Munich, heart of Bavaria and home to BMW and Oktoberfest. We were here on the first day of Oktoberfest. We took the metro into the centre of town and the place was alive with people who had decended on Munich for a good time and a chance to wear traditional costume. Train is definitely the way to travel in these European city centres. In the city the action was centered on Marianplatz - famous for its glockenspiel clock on the "new" city hall - only 200 years old. Each day at 5 pm the bells ring out a tune and lifesize figures up in the bell tower cavort around. As you can see in the photo this really draws the crowds, including the out of town football supporters from nearby Dresden who were celebrating their imminent victory against the local team and also seeing if their cheering could drown out the glockenspiel.

Nuremburg is about an hour away and we visited during the Saturday morning markets. The specialties were local bavarian sausages and gingerbread. We just loved this view between two market stalls set up on the bridge.