BAVARIA, GERMANY: ROAD-TRIP

Dates: 15.09.2018 – 29.09.2018

RIGA – KRAKOW

15.09.2018: Basically just a few hours after carrying the last suitcases and belongings into our new apartment in Dzeguze – we moved this summer and basically spent the whole season renovating – we’re already heading off again. There are six of us: me, Madara, Jānis with his girlfriend Anna, and my old athletics teammate Mārtiņš with his girlfriend Anete. Around 3,000 km ahead over two weeks. We leave at 04:00. Pick up Baltušs and Anna, then Mārtiņš and Anete, and we’re ready! I get the first driving shift. We switch every four hours. This time Jānis and I are the two drivers.
Today’s plan is to reach Krakow, where our first accommodation is right on the bank of the Vistula River opposite the Old Town.

KRAKOW, POLAND

15.09.2018: After three driving shifts, we arrive in Krakow around 19:00. Since our little motel is designed like a ship and sits right on the Vistula beside the Old Town, finding parking is slightly problematic, but after driving around several times I find a space across the street next to another hotel. Our accommodation is called Hostel on The River Marta. Why “River Marta” when the river is actually the Vistula? One night for six people costs us €92.
We settle into our tiny rooms. Four people per room. Madara and I share with Mārtiņš and Anete. Anna and Baltušs are two rooms further down.
We drop off our things and head out for a loop through the Old Town. The route is very similar to what we did last year on the way home from southern Poland. And, just like last year, everyone destroys a massive doughnut at the first kiosk we see.
At the main square overlooking St Mary’s Basilica, we have a beer and try probably Poland’s best-known soup – żurek. We’re slightly tired from the road today, so nobody really wants a long walk. Besides, tomorrow we still have another 7–8 hours of driving.
On the way back, we pass the dragon – the one that normally spits fire, Smok Wawelski. We wait around 20 minutes, but never get to see the fiery breath. Apparently the dragon has a day off.
I had already settled into the upper bunk when Madara decided she didn’t want to sleep alone. So both of us squeezed onto the top bunk. The bed wasn’t exactly huge, so we slept about as tightly as we were packed together.

KRAKOW – KÖNIGSSEE

16.09.2018: The morning starts with a pleasant surprise. Turns out breakfast is included in the price – and it’s actually good. So good that Jānis later prepares a little surprise for the motel toilet. He blocks it and floods half the corridor. When an employee asks what happened, his answer is: “I just made poop and this happened!” Needless to say, from the side the whole conversation looks pretty entertaining.

FUCKING, AUSTRIA

16.09.2018: Baltušs starts today’s driving. First mission of the day – remember to buy motorway vignettes before entering the Czech Republic and then Austria. They cost €10 and €9 respectively for a week. Perfect for us. Jānis gets us out of Poland and almost all the way across the Czech Republic, passing Ostrava and Brno. We switch drivers near the border.
From there, the route takes us around Vienna towards Bavaria. Everything is going smoothly, so we decide to make a 30-minute detour to the small Austrian village with the very memorable name – Fucking.
Driving in Austria is actually surprisingly challenging. As soon as you leave the major motorways, you hit tiny villages every few kilometres that aren’t exactly designed for comfortably driving a van. Sometimes it genuinely feels like the street is only about 20 cm wider than our Opel.
We do a little selfie session next to the village sign, drive a small loop around the settlement and then turn back. Basically, like most small towns in this region – very charming.
Since the road has been fairly long, we decide to stop for something to eat. Maybe not a full lunch, but at least dessert and beer or wine for those who aren’t driving. We stop in the nearby village of Holzöster.
Madara gets a massive curd strudel, while the rest choose German-style food – even though we’re technically still in Austria – sausages. Baltušs experiences his first disappointment. He orders a beer and has already managed to post his first-beer photo on Instagram before realising it’s actually Radler, not proper beer. Sweet lemonade.
Once everyone has finished their wursts, we start the final driving stretch of the day, through Salzburg and onwards to Schönau am Königssee.

