Briefly before arriving in the heart of Munich, we made a stop in at a former concentration camp; Darshau. We were given an hour to explore the camp & take in what life was like for these people, reading through the museums and visiting the gas chambers & crematorium. Very heavy information to digest on a holiday but we were shortly off & on our way to Munich.

It is unbelievable! It must just be Germany in general. On par with Berlin as our favourite city but very different to each other. Berlin is rich with history & very efficient whereas Munich is the cool little brother. Schnitzels, 1L steins, beer halls, nice scenery and our first taste of water for a swim in a man made lazy river (pictures online). We only spent 1 night here, a little over 12 hours, but definitely made the most of it. Upon arrival we were told we couldn't be loud, be in opposite sex rooms, no common room, large fees for losing keys and basically no fun. Felt like we were on year 4 camp all over again. So we were keen to get out of the rooms & venture into the city. No better way to do so than an organised bike tour through Munich; stopping at churches, statues, Parliament House and then last, but definitely not least, a visit to the English gardens. This place was beautiful. Resembled Hyde Park in many regards with a cool man-made river running through the park which we were allowed to jump in and float around. Dinner to follow was great too, at the second largest outdoor beer hall in Germany; the Chinese beers gardens. An option of schnitzel, pork knuckle, sausage or ribs, all served with chips & a stein of German beer. Delicious!

Upon returning the bikes from the tour, the night was ours to head out on the town. Our choice was Hofbräuhaus beer hall. The atmosphere in this hall was phenomenal, and so was the humidity. With our own personal wench and steins of beers flowing for both boys & girls, it gave us a glimpse of what to expect and look forward to during Ocktoberfest. A couple of drinking games such as 'this or that' and 'I've never ever' allowed the group to get to know each other that extra bit better. With many a 'Prost' (cheers in Germany') the fun went too far when Jack exploded his stein glass & a litre of beer all over the table and us. It was time to call it a night ahead of a big day of mountain biking and paragliding in Austria tomorrow. Such an awesome city and only 1 night was not enough time to be there for on contiki so I'm super excited the boys will be meeting back there in late September for Octoberfest; time to get our Laderhousen outfits sorted!