The closest place one could escape the mid afternoon heat of Las Vegas would be Mt charleston. Who knew only an hour drive from the Strip would bring us to snow capped mountains and a ski slopes! Certainly nobody could guess we were still in Nevada.... Nestled between the winding roads of the mountain, we found mt Charleston Lodge bustling with activity as tourist and locals flood the lodge's restaurant to get their Sunday brunch fix. A live band was playing with a mix of country music and oldies when we entered the restaurant. Combine that with sipping on Local beer with a view of the mountains on a clear sunny day has certainly lift our moods despite the lack of sleep.
Address: 5375 Kyle Canyon Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89124, USA Phone: +1 702-872-5408 Opening Hours: 8am to 12am
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After a torturous 22 hour flight aboard United Airlines, we finally arrive in Las Vegas, Nevada. Only a 30 min drive from the airport brought us to Red Rock Canyon. One of the closest outdoor attraction one can take to escape the craziness of the Las Vegas Strip. A dry sunny afternoon with the occasional cold breeze was something we were extremely appreciative of in comparison to the endless hot sticky humid weather we were subjected to back home in Singapore. Also, after 22 hours of being stuck on a plane with stale air and narrow seats will make even the least claustrophobic person crave for large open spaces and fresh air. On top of that, the awful food served on board United Airlines certainly did not help make the flight bearable at all. The scrambled egg tasted like plastic..*Gags* and the bun was so hard I could give someone a bruise on the head with it. One of the worst airline food ever...! Taking in the view of the Red Rock Canyon is like a prelude to the Grand Canyon. The best part, was the climb up the rocks where we were rewarded with a breath taking view of the surrounding dessert land. From the Munich main train station it would take one about 45min by train or car to Starnberger see. This place was highly recommended by my cousin for chilling away from the city crowd and that was what we were looking to do on our last day. There are plenty of restaurants lining the lake serving german beer and wine. Proper food however seems to be lacking from the menu. The closest we got to food was a really thin crust pizza. Here you could feed the ducks and spend the whole afternoon just relaxing by the lake. But since we were getting quite hungry, we finally decide to head off to another beer hall for dinner.
Here we concluded our last meal in Munich and look forward to the next time we return to Munich again!
It was more like a photography focus hike then a hike in itself. There were too many thing that was worth capturing in memory and on film. Waterfalls, cows with bells (hypnotic), endless valleys and mountains and just a spectacular view. What more could a girl ask for?
Departing Lucerne we drove 41km to Engelberg where mount Titlis lies. There are multiple cable ways up to various mountains and it can get pretty confusing. We finally found the cable way up mount Titlis by spotting some tour buses turning into a carpark. Ticket price: 89CHF (return) *Many of the rides and things to do on Mount Titlis closes early so to ensure you can ample time (factoring in the cable way travel time), I would estimate going up by 12noon. That should give you about 3 hours to walk about excluding time to travel up. 10,000 feet above sea level, the view above the clouds was just panoramic. Every picture we took on our cameras or iphone turned our looking postcard perfect. In my opinion, this is one of the best ways to experience Switzerland; right on top of the alps watching the horizon. After much excitement and alot of photo taking, we were getting a tad bit hungry so we headed down to find food. To our disappointment, many of eateries was closed by 5pm and we had no choice but to purchase mama spicy instant noodle. And my goodness, it was exorbitantly priced! 6.50CHF for a small size cup noodle! Everything in Switzerland is so expensive... Sigh... We drank every last drop of cup noodle soup simply because it was so expensive.
Either way, this was slightly lesser crowded than Jungfrau Top of the world tour. And I would highly recommend visit Mt Titlis as an alternative. For now its Adios to the wonderful time spent on Mount Titlis!
The very next morning, we arose early to catch the 8.40am Lake Lucerne cruise (2hrs). The weather by itself was not terribly cold, but adding the wind factor in, our fingers were freezing throughout the ride. No time for breakfast? There is a small bar/cafe selling some drinks and sandwich on the cruise. A glass of wine would cost you 6Euros, which by Singapore standard is still cheap. You might be wondering why red wine early in the morning? Well, to fight against the cold of course! A glass of wine warms your inside as we braved the chilling winds by sitting on the cruise deck.
If only we had good weather to grow such vibrant colored vegetables and fruits! It was a tuesday morning and we strolled by a short stretch of fresh food/flowers market near the old town of Lucerne. If only we lived here! I would cook all the time, especially with all these fresh herb/fruits/vegetables available for sale. The colors alone make these fresh fruits look so tempting!
The beer tents were about 10-15 walks from the Munich main train station. Before you arrive you will notice drunk men already sprawled on the grass patches leading up to the Oktoberfest grounds. Most of which have fallen asleep on the grass by 2pm in the afternoon! We did not manage to enter the beer tents as tickets were likely sold out 6-12 months prior to the festival. However we did still manage to sneak our way into a beer pub/restaurant in the middle of the Oktoberfest grounds. Beer with a lively crowd singing to german songs and a live band playing traditional Oktoberfest music, we enjoyed every minute of it! We had the popular pork knuckle, sausages and other traditional german dishes to pair with our smooth beer. After the fun of Oktoberfest, there is always the after party. Where else to go but to find a good beer house to continue our feasting. My dear cousin who lives in Munich recommended us to Augustiner-Keller. The beer here might not have been as smooth as the ones we had at Oktoberfest but it was still good all the same. However we were exhausted from a day of drinking, playing games and taking carnival rides we were almost nodding off into our dinner plates. I must say the food here was pretty good. I had the steak medium rare and tried my cousin's breaded fried venison with cranberry sauce. It was delicious. So if you are looking for an beer house after Oktoberfest I would recommend HB (refer to 24/9/2015 post) first and then Augustiner Keller.
What a day it has been! Oktoberfest is one festival I finally checked off my to-visit list. Awesome experience~! Augustiner-Keller Address: Arnulfstraße 52, 80335 München, Germany Phone:+49 89 594393
I would highly recommend those visiting Munich to take a day trip to Rothenburg. Taking the ICE train, it would take you only 2.5 hours one way. A totally different atmosphere from the big city and a way to escape the crowd (especially of Oktoberfest). Something about the old cobbled stone road and traditional houses were oddly enticing. We enjoyed every minute of our trip in this little town and I believe the next time I return here, I would stay here for a few nights to fully explore this medieval town. For now, its goodbye to enchanting Rothenburg...
We must be terribly unfit because A and I were panting by the time we reached the top of the tower (about 13 storey up). Only the view made the climb up worthwhile. We didn't spend that much time at the top of the tower due to the number of tourist cramping up the already narrow viewing area. I would estimate the width of the viewing area as less than a meter. Imagine 1 person having to walk sideways to pass another person, that's how narrow it was! It was about 6pm when we climbed down the tower and it was time for some German style dinner! With the help of tripadvisor the app, we decided to visit the famous HB beer house for dinner and drinks. A search on google will tell you that this place started from the 16th century and one of the most famous Beer halls in the world! Each mug of beer is seriously heavy but each of the beer ladies here could carry up to 8 with both hands! I'm really impressed because carrying even one was heavy for us girls! Hofbräuhaus München Address: Platzl 9, 80331 München, Germany Phone:+49 89 29013610
By 7pm, many of the guests here were in high spirit (in other words drunk or pretty high). You would have thought it was not common for them to see that many asians as they were making quite a big of noise (in german which we don't understand) when we walked by. But we credit it to the extensive amounts of beer consumed during this time of the year. So if you are in Munich, don't miss out visiting HB even it is just to soak up the atmosphere!
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