisson Blu due to the low prices and excellent location. It is within walking distance of House of Terror, the museum dedicated to the relationship between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union as well as the communist reign.

One of my favorite pieces of history to view is how each country remembers World War Two and the impact it had on its city. On the banks of the river, there is this stunning memorial to sixty Jewish people who lost their lives on that very spot.

To cross over to the “Buda” side, you should take the iconic Chain Bridge (one of eight in the city)

that takes you to the easiest, quickest way to the top of the hill: a trolley!

From the top of the hill, you can see lovely views of the Pest side:

As you go deeper into the Buda side, you’ll find Matthias Church and a lovely little terrace to enjoy a snack in the city.

I love local meat cuisine!

My favorite view from the Pest side is up on Castle Hill. You can see a lovely view of Parliament from the other side and walk along some pretty amazing architecture!

I know I said I hate typical tourist attractions BUT I did make an exception while touring Budapest: River Ride! This is a bus tour that takes you around the Pest side of town to see the sites before turning into a floating bus that takes you on the Danube. You can buy tickets online or on the Pest side in Roosevelt Square. Needless to say, we had a blast…

0 Comments Leave a comment

Portugal: Lisbon

Lisbon, or Lisboa in Portuguese, is everything you could possibly want in a city trip. On the second leg of our Portugal trip, we drove back to Lisbon from The Algarve for three days in the “San Francisco” of Europe…and it really is!

My sister splurged and booked The Ritz! After doing some research, we learned that they serve a world class brunch on Sundays…so we reserved a spot outside on their amazing terrace. It is pricey but you will never forget this dining experience!

From the top of The Ritz

While in Albufeira, we kept hearing about this iconic place to get the typical Lisbon sweet, Belem, and knew we had to venture out to see what the fuss was about. To save time, we took a cab (our cab fare was maybe 10 euros) to the cafe instead of public transportation. After waiting in line for several minutes and ordering in the style of the soup kitchen episode of Seinfeld, we settled down for a tasty, sweet treat! Do not miss this opportunity to sample a bit of Portuguese history.

Luckily, my sister shares my dislike for formal tour groups so we decided to see the city via the number 12 line trolley! You can get on the trolley at Praca de Figuiera and enjoy the main sites of the city. There is one that comes every 20 minutes so you can hop off any stop when you find a square that you like!

Upon arriving in Lisboa, we were told it is an exciting week for the city. Naturally, our intrigue ran high wondering what we stumbled upon! And then we heard…

Sardine week. The entire city was alive with parades, decorations and stages all in celebration of Saint Anthony and the fish which this city is so famously known.

This trolley takes you up to where the castle and yet another spectacular view of the city can be found. Several trolley lines, most famous is line 28, can take you up these steep hills. However, we decided to walk it!

Walking to Sao Jorge Castle

Castle Hill

Later that evening, we drank in a gorgeous sunset from the top of Bairro Alto Hotel. Be prepared to get there before the sun begins to set or you will not be able to sit down. Luckily, we had a lovely gentleman from England invite us to join him so we would not miss one of God’s masterpieces.

All in all, three days is not enough for this city!! I would recommend at least a week to see and do everything this city has to offer.

0 Comments Leave a comment

Flemish Ardennes

One of the great things about living abroad is really exploring the country you live in. Luckily, I have a reason to go hiking because my sweet puppy loves to be outside.

Meet Emmett:

He is my 5 year old Papillon who made the trek across the ocean with me. You’ll see him pop in and out of posts as he tends to go where I go…we are sort of inseparable.

My boyfriend and I took him to Kluisbos for a 13km hike through the Flemish Ardennes. The flemish region is usually pretty flat, but this area is filled with gorgeous hills and trees for any nature lover to appreciate.

0 Comments Leave a comment

Portugal: The Algarve

This country has everything to offer: beaches, mountains, vineyards, enchanting city life and is the cheapest country in Europe to visit. When my sister and I were planning her yearly trip over, we couldn’t wait to explore this amazing place! We finally decided to go to the algarve in the south and Lisbon. We flew into Lisbon and rented a car from Holiday Autos to drive down to southern part of the country. This is a great budget rental company! For only $100, we had a good car for three days and unlimited miles. Driving time: 2 hours, 30 minutes.

The Algarve consists of several cities, all which are fabulous. We chose to stay in Albufeira for its lively city life and private beaches; but all of the cities are within a thirty minute drive of each other. We stayed at the Sao Rafael Atlantic Hotel mainly for its access to a private beach for guests.

My sister found this amazing hike that stretched over 13 kilometers called Seven Hanging Valleys. We spent our morning hiking over the cliffs and rewarding ourselves with Portuguese beer along the way. You can start the tour at any location; we chose the beginning to enjoy the full 11.5km hike! You don’t need hiking boots, just a pair of good walking shoes.

Later that evening, we took ourselves out on the town. The algarve is usually occupied by tourists from the UK so everyone speaks English.

One thing portugal isn’t short of is gorgeous sunsets. We enjoyed most evenings sitting on our private beach, drinking champagne and watching the sun set. Albufeira is a magical place to visit. Perfect for family, romantic or friends traveling together.

0 Comments Leave a comment

	Sally on Five Things I Learned When I M…
	SallyWilliams on South Africa: I Bless the…
	SallyWilliams on Paris… My White Wha…
	SallyWilliams on Crete: Week one in 200€!
	euroexpat160 on Travel Tips for her

steerintotheskid

Uncategorized

Munchen: Oktoberfest 101

Amsterdam: Canals and Bicycles and Much, Much More!

Berlin: Leave your suitcase behind

Reims: The only pain in your life should be champagne

London: when you have a little more time

London: City Trip in 3 days

Budapest: Exploring the “Buda” and “Pest”

Portugal: Lisbon

Flemish Ardennes

Portugal: The Algarve