Friday is another travel day for me. Today Brett and I will take the train from Ostrava to Prague. We are staying at Amadeus Hotel in Prague.

Thursday Brett, Brett’s father and I spent the day together in the mountains. We visited several small towns, a watchtower, and an auto museum. The pic below is at the base of the watchtower overlooking the city of Stramberk, Czech Republic. Stramberk also has a very cool brew pub, of course we did some sampling.

I have been staying with Brett in Havirov (impossible to pronounce properly). Wednesday was another full day. We went to a concert at the local arena. While standing at the bus station on our way home we met a guy that runs a pub whom invited us for a drink. What a great time. I met several really nice people. One guy promised to send me the best Czech rum for Christmas this year. They were very surprised when I told them where I am from. They do not get too many Americans coming through his area. They spoke English the entire night. What a treat. We were drinking the local beer and doing shots of plum liquor (typical of this area). After several hours a very drunk Czech man stood up on a table to announce that his son was born that morning. He was so very proud. He paid for everyones drinks for the night. Unbelievable! “Tonight we drink to David.”

It gets better. We walked out of that pub very late to try somewhere new. While walking down the middle of the street a car driving in the same direction recognized Brett, me and my new friend Bob. It was some girls we met from the last place. They offered to drive us to another great pub. On the way, the driver ran a stop sign and the cops stopped us. We all had to get out and show identification. The Czech police do not speak much English. The driver had a pay a huge fine on the spot. Another fascinating experience.

The next pub was great. We played foosball and drank more Radagast. I made another new friend whom is a Czech coal miner. Apparently there is no curfew in this town, we walked out of the pub at nearly 5am. That pub was never going to close. What a night!

Tuesday was a travel day. My time in Munich is over. It was a great time staying with Annie & the gang. Sad that it must end. I said my goodbyes to Annie & Eric at Munich Airport and was on my way to Czech Rebuplic. The flight was good and the Czech landscape was incredible from the air. On approach to Ostrava I had a really good look at the mountains of Moravia. The airport at Ostrava is very small. The plane pulled up to a very small building that looked more like a warehouse than an airport terminal. All the passengers got off the plane and had to wait for the bags to be unloaded. There were about 30 passengers in total. I picked up my bags and walked across the tarmac and through the tiny airport to find Brett on the other side. I finally made it.

My first day here has been fascinating. Ostrava is nothing like anything I have ever seen. The people, the buildings, the cars are very different from what I have seen in other parts of Europe. Brett and I took the tram through the city to go see the local ice hockey team. Ostrava play in the top level of Czech ice hockey. The opponent was the neighboring city of Trinec. The game was very entertaining. The level of play is very good in the Czech league. Ostrava lost the game 3-2 in extra time.

After the game we we were heading the pub Becival. This is where my friend Barbora is working. I had traditional Czech dumplings with beef and sauce for dinner. We sat and talked with 3 Czech chicks that are local students. They could understand English fairly well. Only one of them could really speak to me. The Czech rum was really flowing and we closed out Becival.

Monday I traveled by train to Salzburg, Austria. I saw the Fortress Hohensaltzburg and walked the historic city streets. Salzburg is very much a tourist city with the center of attention the fact that Mozart was born here. There is a magnificant statue of Mozart in the old part of the city. I also visited the beautiful Mirabell Gardens. The true highlight of my day in Saltzburg was the Augustiner Biergarten. This was a real treat. I found it on the map but could not find the entrance. The streets in this part of the city are very windy and narrow while the landscape is a massive hill over looking the river. Once I found the Augustiner sign I walked through the door and down a large flight of stairs and started to here voices. I found it! Around another corner and down another corridor was a large shelf with many different sizes of glasses and mugs. So the ruitine is to choose a mug then rinse it in the very large marble sink with tap water. Then you pay the man in the booth and take your empty mug to the man at the beer tap. This place was a true hidden treasure. Outside was a massive beer garten that seats 1500 people. All covered by huge trees.

Saturday & Sunday we were back at The Ochsenbraterei Tent. Saturday night we had a table down on the floor. What a night! We finally hooked up with our Frederick (Maryland) friends. Those guys had been on our flight from DC but spent the week down in Vienna.

Sunday we were back up in the VIP area. I was really into the fest Sunday night. I regained my Oktoberfest energy. I was toasting glasses with some huge German farmers and crushed his glass. There was glass and beer everywhere. Following tradition, I bought him a new beer. I spent the rest of the evening talking to these 4 German farmers. I felt like I was in an NFL huddle. They knew English the way I know German, very slow. Those guys are great.

Friday was another rainy day in Munich. The whole gang went out to Andechs for dinner. The early gang: Annie, Matthias, Aileen and me.

The Frauenkirche (“Cathedral of Our Blessed Lady”) is the largest church in the Bavarian capital of Munich. Located in the city center at Frauenplatz 1, the Catholic cathedral is a major landmark and a popular tourist attraction.

Today, the cathedral and the New Town Hall dominate the city center, and its towers can be seen from all directions. It will remain so since the city of Munich passed a provision prohibiting the building of any structure over 100 meters (328 feet). The south tower can be ascended and offers a panoramic view of the city and the Alps.

Wednesday had our crowd back at Ochsenbraterei Tent. We met some more nice German girls. Once the girls know we’re American they are inclined to tell us what States they have visited back home. This has been a regular occurrence. The German’s have been great everywhere. Oktoberfest was short lived tonight. Eric and I were to meet Aileen at Allianz Arena for the Bayern match.

We were headed for the U-Bahn and we on our way to Allianz. Allianz Arena is home of world class football club Bayern Munich. This was a normal league game but the opponent Energie Cottbus was not up for it. After a scoreless half, Bayern scored five goals and cruised to victory. Miroslav Klose scored 3 goals. Bayern: Fünf, Cottbus: Null. Bayern are now 3 points clear of Leverkusen for top spot on the Bundesliga.

Tuesday was a rainy lazy day. We walked the city, did some shopping and got a bit wet. We wandered in the Munich Hard Rock Cafe. It was like being back home, only the beer was better.

Today we are back at the Ochsenbraterei Tent. We’ll have enough time for a few litres of beer and then off to Allianz Arena. Tonight we get to see Bayern Munich host Energie Cottbus. It will be cold and rainy at the stadium, but no worries. This will be one of the highlights of the trip.

Monday night we found ourselves back at “The Fest.” For a Monday these people can really party. Amazing energy in the Spaten tent. It is quite something to hear 10,000 Germans sing “County Roads.” My West Virginia family would be so proud. I thought I was in Morgantown for a moment. We met some nice people from Arizona, Poland and Italy. People really come from all over to drink and celebrate with the Germans.

We had another late night navigating the U-Bahn and dealing with drunken A-Holes from Chicago. Tuesday brings some rain and a day to relax/recover. Tomorrow we are back at The Fest for half the evening and have tickets for Bayern Munich at The Allianz later in the night.