Oktoberfest Tips

Aug 28

Oktoberfest tents Paulaner

Oktoberfest – Paulaner tent

Oktoberfest Tips

The month is October. The year is 2008. Yours truly had ventured to Germany on her first ever solo trip. I was nervous about travelling solo but a friend recommended it so I figured, “Why not? Let’s give this a try.” I arrived on October 2nd in Munich, Germany a bit apprehensive. I had spent the previous six months learning German, even though I was told most spoke English which was true, so I was ready to let loose.

I had planned my entire trip before I left. I was more comfortable having all my hotels booked in advance since this would be my first solo trip.  Due to expense, I only planned on staying in Munich for two days during Oktoberfest. I would return three weeks later after my tour of Germany to spend a few more days before I flew back home to Canada.

Oktoberfest is incredibly expensive. Prices double or increase dramatically. I found a nice hotel near the main train station and not far from the Oktoberfest grounds. I would stay in this hotel for both of my Munich stays; the second stay say the price drop by 100 euros. Yes that is crazy. No I was not prepared to stay in a hostel. This was my first overseas trip alone and I wanted the security of a hostel. Plus, I’ve never been keen on hostels. In fact, I have never stayed in one. I do not plan to in the near future. Maybe….if I ever do a long-term travel.

I made my way to Oktoberfest and man it was crazy. Thousands of people milling around; many dressed up in lederhosen or dirndl. It was delightful and made me wish that I had come dressed up. Next time for sure. I did make my way into a few tents but they were packed and not a spare seat. I wandered around, found a few stand-up bars on the grounds, drank a few beer with some lovely Austrians and had a great time.

Oktoberfest inside tent Paulaner

Oktoberfest – Paulaner tent

History

Even wonder why the Germans get together for a fun and beer filled two weeks?  No, it is not to celebrate the deliciousness that is beer. That would be a reasonable deduction but there is a long history associated with Oktoberfest.

Crown Prince Ludwig, later King Ludwig I, married Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen October 12, 1810. The citizens of Munich were invited to the festivities in the fields near the city gates. This field would later be renamed Theresienwiese to honor the Crown Princess. The event was repeated the following year. In subsequent years, it was prolonged and moved to September due to weather.

Oktoberfest Tips


1. Book your table
– I figured because I was travelling solo, I would find an empty seat no problem; that was not the case.  Those tents are packed full. Book your table AND book early – that is my Oktoberfest tip numero uno! My guess is at least six months in advance or maybe more. You will not get served in the tents if you are not at a table.

You have to book directly with the tents. Oktoberfest’s website is not the best so you will have to click around quite a bit to find the contact information for each tent. When I return, I will probably book with the Augustiner tent. Augustiner is my favorite beer, ever!  And sadly, I cannot get it anywhere else but Munich. I have found other Oktoberfest/Munich beers in Canada but it is very rare. 🙁

Here is a link on how to reserve your table and a list of the tents and their contact info.

2. Timing – Do NOT go the last weekend of Oktoberfest (which is the first weekend of October). My dates simply worked out this way so I was there during the German national holiday (German Unity Day) and Oktoberfest is absolutely packed crazy. My second day in Munich landed on the holiday and it was almost impossible to get into the Oktoberfest tents, the grounds or hell, even any of the beerhouses in the city. It was nuts. Remember that Oktoberfest starts in mid-September and ends the first weekend of October.

3. Research – Before booking any tents, research which ones you want to be in. They are not all the same. You may be required to book a table of 10 even if your party is not that large or buy vouchers for food and drink in advance. Each tent is different.

4. Winging it – Yes I was able to get into the tents but could not find a seat. I had gone quite late in the day so if you do not want to book a table, go earlier in the day to snag a seat for yourself or your group. If you get into a tent, DO NOT LEAVE IT. You do not want to lose your table.

