The Hangover from Hell and Das Ist Munchen!
Trip Start
Apr 12, 2006
1
68
115
Trip End
Ongoing
Munich,
Germany
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Either way, we were heading right into the thick of World Cup fever, hostel or no hostel
Catie and Sauerkraut
. It was chaos in action, and i was pumped for the wild experience.I hesitantly arose today cursing the world for potentially the worst hangover i've so far experienced on this entire trip. I know, its a big call, what with all the sessions in Madrid with the 1 litre man pints, and the routine bollockings throughout Italy. But today was definitely up there. Wild Bill didn't even look like he had a scratch on him, though he claimed to have been in considerable pain also. Anyway, we had to check out by noon and hit the road, so i threw down a Gyros (sucker for punishment after Greece) up at the main cobblestoned drag, got the gear in order and headed 5 mins down the road to where Bill parked the Citroen. Though the car trip was quite fragile for my broken carcass, it was particularly special burning through the German countryside, doing my best to absorb the lush green, foresty surroundings of the Rhineland, the wide open spaces of rolling green landscapes punctuated from time to time with the odd church and farm barn. I know i would have appreaciated it even more if i had a brain that was in regular working order.
A couple of hours later, as the clock struck the three o'clock mark, our green machine pulled into the outskirts of the city of Munich. Once again, we were moving so damn fast that it was difficult to keep up with the pace, but here we were, in the heart of Bavaria, in the thick of World Cup fever
delirious in marienplatz
. After gathering our bearings, we parked the Citroen and headed towards the main hub, 'Marienplatz', an area of central Munich that i would get to know like the back of my hand by the end of the night. Attempting to secure a hotel room , we were informed that there was, of course, bugger all on offer, that everything was booked out, and that we were lunatics for even trying to find anything. Looks like we were going to be sleeping in the Green Machine. Wild Bill suggested that he and i hook up with some random German ladies, thereby generating a free night's sleep with them respectively. The main square of Munich was an absolute madhouse of World Cup action. As the big match was scheduled for today, there were Aussies and Brazilians everywhere, as well as thick number for every nationality, just like Heidelberg but about 50 times as bustling. The place was absolutely electric. We'd planned to head into the fan park to watch the game on the big screen, but evidently it was choc to the brim with fans, so we hit up a nearby biergarden, sat down for the match and drowned in yet another dose of 1 litre beer steins and bratwursts. The game, as you all know, was lost, but the vibe certainly was not. Taking in the best of Munich, we arrived soon after at the world famous 'Hofbrauhaus' - the huge beer hall that started the rest of them, with lines and lines of wooden tables with benches and busty Fraulines serve 8 steins at once, presumably contributing to the rapid onset of knuckle arthritis at a particularly early age
Drunk bastard Irishman swimming in fountain
. We parked in the beer house and absorbed the sheer nationalistic madness of a hall full of wild, loud, pissed soccer revellers from every participating nation. Just as the Brazilians would pipe up and sing their chants, the Aussies would chime in and blow them out of the water with a few Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi OI OIs. I'm not usually one to join in with this over-used boganite chant, but once you get a few steins into me, slap me on the back and call me Poida. The Italians would then have a bash, followed by the swedes, then we'd all sing some club tune that everyone seems to know, and belt words out at the top of our lungs. I tell ya, the vibe was unbelievable, a room full of people all on the same page, of countless nationalities from across the globe, sharing in beer, song and merriment, all brought together by one huge football event. It was interesting, however, when the yank contingent piped up with their 'USA..USA...USA' chant. Each time, they'd be shut down by the whole room, as members of all other nations booed them at every turn. I think Ryan and Catie were a little bit taken aback at how deep the dissent towards America had grown, even when it came down to some friendly sport chanting. One Aussie bloke standing over Ryan was screaming additional profanities about the United States, various musings about how they 'take things' where the sun don't shine. No one else got booed, except the US
Go straya
. But the Aussies pretty much gave it to everyone, clearly the loudest and most offensive contingent within the beer hall, and when the in house Oom Pa Pa brass band kicked in with 'Waltzing Matilda', the night was ours.As Ryan and Catie hit the citroen for an uncomfortable nights' rest, Bill and I found ourselves chatting to a couple of fun German birds, Christine and Julia, and we hung out with them and their friends until the wee hours, walking around the Marienplatz area, and sitting down at a 24 hour pub for some beers. The night grew weary, and after failing to secure any form of accomodation i was left to my own vices to make my next move. Wild Bill shacked up with his frauline, so he was sorted, but i pretty much just roamed the streets of Munich like a bum, and actually kind of enjoyed it. The only group left on the streets at 5 in the morning seemed to be a mammoth bunch of Australian bogans, still on the turps and goin off like frog in their respective socks. A few of these wasted larrikins walked up to the main square and attempted to swim a few laps of the artistic fountain, as others scurried up the lines of poles along the mall, pinching the official flags as souvenirs.
Somehow, the wee hours of the morning elapsed, and i was able to just keep feeding off the energy that lingered in the Munich streets. I strolled around, thought about life, took it all in, and pretty much perfected my ability to navigate the core of the city. Day broke around 5, and at 7.30 i went into Maccas for a coffee or two to keep me awake. For some reason, no sleep made me feel like writing, and i sat there for a good couple of hours and wrote lyrics, journal entries, other crap, at times looking up to laugh at the horrendous state of MTV pop and rnb music at this juncture in time. Delirium slowly set in..and the line between today and tomorrow was non existant.....
Das Ist Munchen!
