Our last stop of Europe, but definitely not least, was the return to Munich for the internationally recognised beer festival; Ocktoberfest. Fresh from a week with the parents, I flew in to Germany on an early morning flight from Split. Situated in seat 1A, I was treated like a business-class passenger for the mere 1-hour duration of the flight. Greeted by the boys at Munich-Pasing train station, it was a very quick transition between dumping our bags at Anna's place, who was kind enough to put us up for the week, and venturing into the beer halls at Theresienwiese. A short journey involving one bus, one train, and zero dollars. Germany are obviously quite comfortable with their financial position compared to the rest of the European economy, as they don't feel the need to charge for their efficient public transport system; we did not pay 1c all week. Upon arriving at the grand front gates of Ocktoberfest, the first thing we saw before stepping foot inside the grounds, was a young gentlemen passed out cold on the lawn; whist another random man removed his pants and tried to sit naked on him with his friend taking a picture. A quite bizarre sight to be seeing at 2pm in the afternoon, & from these actions we could tell the next 4 days were going to be very, very loose; and that they indeed were.

If I had to define Ocktoberfest in one phrase; it would be an 'alcoholics version of Sydney's Royal Easter Show'. A very similar set up with rides, food stands, and large tents pitched either side of one main strip, much like Riverina Avenue. However, these tents do not contain Woolworth's fresh food stalls & showbags, rather they consist of large rows of tables packed with people from all nationalities signing and dancing to German music, wearing matching Lederhosens and Dirndl outfits, whilst consuming multiple steins of beer. It is literally like a circus within these tents and where we'd spend many hours each day catching up with people we'd met on both Contiki tours and mates from back in Syndey, such as JT & Attfield, over a beer and the delicious BBQ chicken and pork knuckle that was on offer.

A novelty within the tents was to stand upon a table and attempt the 1L beer skull, in which you'd gain the attention of the entire hall to chant you on, or boo you if you were struggling to get it all down. Doug & Joe were both brave enough to take on this challenge, and did us proud as they downed it in a very comfortable manner; however it did have severe repercussions on them later in the evening, as Doug was scoffing down unknown, unclaimed sandwiches from the ground and Joe was riding the porcelain bus for the 24 hours that followed. These actions were always going to come about as a consequence of sitting around drinking litre after litre of beer all day. One night, after the days festivities had wrapped up and the tents closed, we went on a few of the rides before Louis & I thought it'd be funny to run off with Jacks shoes and fill them with tomato ketchup, forcing him to make the long journey home barefoot in the freezing autumn weather. As a prank, we decided to take photos posing with the shoes with every person we saw on the way home via the train. However, as it turned out the joke was on us as we'd hopped aboard the wrong train and ended up in an industrial area miles out of Munich, with no people or transport in sight; and it was us that ended up doing the long, cold walk home at 4am. Think they call that karma!

By the end of the week, Ocktoberfest had successfully left us feeling rather crook and dreading the site, smell, taste, and even sound of the word beer, however, it definitely was one of the funnest, and most unique, experiences of our trip. Being completely unlike any other usual nightclub or bar you will experience across the world, we loved getting amongst the German culture for 4 days; wearing their traditional outfits, drinking their high-alcohol percentage beer, eating their delicious cuisine; and dancing and singing along to their classical music (even if we didn't know the words or moves on many occasions). Each of these factors contributed to making it a wonderful experience and a perfect way to cap off our travels throughout Europe. The past 10 weeks have been an unforgettable journey which has seen me travel with 4 of my best mates right across Europe throughout their summer, visiting many wonderful destinations in 12 different countries, whilst in the process meeting loads of awesome people and having an endless amount of stories and memories to last a lifetime. However, whilst this leg of the trip has come to an end, we now commence our next chapter, which consists of 6 weeks travelling throughout the USA and Mexico; beginning with a long flight over the Atlantic Ocean to the city that never sleeps, the big smoke; New York!