Well it was like leaving home all over agin but somehow sadder because it would be a lot longer before Im coming back! I fell in love with Germany the first time and coming back, I felt instantly at home. Maybe it was something to do with finally understanding the language...or the friendly people...or the beautiful countryside..or the welcoming cities...or the fantastic food..or maybe all of the above plus more!! I seemed to have ticked of so many things of my list in such a short time-Berlin, Neuschwanstein, Oktoberfest-done, done and done! But I will definately be coming back soon enough!!

Thursday 11th Septemeber: I flew into Berlin, refreshed after my surf break in Portugal and feeling so excited to finally see the fabled city!! I arrived at the hostel and was instantly adopted into a Busabout family. I joined them on a pub crawl which was full of carpark shots, mixing drinks and ended up in a sand bar where we watched these 2 hippies dance for hours-intense!!

Friday 12th Septmeber: After waking up feeling way too good and heading for a walk around the city, the next night ended up at the same place except instead of hippies, it was a guy setting a bathtub on fire and us stumbling upon an array of bars and art galleries ina dodgy, graffiti covered warehouse.

Saturday 13th September: Today was tourist day and I did a bike tour taking in all the famous sites like Brandenburg Tor, Checkpoint Charlie, the Wall, the book burning square, Holocaust memorial, the site of Hitlers bunker etc which was excellent.

Sunday 14th Septmeber: Inspired, the next day I hired a bike and went on a 6hr ride around the city past the wall murals, parks and rivers, Tiergarten, the Reichstag, the Wall memorial and revisiting the same places as the day before.

Monday 15th September: Devasteatedto leave Berlin, it was southwards and even colder to Dresden. A quick walk into the town centre ans schnitzel for lunch then a relaxng afternoon.

Tuesday 16th September: Sightseeing was broken up by defrosting sessions of wursts, hot chocolate and shopping! The old building reminded me a lot of Prague and its amazing how they pretty much had to rebuild everything after WW2.

Wednesday 17th September: From Dresden it was south again to Wurzburg but via Nuremburg. It had a charming old town and lots of bogans but I came to look at the NAZI muesuem as Nuremburg was a NAZI stronghold. Walking to museum brings you past the massive walls of the Kongress Hall and it have me shivers, it was scary!!. The museum was the best (and I HATE museums) and so interesting to learn more about such a famous subject. On the train into Wurzburg and arriving late.

Thursday 18th September: I whizzed around the sightseeing in record time (50mins!!). Fate gave me hand-saving me 70 euro when the Romantische Strasse bus didnt show so I took the train on a beautiful journey to Fussen. The train ride took in some stunning scenary and I even picked out my retirement spot (Leganwang). Fuseen was also beautiful-farmland under the shadow of the Bavarian Alps and a charming feel to it.

Friday 19th September: Up early the next day to the castles and I was soo excited to see Neuschwanstein which I had wanted to see since Frau Purwein showed us a picture in Yr 7 German. First tho was Hohenschwangau, Kind Ludwigs castle as a child which was a pretty decent castle-beautiful views over Alpensee and Alps and the details inside were stunning. But then Neuschwanstein (after a massive hike uphill!), was something else. It was a shame the insde was never completed but what was, was soo elaborate and in a stunning location-it really was a fairytale castle!! I decided to walk back to Fussen which proved to be a good choice as I stumbled across forests, streams, lakes and hills and it really was a fantastic hike(minus the mental guy telling me I was going the wrong way-got back there crazy!!). Then it was on the train to Munich and I was sooo so excited to see all my girls-we'd been apart for 10 days!!! Got itno Munich and headed to the campsite-yeah thats right, CAMPSITE!! Not such a great idea in the freezing cold with no li-lo but we survived!!

Saturday 20th September: Up early the next day and heading to Oktoberfest!!! We managed to sneak in round the side of Hofbrau House and were only 5m from the door although this didnt save us from the death crush. It was intense and extreme all in one but eventuall managed to find a table, thanks to Ronnie!! Nearly died of boredom waiting for the first beer at 12 but when the bier wench finally handed it over, it was sweet! the steins went down way to easy but was great fun! We looked cool in our Dirndls and the chicken was definately a highlight!

Sunday 21st September: Next day was same again, although in the Lowenbrau tent and the steins werent so easy second time around. On the positive, I discovered the most amazing hot chocolate of my life!

Monday 22nd September: 3rd day was a lot more relaxed with quick visits to a couple of tents and one last hot chocolate. Then a big random meet up with a million Perth people that made me realise one more time, that Perth is crazy small!! Then it was over with a good Chinese buffet for dinner and a big goodbye to my girls as I had to catch a train..or did I.. I ended up sleeping on the floor of Ange and Claire's hotel to catch the morning train instead!!