Crazy ways to pass a few hours
The best thing about May is the number of public holidays. While it’s one thing having some time to yourself, however,—it’s quite another knowing how to fill it. We’ve come up with a few unusual ways of spending a couple of hours…
EXPLORING THE ROOFTOPS OF THE OLYMPIC STADIUM
Why am I doing this? I gaze out over the green turf of Munich’s Olympic Stadium. It is Saturday afternoon and I’m one of the few visitors around. It is pleasant to sit on the terrace, with my feet firmly on solid ground. But I know it is not for long. Soon I will be hanging from the roof of the stadium, relying on a sturdy couple of ropes and carabiners for support as I dangle in mid-air. I’ve booked myself on to a rooftop abseiling, or rappelling, tour, which involves descending 40 meters on to the stadium’s pitch. I’m sure the view is fantastic, I tell myself.
Our tour guide and a couple of abseiling pros gather me and eight others together for a safety briefing. We’re shown how to put on our harnesses, ropes and carabiners, which are all supplied as part of the tour, and are given windproof jackets and helmets to wear. And then we’re off! We climb a ladder onto the roof and click our carabiners on to a wire cable, which runs on one side of the walkway around the stadium roof. I suddenly feel safe. Even if I fell, which would be difficult because of the barriers on either side of the narrow walkway, I would still be securely attached.
I start to relax and take in my surroundings. The view is indeed amazing. You can see Munich’s roofs and towers in the distance and take in the Olympic Park’s architecture. Our tour guide tells us that the park was constructed for the Olympic Games in 1972. The first model of the building was made using a pair of tights stretched over matchsticks, which were meant to represent the supporting pylons.
And then it is time to leave the security of the walkway behind and to try my hand at abseiling off one of the stadium’s supporting girders. The instructor goes first. After his colleagues click him securely on to a red safety rope, the instructor opens a metal gate and steps out on to a 15 centimeter-wide platform. “Just lean backwards,” he says. I watch horrified as he lets himself fall outwards into open air, with his feet still on the platform. “The important thing is to let your head fall below your feet before you let go,” he tells us, and then sets off on his descent.
A man from our group grins confidently and offers to go first. He makes a whooping noise as he drops, lifting his feet above his head for the last 10 meters. “Show off,” I mutter quietly. I volunteer to go second. The longer I wait, the more nervous I’ll become, I reason.
I glance at the man who is next to me in the line. He is completely blind but is being guided by his colleagues. He has to be brave every day, I think to myself and take courage. I open the gate and move on to the narrow step next to it. It looks an awfully long way down. Then I lean back and am surprised to feel relatively secure. I ease myself backwards and, before I know it, I’m gently moving towards the ground.
It is so quiet. The rope runs smoothly through the carabiners as I sink gently downwards. I take my hands off the rope and wave to the onlookers on the ground. I’m enjoying this! Before I know it I’m back on solid ground and am soon joined by the rest of the group. We run a celebratory lap around the stadium, waving to imaginary fans and pretending to play soccer on the field. The rest of the group is obviously as exhilarated by the experience as I am. When can I go again?
CONTACT DETAILS:THERME ERDING
If you fancy a bit of South Seas flair combined with some Finnish sauna action over a long weekend, then head to Therme Erding. The local health center has been voted Germany’s leading thermal spa and Germany and Austria’s best sauna. It is easy to see why. A few hours at the Therme leaves you completely relaxed and filled with a sense of health and well-being.
You can choose to use just the thermal pools at Therme Erding or pay extra to enter the sauna area. It is worth the extra cost. There are 13 types of sauna, as well as two steam rooms, roman baths and various pools and relaxation areas. The sauna section is meant to be an all-nude area. Surprisingly, after the first five minutes, you soon adapt to walking around naked.
The numerous saunas have different themes and are set at different temperatures. The rose sauna is located in a small, rose-decked cabin and is scented with roses. Others include the meditation, bio-, citrus and polar-light saunas. The tropical area has a jungle-style sauna. The log cabin sauna in the Finnish section is definitely worth a visit. It is extremely large, allowing everyone lots of room to stretch out, and has thick log walls and a fire in the corner. The Erdinger Schwitzstube, or Erding sweat room, is not for the faint-hearted: the sauna’s temperature is fixed at 100 degrees Celsius.
After all that heat, you can cool down in the ice grotto, themed showers, cold tub or by walking through the icy-cold water in the Kneipp wading basin. And then it is time to relax a while. It is pleasant to drift around the Vitalbad pool and stare at the sun or stars through the atrium overhead, while listening to the underwater music. You can recline in the area’s relaxarium or even indulge in a massage.
The thermal section houses a 1,400-sq.-m turquoise thermal pool surrounded by palm trees. The glass dome is opened when the weather’s good. There are also pools outside. It is wonderful to swim under the stars at night and watch the steam rise from the warm water. What’s more, you’re swimming in therapeutic spring water, with health-enhancing properties. The sulphur spring is said to ease rheumatic and arthritic pain. The brine grotto, meanwhile, helps heal respiratory and skin disorders. You can tank up on pure oxygen in the oxygen garden. Visitors can bathe in grottos or relax among the jacuzzi bubbles. You can join the kids and play on the giant water slides in the outside adventure playground. If you’re too relaxed for any more action, then you can always enjoy a drink at the palm tree beer garden instead!
CONTACT DETAILS:RAFTING DOWN THE ISAR
What better way to while away a sunny spring day than drifting down the Isar? And not in a rowboat either, but on a giant wooden raft. The rafting season opens on May 1 and lasts until September. A large raft carries up to 55 people and there is much merrymaking along the way, helped by the free beer that is available. A raft ride (Flossfahrt) normally resembles a moving, mini-Oktoberfest, with lots of beery cheering and singing. There’s also traditional Bavarian music, courtesy of a band that travels onboard.
Raft passengers start their journey in Munich, where they travel south by bus to Wolfratshausen. The raft sets sail about 9 am and floats through the romantic Isar Valley scenery. There is a lunch break at a Bavarian inn in Grünwald. Take your bikini or swimming trunks with you, as it is good fun to dive into the river and swim alongside the raft.
CONTACT DETAILS:CORPUS CHRISTI PARADES
One event not to miss this month is a parade marking the feast of Corpus Christi, or Fronleichnam, on May 26. These traditional processions advance through Bavaria’s numerous villages, past houses decorated with flags and flowers. Each village has developed its own traditions. In Mittenwald, the local Junggesellenbruderschaft, or “bachelor brotherhood,” carries a high flag in the parade. In the Lenggries procession the flag is also a focal point, at a height of 14.5 m. According to tradition, waving the flag serves as a signal to ring the church bells and set off a small, celebratory cannon. Dachau holds an open-air church service followed by a procession of 800 people through the town. Weilheim, meanwhile, holds a Baroque-style procession, which ends with a blessing and much celebration on Marienplatz. Like many a Bavarian event, the parades often finish with beer and a hearty lunch. <<<
