Pre Tour
Oktoberfest
We left California on September 18. We wanted to arrive to Europe ahead of time to adjust to the change. In planning our pre trip, where should we go and what should we do?
Being on that side of the world, we decided to fly into Munich and go to Oktoberfest. It was wonderful. Oktoberfest had been cancelled the last two years, and the Germans were ready party. As Jim told me afterwards, he had no idea that Oktoberfest was a bucket list item. Having been to Munich in 2019 on the Rick Steves' Munich to Vienna tour, we were very familiar with Munich and knew it would be a good place to begin our journey, especially with Oktoberfest happening right before our Rick Steves Best of Eastern Europe tour.
We brought traditional clothes to wear to add to the fun. Wearing traditional garb was not a must do, but for us it added to the fun and festivities. Oktoberfest has an official app. It was loaded with great information as well as the rules. Admission to the tents and Wiesn is free. Beer and food is reasonably priced.
Seiffen
Not very many people have heard of Seiffen, including me prior to planning this trip. The Best of Eastern Europe starts in Prague, so where should we go between Oktoberfest and Prague? We decided to head north to explore this remote part of Germany. A rental car was a must. Seiffen is where so many of the handcrafted German Christmas ornaments are made. Seiffen is in the Ore Mountain region, a former mining area. It was such a cute town loaded with shop after shop of holiday cheer down its main avenue. It was interesting being in the former East Germany.
We were meeting people who, for a big part of their lives, lived under East German communism. We got a sense of this when we visited which only added to how interesting it was to be in this part of Germany. Very much off the beaten path which made it even more fun.
I wish we spent two nights in Seiffen. During the off season, stores tend to close earlier than posted. We felt rushed trying to visit shops and determine what to buy. The ornaments, smokers, arches are of very high quality. The crafters of these well made creations take immense pride in their work. It definitely shows.
Dresden
After spending a night in Seiffen, we drove the 2 hours to Dresden where we had booked a hotel and could return the rental car. We had tickets for a late afternoon time slot to see the Green Vault. The Green Vault experienced a major heist in 2019. Security is very tight at the museum. No pictures allowed. In fact all bags, coats and belongings need to be checked upon arrival.
After our visit to the Green Vault, we explored the Neumarkt. It was hard to believe how this beautiful city was decimated by allied bombers in World War II. Much of its reconstruction began in the 1990's after the fall of East Germany. Dresden is another place where we would like to spend an extra day. We only spent the night and then off to our train to Prague the next morning.