SCHÖNAU AM KÖNIGSSEE, GERMANY

16.09.2018: Once we arrive at Königssee, we find the apartment without problems. With typical German precision, detailed instructions have been left explaining exactly how to get inside. The accommodation is good. Everyone has their own room and there’s a fairly large terrace, definitely suitable for evening board-game sessions. Our place is called Ferienwohnung Fagstein. Five nights for six people cost us €672.
After a short rest, despite the fact it’s already dark, we decide to go for a small walk. We reach the lake, where of course we can see absolutely nothing because it’s pitch black and the street lighting is fairly limited too. Nothing to do. Back home we go.

KÖNIGSSEE: HIKE 1

17.09.2018: We start our first hike fairly early because the planned distance is quite long. There’s also a time limit – we need to catch the final boat from Obersee that takes us across Königssee. The last boat leaves at 18:00.
The morning is quite foggy. Cool, but tolerable. After about 20 minutes of walking, the steep climbing starts immediately. Mārtiņš sets a crazy pace – he’s a middle-distance runner and track athlete, so competing with him during hikes like this is a bad idea. You can’t walk at that speed with the girls. Madara and Anna already have bright red faces. Anete heroically keeps up with Mārtiņš. I try slowing the group down. It works briefly.
Lunch was supposed to happen on the summit of Jenner, but construction work is taking place around the cable car, so we can’t get all the way to the top. We eat our sandwiches on the ridge near the summit instead. This is also where today’s birthday boy gets congratulated – me! By this point, the weather has warmed up considerably and there are practically no clouds left.
From there, the plan was to follow the lake more or less “downhill” towards Obersee, but reality turns out differently. Probably because of heavy rain during the summer, the trail has been blocked by landslides and we have to go around. After around five hours on the trail, I start feeling slightly stressed. According to the map, we’re barely halfway and the boat definitely isn’t going to wait for us. The trail is basically a rockslide and we have to climb upwards over piles of stones. The views are obviously impressive. It would be nice to enjoy them without the pressure of the boat schedule. At least we’re finally on a proper hikers’ trail without crowds of Asian tourist pensioners. At Seeleinsee lake, we take a second food break, after which the next big climb begins.
After some mild stressing, we still make it to the little harbour at 17:45 for the final 18:00 boat. We miss Obersee itself, but at least get some more extreme experiences instead. Excellent hike! Almost 30 km with around 1,800 metres of elevation gain.

KÖNIGSSEE HARBOUR

17.09.2018: Around 15–20 minutes later we’re back at Königssee harbour. Turns out Madara and I actually got onto the second-to-last boat at 17:45 and it left without everyone else. The rest of the group catches the final boat at 17:55. While waiting, we video-call everyone back home.
Looking at the Garmin map back at the apartment, our detour took us practically into Austria. Total for today: 29.6 km in 9 hours 12 minutes with 1,891 metres of elevation gain. I’d say that’s a fairly serious hike.
This is exactly what I expect from mountain trails. The pressure of catching the boat slightly spoiled the experience, but everything ended well. The only negative is that because the hike took longer than expected, we didn’t get to visit Obersee, which looks like something out of a fairy tale. So far only in photos though. So far…
In the evening, we go to a restaurant to restore our energy.
Later, a serious Durak card championship begins.