5. Accommodation – Just like booking a table in the tents, book your accommodation just as early. In fact, it may be necessary to do it earlier. I booked my hotel in February and the selection was limited. So the earlier is always the better in the case of Oktoberfest!

Random Oktoberfest Dude

Random Oktoberfest Dude

6. Drink up and have fun – Don’t be an idiot and chug the beer. That is ONE LITRE of drink (ein Maß) and you will be a sloppy drunk in no time, just like this little fella above. Enjoy the festivities: the singing, the dancing and the cheering and toasting (Prost). You will catch on to the drinking songs after an hour or two. If you are worried you will not be able to follow along, practice before you go. It is lots of fun singing German drinking songs while throwing back a litre of beer. 🙂

7. Explore the City – Take time out from the beer to visit Munich. It is a fantastic city with many beautiful churches and museums. It would be a shame to just go to Munich for the beer (yes it is damn tasty)!

Marsha enjoying ein maß at Okoberfest

Marsha enjoying ein maß at Okoberfest

That is my top Oktoberfest tips. It is a great trip to take and I highly recommend that you visit Munich and Oktoberfest. I plan on returning on at some point but with a large group, see my Travel Bucket List for more details!

Have you been to Oktoberfest?  Share your experiences or Oktoberfest tips!

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Surviving Overseas Flights

Aug 25

Surviving the long flight to Europe and Trevi Fountain

Trevi Fountain

Surviving overseas flights….how do you survive those flights? How do you handle being stuck in a flying tin can for 8+ hours? It is not fun. If you are flying coach, and let’s face the fact that most of us are, it can be a long frustrating day of travel.  I have not even mentioned those delightful layovers.

Carry-on

Surviving an eight hour flight depends on being prepared and bringing the necessities on the plane with you. I make sure to include my eye mask and ear plugs in case I wish to sleep.  If I do not want to sleep, then I need my ipad or kindle to pass the time. Airlines are getting better at providing the entertainment themselves. Most newer planes have personal TV’s at your seat with either movies or satellite TV for you to watch. But I prefer to bring my ipad with movies and television shows already downloaded just in case they don’t or the selection is horrible. Also, throw a few snacks in your carry-on.

Rest up

Make sure you do not show up at the airport with bags under your eyes. The only bags you should have are filled with clothes. Make sure you sleep really well the week preceding a long flight. Yes you may end up sleeping the whole time on that long flight, if you do I hate you, but more likely, you will not and your plane naps will be shorter than you had hoped.  You do not want to land at your destination and only want to go to bed, which results in jet lag (more about that later). So rest up, use melatonin if needed, for that long flight.

Jet Lag

Yes you will probably end up with a bit of jet lag. Everyone deals with jet lag differently but I found that if I get a good amount of sleep before the flight, that helps more than anything. I cannot sleep on planes. I try but wake up at the slightest turbulence so getting rest before hand is a vacation-saver.

Once you get on the plane, immediately change your watch to your destination’s time. That is the time and you should respond accordingly if you can. That means during the plane and after. When you get to your destination, DO NOT GO TO BED! Of course, I am assuming that you are arriving during the day. Do not nap, do not rest or anything. Shower, dress and GO OUTSIDE. Yes you will be tired but stay up as late as you can that first night. If you can make it to 9 or 10 pm, your jet lag will be barely noticeable.

Drinking Water

Yes this shows up in every single list out there. It does because it is true. You get very dehydrated on the plane and you need water. I always fight with myself over this one: do I drink another glass of water or do I want to avoid using the restroom? Yes I think like that. Yes I have even skipped the water so I did not have to use the restroom. Yes I made it eight hours once. No, I will not do that again. I did not feel well when I landed in Athens. You need the water. Drink the water. DO NOT drink the ICE CUBES! If they are made on board, that water is not great. If they are sitting out in a bowl, do you really think that circulated air is clean? No.

