Another off the bucket list, Oktoberfest 2014 conquered with the help of my partner in crime, Janne.

Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany otherwise known as the Wiesn. One of the world largest beer festival in the world. Definitely an experience that I don't know if I would like to repeat again. Not that it was not fun, it was an amazing time. A drunken mess to be more precise but once is more than enough for me. I don't know how people do it, drink before 10am and continue till late afternoon or sometimes till close... & most of the time, this is repeated everyday for x amount of days. I only made it out to the wiesn 2 out of the 4 days I was there but I was physically exhausted, for which I felt I needed a week to completely recover. Sorry liver.

 

There were numerous different tents serving various brews from Bavaria. However, we only made it to one tent, Fischer Vroni. It was one of the tent that were relatively easier to get in, we managed to get a table under 15 minutes. Impressive? I must say so. Many mass biers later, we joined in on table dancing, which is a lot safer than sitting down. Along with meeting various people from all over as well making friends with the security and chef from the kitchen. This was a plus! Made is so much easier to get in the same tent on the Friday, which happens to be a holiday throughout Germany. Tents were full by 11am... and I did not make it out to the wiesn till about 17:00! So my tip to people who don't want to pay the expensive prices of table reservation at Oktoberfest. I say go on the weekday when its not so busy, get drunk and make friends with the security and staff there.

Thank you for the good company along with the many nights of silly pillow talks.

Managed to do a bit of sightseeing during the hustle and bustle of Oktoberfest. Though it was only one stop, Marienplatz... better than nothing.

Home sweet home, back to beautiful Dresden along with my handsome dude.

Berliner for the weekend, nothing but excitement for this adventure in the capital. You never know where it will take you and who you will meet along the way. In my case, an amazing person I have met takes me all the way to Berlin.

Started off with a very German breakfast consisting of bread rolls, slices of cheese and deli meats, and hard boiled eggs. Then off to venture in the city. First stop: Alexanderplatz!

Home to one of Berlin's landmark TV tower (Fernsehturm) which stands at 365m tall. A sight that can not be missed, despite how far or close you are from this central hub of Berlin Mitte.

Entering Lustgarten, this is where I truly fell in love with Berlin. Prior to this, Berlin was just a big city with lots of people and traffic nothing special. In the middle of Lustgarten, you find yourself surrounded with beautiful architectural buildings. One of which, is the Berliner Dom the largest cathedral in the city with it's highly detailed design. Along with many museums such as the Altes museum. Even if you do not go inside, it is worth just sitting in front of the fountain on the grass and taking it all in or sitting on the steps between the highly design pillars.

Second stop: Brandenburger Tor. Meters away from Lustgarten, you find yourself entering Unter den Linden. A boulevard lined on both sides of the pedestrian pathways are 'linden' trees giving it its name 'under the linden trees'. Leading you from lustgarten to the Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate), a breathtaking and famous landmark of Germany. With its neoclassical architectural design, it is beautiful in person.  

 

A walk away from the Brandenburg Tor is the Reichstag building, central meeting for the German parliament. With a big field of green space directly in front of it, you can relax and embrace its beauty under the summer sun.

Third stop: Siegesäule. Walking away from the Brandenburg Tor, I find myself walking along the Victory Avenue (Siegesallee) towards what I have only seen in media, the Siegesäule (Victory column). With its on-going traffic circling the base, one can find it hard to simply cross the street to the center and for this reason, there are tunnels that runs underneath of it all leading you to the Siegesäule. Where you can enjoy the busy traffic from the steps of Siegesäule and be glad you are not part of the honking and beeping of cars. & for 3Euros you can climb the stairs to the two view points of the Siegesäule. Climbing the stairs to the top of what I thought was never going to end was very tiring but was worth it! The panoramic view of Berlin from the top of Siegesäule was absolutely phenomenal. You can see the many streets that intersect at the base of the column and surrounding it is the massive green space of Tiergarten. Of course, by the end of this I was too exhausted to continue onwards and just needed to relax with a beer, Berliner Kindl.

On the hunt for what is left of the Berliner Mauer (Berlin Wall), that once separated Germany East and West. Along the way, found myself getting lost within the Holocaust Denkmal made up of numerous concrete slabs. A memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe during the Holocaust. Located only a block away from the Brandenburg Gate and another block over you enter the business district, Potsdamer Platz. This is where you can find the Sony center, made up of glass and steel. It is a central hub for various entertainments such as film premiers, sporting events, etc.

It was a fail attempt to find the Berlin wall, however there were pieces of the wall scattered throughout the city so gives you a rough idea of it. Some covered in colorful graffiti, while others covered in chewing gum. Instead, made it to Checkpoint Charlie. This is the crossing point of East Berlin and West Berlin. With signs stating whether you are entering the 'American Sector' or the 'Non-profit Sector'. Entering to what was the 'American Sector' was as if you step backed into history during the cold war due to its well kept buildings. It was different to the rest of Berlin.

After a journey back into history of Germany, had a relaxing evening at Capital beach located in front of Berlin Hauptbahnhof and the Sprewith some great company. Of course, had to eat currywurst while in Berlin its like going to Montreal, Canada for its poutine.