EAGLE’S NEST

18.09.2018: Today everyone except Mārtiņš is visibly tired from yesterday’s hike, but that doesn’t reduce today’s pace. We’re heading to the Eagle’s Nest.
It’s very close. Around 15 minutes and we arrive. The van stays at the bottom of the mountain. From there, you either use public transport or walk. We’ll at least walk up. Down – depending on circumstances. The climb is relatively easy. At least the surface is consistently good gravel or asphalt all the way to the top. Still, everyone ends up with a soaked back. It takes around two hours. Compared with yesterday, this is definitely easy peasy.
The weather is excellent again today. A few clouds, but only enough to add some extra colour to the photos. Once we reach the upper station, we decide we’ll take the bus back down, which means buying a ticket immediately. Entry to the Eagle’s Nest plus the bus down costs €23.40 for the two of us.
To reach the elevator that takes you to the top, you first walk through a tunnel. It’s pretty cold inside, especially wearing shorts and a T-shirt.
At the top, a full panorama of the Bavarian Alps opens up. Nearby and distant peaks, snowy and rocky mountains everywhere. The weather for visiting a place like this could hardly be better. When my parents came here several years ago, they had complete fog and couldn’t see beyond the ends of their noses.
To absorb the views for a little longer, we stop for dessert and coffee at the summit café. Finding a table isn’t easy, but after about 15 minutes we manage. I go for the standard German combination – bockwurst and beer. You can never go wrong with that in Germany. Madara sticks to coffee and some kind of cake.
Black flying little friends have surrounded the café and are entertaining the guests.

KÖNIGSSEE

18.09.2018: Two hours walking up, 20 minutes by bus down. On the way back to Königssee, we stop at a shop and buy our first crate of Radeberger. Germans are fairly famous for their appetite for beer, so the selection in supermarkets is especially impressive.
After yesterday’s and today’s walks, the evening is free mode. Green light for an UNO tournament.
We nickname the Eagle’s Nest “the house of the little man who must not be named”.
Today’s main attraction personally surprises me in a very positive way. The views really are breathtaking. And if you’re short on time, taking the bus both up and down means you can squeeze the whole activity into a relatively short visit.

KÖNIGSSEE: HIKE 2

19.09.2018: Today there’s no tight schedule. The planned hike is around 15 km without any particularly impressive elevation gain. There’s no reason to start at seven in the morning, but we still don’t waste too much time and leave shortly after eight.
The route initially follows the Königssee bobsleigh track. There’s a waterfall right beside it. We decide that tomorrow we should try standing underneath it. Could make some interesting photos.
Even though it’s still relatively early, lots of hikers are already walking towards us. What time did they start?
For the first two hours, the trail climbs fairly steeply but follows good gravel and is easy to walk. Overall, the route spends around four hours going through forest, with occasional glimpses of Alpine panoramas between the trees.
Then suddenly the trail becomes rocky and very narrow. In places, there are even metal footholds fixed horizontally into the cliff that you have to use to cross small ravines. Nice. I like it. So much for the easy trail! In places there are chains to hold onto, but nothing too extreme. The views have now become much more impressive than the forest trail we were walking earlier.
After the interesting climbing section, it’s time to go down because there isn’t really a summit to reach on this hike. During the descent, a dangerous situation develops. There are lots of loose rocks along the trail. Because the route zigzags down the slope, if someone is walking behind and kicks a stone loose, it doesn’t take much for it to hit somebody lower down in the head. One guy walking a couple of hundred metres above – meaning behind – us dislodges a fairly large rock and it flies right past Anete’s head. Everyone who sees it gets instant goosebumps. Holy shit… Luckily, everything ends well.
A little lower down, we reach today’s best panorama – although there had been no shortage of views throughout the second half of the hike. There’s a small platform with six benches. Most people reach this place by taking a boat to our finish point, St Bartholomew’s Church, rather than hiking for hours like us.
We sit for around 20 minutes, recover, take photos and then continue downhill. Just over another hour to go.

ST BARTHOLOMEW’S CHURCH

19.09.2018: Once we reach the bottom, the guys sit down because while walking and talking we’ve got ahead of the girls. At this point, I realise I’ve unknowingly carried a full bottle of beer with me all day. We already concluded a long time ago that drinking beer while hiking is pointless. Extra weight to carry, and once you drink it, you sweat it straight back out. No real benefit. But if I’ve carried it this far already, carrying the weight any further would be inefficient…
While waiting by the lake, the idea of swimming comes up. We’re all sweaty and tired, so a cold swim definitely wouldn’t hurt. And honestly, the water doesn’t feel nearly as cold as expected.
Overall, another hike full of impressions. We’d never done trails with chains and metal footholds like this before, and after all that, the little church at the finish doesn’t feel particularly impressive. Yet many people come here just to see that…
We rest for a while on the grass near the harbour and once again take the boat home.

