(There are links to all the rest of the MFME posts at the end of this post.)
After Austria we drove and drove to get to Munich where our flights home were taking off the next day.
This was probably our longest leg of driving. Let’s take a look at the map to see the places we went:
That’s kind of estimated, but kind of fun for me to get in writing. We covered some good ground, but things are relatively close in Europe so it wasn’t bad and man, one of my favorite things really was the car time.
I loved switching back and forth with different mixes in each car learning so much from all those great women.
We got stuck in some serious traffic on our long route from Salzburg to Munich. There was some dancing out the windows and baby coddling as we sat in a gridlock for a while.
At one point we pulled off to stretch our legs for a minute in this gorgeous field:
And then we made it.
We were in Munich…
…accidentally right smack dab in the middle of Oktoberfest.
Yowzas.
It was pretty amazing actually, because it’s what you kind of dream of when you imagine Germany.
At first I thought, “oh cool, we lucked out to see some real lederhosen and dirndls.”
Until I realized they were everywhere… in hoards filling up all the main streets having the giant party of the century.
It was awesome.
Our two cars lost each other en route so luckily we had planned to meet up at the Glockenspiel right in the center of town.
And amidst all those tourists and Oktoberfest celebrations we found each other.
Here we are with some tourists who wanted to join in in their cool outfits:
The Glockenspiel was pretty awesome. Too bad we missed the last “ringing” that went off a half hour before we got there, but see those people up there in the spire? Apparently there are 32 life-sized figures up there and 43 bells that move and enact a couple historic German “stories” as they circle around on the hour a few hours each day. I had to look up a little video clip when we got home to check it out HERE.
But my favorite was just the architecture. So beautiful.
And people watching.
We cruised through the masses of celebrations for a while and checked out the Hofbrauhaus.
Apparently a duke of Bavaria found the beer so awful in Munich that he had to import it from other places. Finally he assigned his royal court to find a solution so they created their own brewery right there in Munich: the Hofbrauhaus.
It was filled to the brim with celebrations on every floor.
We were starving and finally found a semi-remote little street corner to sit and eat and discuss all our favorite parts of the trip before we all split up the next day.
Everything from paragliding to favorite bed and breakfasts to flower boxes and Fall beauty and car discussions and the tune of cow bells in the distance.
Let’s get a little better close-up of our little cozy spot:
Oh how I love these women. I love how unique each is, and to have enough time to really get into their brains was such a luxury. I love how they love others. I love how they mother. I love how they relate all so differently and beautifully to the gospel we share. And mostly I love how each is doing so much good in their own little corners of the world.
They inspire me.
How very blessed I feel to be related to them. And for this granddaddy of MFME trips. Thank you for everything dear women, especially my mom. Those memories will be forever cherished, especially since now I have them written down and will be able to remember them better! 🙂
Goodbye until next time, dear Europe. I hope I get to bring my kids to meet you and your grandeur some day!
The rest of the trip:
Hahaha, as a German I think it` so funny that Americans think of Munich/Bavaria when they dream of visiting Germany. It`s like someone who wants to visit America thinking of New York…. 🙂
I'm also German. ONe of my friends had an English boyfriend and he always teased her that we Germans wear Dirndl and Lederhosen, something she always denied. When they came here to visit her parents, his assumption was actually proven to be correct. But only, because it was Volksfest-time (our Oktoberfest)!