Boozing it Up

Many lists out there state you should avoid alcohol on long flights. Yes it can dehydrate you as I mentioned above but in my experience, having a drink or two on a long flight is fine as long as you have a few glasses of water as well. I usually have a couple of drinks and have never had a problem. Don’t overdo it.

Clean

Bring that bottle of hand sanitizer or wipes with you. You should wipe down the table and seat pocket. Those are missed quite often. Viruses can linger for up to 72 hours so wipe, wipe and wipe. You do not want to end up with a cold when you land at your destination.

Move that Body

Sitting in the same place for eight hours is not healthy so get up a few times during your flight to move around. Sure, hitting the restroom counts. You will be surviving overseas flights in no time and won’t end up with swollen legs. You can even wear compression socks to combat deep vein thrombosis and use some of my tips. I personally have never done so but many people do that if they had bad circulation. Do whatever feels comfortable!

So there you go, just a few tips that I use when flying overseas. What works for you?

 

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Searching for My Perfect Hotel in Moscow

Aug 22

 

St. Basil's Cathedral, Moscow, Russia

Photo credit: http://www.sxc.hu/profile/ushakov

It is time to start planning my trip to Russia next year. I will be going in February 2014 during the Sochi Winter Olympics but plan on stopping in Moscow first and Prague on my way out. I have decided to stay in Moscow for five or six days, depending on my flight. Time to find my perfect hotel in Moscow.

Right now, one flight option I am looking at has me arriving in Moscow at 11 pm. That is certainly not ideal but it seems to be one of the better options. It has a longer layover than I normally would book (over five hours) but the other option is only a one hour layout in Frankfurt. That is one massive airport and I do not believe I would have enough to make that connection even if the flights were all on time. This is February, dead of winter, so I will need to be a bit more cautious. .

First question you always ask yourself: how much do I want to or can spend? I am normally very frugal when picking hotels but I also prefer to stay in good locations. So before you can answer question one, you must ask yourself a second question: where in the city do you want to stay?  My obvious answer to question two is near Red Square and the Kremlin. Question two’s answer now affects question one because if you stay central, the price usually increases. Moscow is a special city: hotels are CRAZY expensive to start with and they really climb once you get near the Kremlin.

I have decided to spend a bit extra on the Kremlin hotel. I have been saving up for years to visit Moscow and now is not the time to cheap out. Plus this is winter, I would prefer to be in the best location I can get so I can take those night pictures of the area. I prefer not to travel on the metro super late (after 9 pm maybe?) so this affects my decision in picking a hotel in Moscow.

I have picked my location. Next up: researching the area so your potential hotel is near the metro. Being near a metro stop is the most important reason for picking a hotel. I do not wish to spend half my day walking to the metro when I could be spending that time gazing down upon the body of Vladimir Lenin. 😉

First, I usually find a good travel guide book. My favourite is the Rick Steves series but he does not cover Russia so I pick up either Lonely Planet or Fodor’s. Both are very good options and in many cases, I use them both or along side Rick Steves when planning most trips. I find Rick Steves gives the best reviews for hotels. I have booked some great hotels from his recommendations (Rome and Munich in particular) and have never been disappointed.

I usually hit up Trip Advisor at this point to check out reviews of the hotels that I am considering.  I now have about five hotels that I am seriously considering at this point.  I have booked hotels due to ratings on Trip Advisor (Paris and Normandy last year) and I have never had a problem so I feel comfortable using this in my research.

Kremlin, Moscow, Russia

Kremlin, Moscow. Photo credit: http://www.sxc.hu/profile/ushakov

The Moscow Hotel Final Five

So the top choices are: National Hotel, Hotel Metropol, Ritz Carlton, Ararat Park Hyatt Moscow and Hotel Savoy.  All these hotels are ranked in the top 14 (out of 232) hotels for Moscow on Trip Advisor. I read through pages of reviews for all five.  Through trip advisor, I can enter dates for my travel and it will give me the prices from Expedia, Booking.com, Travelocity and several other websites that I have used before.