KÖNIGSSEE LAKE

20.09.2018: The original plan was to take a boat to Obersee today – the lake we missed three days ago – but after a relatively slow morning we reach the harbour after 11:00 and find such a massive queue of Japanese tourists – the aforementioned Asian tourist groups – that any desire to join the crowd disappears instantly. We abandon the idea. New plan: walk along the lakeshore and have a picnic.
While walking along the shore, an even better idea appears. Rowing boats can be rented for €9 per hour. The weather is excellent today, so we get into the boats and head onto the lake. Picnic on the water!
We slowly row to a small beach where we accidentally discover a waterfall. Another attempt at standing under cold water. The lake itself is crystal clear. From a distance, it looks as if the boats are floating in the air. Before rowing back, I try filming a fish. Not particularly successfully.
On the way back, we have our picnic on the lake and collect some vitamin D. Altogether, we row for around two hours.
Afterwards, we head home for a power nap. In the evening, we still plan to find some apple strudel, which is also successfully accomplished.
Tomorrow we continue to Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

LEUTASCHER GEISTERKLAMM, AUSTRIA

21.09.2018: Today we’re heading to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which should take around three hours, but on the way we’ll stop at Sylvenstein Dam and Leutascher Geisterklamm.
The dam doesn’t look particularly special when we get there, but it’s worth a quick look if you’re already passing. A little before Ga-Pa, we cross into Austria and walk the trail through Leutascher Gorge. Walkways are built directly into the cliffs through higher and lower sections of the gorge. And entry is free. Only parking costs €3 per car.
After so many impressive experiences over the previous days, this place unfairly gets slightly overshadowed, but it’s still very cool. Photos are taken roughly every third step anyway.
At the end of the trail, you can pay another €3 per person to enter a deeper section of the gorge where there’s a waterfall between two cliffs. Everyone else suddenly develops a mysterious case of extreme stinginess, so Madara and I go alone. In my opinion, it’s worth it. Inside the gorge, where mist from the waterfall hangs in the air, the temperature noticeably drops and it feels quite cold. After around two hours of walking, we return to the car and only the final stretch to Garmisch remains.

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, GERMANY

21.09.2018: We arrive at our accommodation in Garmisch-Partenkirchen around two hours early, but the old man who owns the place welcomes us very kindly anyway. Surprisingly, he speaks very good English. Even funnier – he has prepared the apartment rules in Latvian using Google Translate. Small thing, but nice! He has also prepared various city maps with interesting places marked. We’re staying at Alpenheim for six nights, which costs us €840. Tourist tax is another €3 per person per day.
We’re surprised to discover that paying the city tourist tax gives us a local visitor card that allows free public transport. Since fuel in Germany isn’t particularly cheap, tomorrow we’ll make use of it.
The apartment itself is reasonably large, but sleeping arrangements are fairly cramped. Baltušs and Anna get the living room, where the bed is so narrow they take the mattress out and sleep on the floor. Madara and I have two separate beds that can’t be pushed together. We sleep in one, but it’s very tight. Mārtiņš and Anete get the luxury option – a proper room with a large bed.
Apart from that, the apartment is very nice. There’s a large terrace from which we might be able to see the summit of Zugspitze, although we’re not entirely sure.
The old man is as pedantic as you’d expect from a German. There are five different rubbish bins in the kitchen for sorting practically everything. The apartment is sparkling clean.

OBERAMMERGAU, GERMANY

22.09.2018: As decided yesterday, we take public transport to Oberammergau. It’s a 20-minute walk to the station, then one bus takes us directly to the destination. Around 40 minutes. The tourist card has a QR code that theoretically needs to be scanned on the bus. That’s the theory. In reality, only every second card actually scans, but the driver lets everyone on anyway.
First, we head to the alpine coaster. Lift plus ride down costs €11 per person. We could have walked up, but choose a ten-minute lift ride instead of hiking 1.5 hours up wet grass.
The track is impressively long – 2.4 km, with speeds around 20–40 km/h. The ride lasts roughly five minutes and there’s a camera halfway down taking photos of everyone’s terrified faces. You can buy the photo afterwards for €2, but we pass. Madara is supposed to hold the camera while riding, but the video doesn’t turn out especially good…
Afterwards, we walk around the town. There’s lots of construction work happening. You can tell the tourist season has ended and the town is preparing for the next one. Apparently every October there’s a major local performance involving almost everyone in town, and people are clearly preparing seriously for it.
Ignoring all the roadworks, the town is beautiful. Almost every building has paintings on it. Feels like a fairy-tale village.
After walking around, we enter a pub to eat some sausages. The others experiment with different dishes again, but I stay with the classics: bockwurst and beer.
Oktoberfest starts in Munich today, and you can see the effect even here. Even if not every local is travelling to the beer epicentre in Munich, dressing up in leather shorts and traditional waistcoats is taken seriously by every age group.

BACK TO GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN

22.09.2018: On the way home, almost everyone falls asleep on the bus. We haven’t really done anything extreme today, but somehow some tiredness has accumulated.
Baltušs has bought himself a beer glass. He sleeps while protecting it like his most sacred possession.
All that remains today is preparing our bags for tomorrow, when the main hike of the trip begins – a two-day climb towards Zugspitze. The weather forecast isn’t great, so there’s some mild anxiety in the group. How much food to take? What clothes? How much water? Everyone improvises in their own way.
In the evening, we take another small walk around Ga-Pa and go to see the Olympic ski jumping stadium.

PARTNACHKLAMM: HIKE 3.1

23.09.2018: The hike starts on a positive note because the weather is actually quite good despite the forecast, and Partnachklamm Gorge has been repaired and reopened to visitors. It had previously been closed because heavy rain in July damaged the walkways. Entry costs €4 per person.
There’s a traffic jam inside the gorge. We walk in a line behind about a million pensioners. Walking along the narrow platforms with tonnes of freezing Alpine water rushing only a few metres away makes you feel extremely small compared with nature. Genuinely impressive. Around 30 minutes later, we’ve passed through the gorge. Our older companions turn around and head back. We continue onwards.
From there, the trail follows a flat and extremely easy path for around 10 km. A surprising number of people are riding mountain e-bikes. Even on what looks like significant elevation, everyone rolls uphill without any visible effort. We continue walking with purpose.
After around two hours, we stop for lunch. Since we’re well ahead of schedule, there’s no rush with eating or resting. We also visit a stylish toilet built right there in the forest – basically a wooden toilet seat in the middle of the woods.
Looks like we only have another 2–2.5 hours left, meaning we’ll arrive before three. Plenty of time to relax.

REINTALANGER HUT

23.09.2018: Shortly after two, we arrive at tonight’s accommodation – Reintalangerhütte at +1,394 m. A bed costs €16 per person. Madara, Baltušs, Anna and I share one room. Mārtiņš and Anete are alone in a four-person room next door. Interesting place. You have to pay for practically everything because delivering supplies here is difficult. Shower – €2. Hot water for instant noodles – €1. Okay, beer costs money everywhere anyway. The positive thing is that you can actually buy it here.
Once settled, everyone behaves like normal mortals, grabs a beer and starts deep conversations. Mārtiņš goes out for a run instead. The rest of us play UNO in the courtyard, right in the mountain valley.
You meet interesting people here. Japanese, Germans, us and plenty of others. The hut is completely full. Everyone sits together drinking beer and playing board games.
Thinking about tomorrow creates some concern because the forecast is still bad. Rain, cold and wind. The full programme.