I quickly discard the Ritz because holy hell, that is cccccccccch-ching.  We are talking over $700. That is completely crazy. Goodbye Ritz!!  Two other hotels have prices over $400 so they are quickly discarded as well (Ararat and Savoy). The ones remaining are the National, Metropol and Savoy. The prices are pretty similar and pretty equal in terms of reviews and location.

I always visit the hotel’s website directly to see if rates are better (they often are) and email the hotel directly to get rates which once again can often be the case (it is not this time).  I have booked hotels through Priceline, Expedia, Travelocity and Booking.com so it all depends on where I can get the best rate. I also make sure I am signed up to any rewards program the hotel of my choice has and then go ahead and book. 

Picking my hotel in Moscow has been very different as I have noted above. I have chosen location over price and decided to splurge a bit. In most other cities, I can find a good hotel without having to pay a great deal more to be in a good location (Paris, Munich, London, Rome and Athens are some examples). Moscow is a very different animal. It is the most expensive city in Europe and second worldwide. So this is not the city to go to on a tiny budget. I am okay with that; I am ready to spend some rubles. 😉

Hotel booked! See you in six months, Moscow. [Update: I made it to Moscow: here is a post on Red Square and one on the Kremlin]

Hotel National, Moscow

My hotel of choice: Hotel National, Moscow

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Welcome to The Travelling Historian

Aug 15

London, Gatwick Airport

London countryside near Gatwick Airport

Welcome to The Travelling Historian.  I have been obsessed with Europe for as long as I can remember. I used to run to the encyclopedias on a fairly regular basis to read up on England, Germany, Russia, Italy, and practically every single country in Europe. This was in the olden days, before the dawn of the internet age where all this information is available with a click of a button. Back then (let’s say late 1980s), you had the encyclopedia, the library and the occasion book.

My parents bought me one of my favorite books when I was around 12. It was the Kings and Queens of England and I read that book cover to cover at least ten times in the first year. I still have that book. I also still have that obsession about the King and Queens of England. It is a fascinating history. That probably helped me decide to get a couple degrees in history (although I switched to Russian/Soviet by the time university came around).

It was fitting that London was my first overseas trip in 2005.  I wanted to travel so badly that I had even started the passport process several times in the years before I went. I never sent it in because I did not know anyone else who wanted to travel. That changed by the time I moved to Edmonton. A friend was going to London and asked if I wanted to go. I never said yes so damn fast, providing I could get a passport in a few weeks. Luckily for me, the passport process was incredibly fast and I had it within two weeks, just in time for our flight to London in June 2005. I was very excited to visit Great Britain.

We flew into Gatwick Airport via Air Transat. The photo above is near Gatwick; my first picture in England. One quick note about Air Transat: it was convenient, cheap and a non-stop direct flight. It was perfect for my first trip to Europe. Would I ever fly it again? No damn way. It was VERY cramped; little leg room and exceptionally uncomfortable.

I have returned to Europe four more times since (London and Ireland in 2007; Germany in 2008; Italy and Greece in 2011; France and London Olympics in 2012) and am planning another trip next year to Moscow, Sochi Olympics in Russia and Prague, Czech Republic in February 2014. It will be my longest trip at a month and probably the most ambitious in terms of going to Russia in the winter, for the Olympics and popping into Prague on my way home. It is exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. Finally knowing Russian will come in handy! 🙂

My first two trips were partly booked with the help of a travel agent but I have completely planned and booked the last three. It is a great deal of work but over the past five years, more and more information has been made available online so it makes it easier. It is very time-consuming but I really enjoy it.

I have set up this website to document my travels and provide tips for researching, planning and booking a trip. While I will focus on Europe, this can be transferred to any country in the world.

Join me on my travels to Europe and maybe one day, I will be brave enough to venture out of my comfort zone and go to Africa or a spontaneous last-minute trip.

Cheers
Marsha

 

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