GLETSCHERBAHN: HIKE 3.2

24.09.2018: A crazy thunderstorm rages through the night, which doesn’t exactly increase optimism for today. By morning, at least the thunderstorm has ended. The rain is still coming down.
Around six in the morning, some local guy walks along the corridor playing guitar and singing: “Bitte aufstehen!”
We eat breakfast and decide to wait because the rain is quite heavy. While waiting, Madara notices that some guy is wearing what look like the slippers I lost yesterday, so they get confiscated from him. It isn’t like we ripped footwear off a stranger and ran away. The hut has a system where outdoor shoes stay at the entrance and people use communal slippers or bring their own. I had left mine inside while we went out and somebody must have mistaken them for communal ones. Later it turns out the slippers we recovered weren’t actually mine, just identical. At least I got a new pair.
We wait until 08:00 and decide we have to do something. There’s no point waiting any longer. One option is for the girls to walk back along the same route while the guys continue. But no… Madara would never accept that. She’s coming with us, which means Anete and Anna eventually decide they’re coming too. Shortly after eight, the full group starts.
After around 30 minutes, the rain turns into snow as the trail starts climbing. From a hiking perspective, snow is better than rain, but visibility drops to almost nothing. The higher we go, the stronger the wind gets and we can feel freezing gusts hitting our faces. We’re wrapped in plastic rain gear to protect ourselves from the wind and rain. Inside, everything is still soaking wet from sweat, but at least that moisture is warm as long as we keep moving. Breaks are kept as short as possible so we don’t cool down. We are completely unprepared for these conditions. Three days ago we were sunbathing in shorts in a rowing boat… But it is what it is.
Our pace is actually pretty good. We catch and overtake two groups that left before us. The atmosphere is surreal. You can clearly see the clouds moving. Occasionally, they shift just enough for parts of the mountain range to appear briefly between them.
As much as we hate to admit it, we decide to take the cable car for the final section. Until now, we had been relatively sheltered from the wind by the mountain – although it was still more than noticeable. Once we reach the ridge, the wind becomes much stronger. Attempting the final chain section with frozen fingers in these conditions would be genuinely dangerous. Mārtiņš, wearing trainers and a €1 raincoat, is visibly unhappy with the decision. The group council votes anyway – cable car.

ZUGSPITZE

24.09.2018: Cable cars run every 20 minutes. At least we can warm up inside the station. A ticket costs €33.50 per person, but it also includes the ride down afterwards. Some time ago, the cable car on the German side had an accident – sounds worse than it actually was, everyone was fine – so it’s still closed. We’ll need to descend by train.
Once we reach the top, we’re surprised by how commercialised the summit is. There’s basically an entire mini-town built on Germany’s highest mountain. Because it’s extremely windy and around -8°C outside, there are very few people. That’s a bonus for us. We walk onto the terrace and drink a “victory beer” in the cold. Meanwhile, some guy wearing proper climbing gear, crampons and a helmet is heading towards the actual Zugspitze summit, which sits slightly away from the public terrace. At that moment, we realise we probably aren’t going to reach the summit cross ourselves.
We go inside and refuel at the café so we can stay at the top for longer. In the toilet, I change into every dry item of clothing I still have. Madara once again chooses strudel and coffee. I go for a pretzel and coffee. Considering where we are, prices are surprisingly reasonable. I pay slightly more than €7 altogether.
While we eat, the weather calms down and we decide we should at least try reaching the summit. Initially, I didn’t want Madara climbing because all the stairs and chains are covered in ice, but seeing how disappointed she looks, I give the green light. What am I supposed to do – climb myself and tell her she can’t?
Once everyone reaches the summit and gets their photos, we carefully climb back down. All the ropes and steps are completely frozen. Now we’re satisfied and can slowly start descending.

BACK TO GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN

24.09.2018: After finishing off some plum liqueur – turns out Mārtiņš brought a bottle along – and waiting for the train, we start heading down. The journey takes around 30 minutes. I’m exhausted, but the train is fairly uncomfortable and because we’re descending the whole time, everything is tilted, so I can’t find any position suitable for sleeping.
Once we’re much lower down, the sun is shining again and it’s warm. Looking back up from below, you can see a huge white cloud sitting over the summit. Judging by how heavily everything was frozen up there, that cloud has probably been hanging around for quite a while.
Even though we didn’t get the famous Alpine panorama from Zugspitze, it was still a completely different and definitely not bad experience. Our first two-day hike and some pretty extreme weather conditions. Excellent trip. I liked it.
We still have to get from the station back home. Everyone is completely exhausted, so at the station we each destroy a burger at Burger King before continuing. It’s only about a 30-minute walk, but it feels like eternity.

NEUSCHWANSTEIN CASTLE

25.09.2018: We leave for the castle relatively early because I read online that huge numbers of people arrive quickly and tickets can sell out. We also have around 45 minutes of driving ahead. The parking “manager” is an interesting guy – Italian. Seeing our Latvian licence plate, he tells us where to go: “Sto metro i na pravo.” Not exactly Latvian, but completely understandable.
We go straight to the ticket office. €13 per person for a 45-minute castle tour. There’s still a little over an hour before our time slot, and it takes around 40 minutes to walk up to the castle.
Everything runs with second-by-second precision and exactly at 11:40, as printed on the ticket, we enter. Everywhere there are strict warnings that photography is absolutely forbidden inside. Honestly, a longer tour might have started becoming boring anyway. Our guide looks like she stopped caring years ago. A hundred people killed? Wall painted pink? Same emotion for everything.
I’m genuinely surprised by how unfinished the castle actually is. Only a few rooms were fully completed. Even some planned towers were never built, never mind all the interiors. Still, the building itself is impressive and the view from Marienbrücke towards the castle looks straight out of a fairy tale.

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN

25.09.2018: We’re back home around four. Free schedule tonight. On the way, we stop at a shop to restock food and Radeberger supplies. Baltušs buys an entire box of mustard. Why? No idea.
After a short rest, I suggest going out again, maybe to a pub. Mārtiņš and Anete stay home while the rest of us go. Anete’s knee still hurts, so resting is probably better.
We walk along what seems to be the main tourist street, but all the shops are already preparing to close. It’s only just after six.
After walking around our side of town, we enter a pub because nobody really feels like walking much more. The place is packed and fully decorated in Oktoberfest atmosphere. Very nice. We stay quite a while and manage to warm ourselves up nicely for tomorrow’s real Oktoberfest visit.

MUNICH, GERMANY

26.09.2018: We take FlixBus to Munich so everyone can peacefully drink beer at the festival. The bus is surprisingly fancy – double-decker, with a toilet and power sockets under every seat. Tickets bought through the mobile app are half the price. Would have been useful to know beforehand.
Arriving in Munich, we realise it’s pretty chilly. First, we head towards Olympic Park. The complex is impressively large. We walk past the stadium, but getting inside isn’t possible. The 1972 Olympic Games were held here. Latvian javelin legend Jānis Lūsis won silver here, losing to the local German by just 2 cm. We go to the Olympic Tower and pay €7 to ride to the top. There’s even an elevator operator. You’re not allowed to press the buttons yourself. Must be a complicated elevator. The sky is clear today and visibility is excellent. You can even see Zugspitze. I pay €1 to look through the telescope. You can definitely see Germany’s highest mountain through it. I’m just not completely sure whether I was looking at the right one.
Back down, we sit for a while beside a pond. Mārtiņš and Baltušs investigate the fish situation while Madara and I walk around a fountain where handprints of various celebrities are set into metal. Mostly world-famous musicians.
Next, we head to the BMW Museum nearby. Even before entering the actual museum, you can touch and sit inside expensive cars and climb onto motorcycles. We walk through the museum in around an hour, but honestly, drooling over the new and prototype BMW models outside is more interesting than the museum exhibits themselves. And you can touch and sit in the prototypes for free. Next up – the main attraction of the day: Oktoberfest.

OKTOBERFEST

26.09.2018: The nice thing is that there’s no entrance fee for this madness. Lots of homeless people hang around the entrance trying to collect plastic bottles. After all, each one is worth 25 cents when returned.
We obviously expected lots of people, but this many… Getting a seat inside one of the tents without a reservation is practically impossible, and if you don’t have a table, you can’t order beer. Luckily, the sky is clear and there’s no rain forecast, so we can also look for seating outside, where we have much better luck.
Everything has been simplified as much as possible. Beer costs the same everywhere – €11 for a one-litre mug. Each tent serves only one type of beer and the food is basically the same everywhere. So ordering is simple: “Ein Bier!” We also get a pretzel. Ceremonially finish our giant beers and take photos with the mugs.
Afterwards, Mārtiņš and Anete go for a walk around Munich, while the rest of us explore the festival grounds. Baltušs and I buy Bavarian hats so we can at least blend in slightly, because locals genuinely take dressing in traditional clothing seriously. You can basically identify tourists immediately – anyone not wearing leather shorts and a checked shirt.
The service is surprisingly fast. Beer arrives literally within a minute and roasted chicken within three. Considering the crowds, that’s impressive. Altogether we drink three beers each before unfortunately having to leave. I’d definitely like to return someday with a more relaxed schedule.

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN – WROCŁAW

27.09.2018: With a slight feeling that Oktoberfest ended too soon, it’s time to continue towards Wrocław. I had a few possible sightseeing stops planned along the way, but since the drive itself is expected to take at least seven hours, we decide to head straight for Poland. Around 650 km to cover.
We drive through Munich and stop at McDonald’s for breakfast. The toilet costs 50 cents and there’s a urinal with a built-in TV. The road feels extremely long, but after one driving shift each, we arrive in Wrocław at a reasonable time. Our apartment is right in the Old Town, so parking is a problem. After circling several times, I decide there’s no point wasting time and leave the van in a paid car park. At least it’ll be guarded. Honestly, the neighbourhoods we drive through on the way to the accommodation look exactly like deep Purvciems. We settle in and head out again for dinner.

WROCŁAW, POLAND

28.09.2018: To make searching for Wrocław’s famous dwarfs more interesting, we decide to split into pairs for two hours. The task: take as many selfies as possible with different dwarfs. The weather is excellent today for wandering around Old Town.
Apparently there are slightly more than 300 official dwarfs in the city, plus countless unofficial ones made by different people. So there should be plenty of selfies. Madara and I try making the photos slightly more interesting rather than just taking basic selfies. Considering the number of dwarfs, what are the chances that all three teams somehow manage exactly 64 unique selfies? But that’s exactly what happens.
After the competition ends without a winner, we go home for a power nap. Apparently the intense competition drained more energy than expected. We also slowly need to start packing because tomorrow is the long drive home. I barely unpacked anything in the first place, and neither did Baltušs, so instead we drink beer and play UNO.
Wrocław is an interesting city. I could definitely come back again. The Old Town itself is relatively small and we pretty much walked through all of it, but I still leave with the feeling that I’d happily visit again. Outside this part of the city, though, it’s almost like someone cuts with a knife and suddenly “Purvciems” begins.

WROCŁAW – RIGA

29.08.2018: Today we need to drive 1,100 km, so getting a good night’s sleep was important. There are only two drivers again this time. Using our now well-practised four-hour rotation, we leave around eight in the morning.
This holiday can probably be considered our first proper hiking trip, and at least Madara and I are completely hooked. First two-day hike completed, 40,000-step days done. Apart from a few minor changes to the plan, Germany treated us extremely well.
One conclusion from this trip: we walk too fast. Walking quickly makes us sweat, and then the wind does its work. There really is something to that saying: “Slow and steady wins the race.” It was most obvious on the second day of Zugspitze. We walked fast and were already soaked with sweat after an hour. Wet clothes and -5°C outside aren’t exactly an ideal combination.
Total trip cost: €4,572.
Per person per day: €51.