New Years Eve

One odd thing here is that in the week before new years you can buy fireworks at any supermarket and set them off seemingly wherever and whenever you want. Slightly un-nerving and slightly awesome, I wonder how many fingers go missing.

We decided on the traditional German new years feast of Tequila, apple strudel, and egg liquor flavoured icecream (ok maybe we are starting a new tradition). After some drinks we wandered over to the only hill of note in town (actually built using rubble from WW2) to watch the fireworks.

Our newly found cold-resistance laughed off the -3 degree freezing fog and we ventured out into what sounded like a war zone. All day the sound of fireworks in the neighbourhood had been increasing and by now there were constant explosions and the smell of gunpowder in the air.

Whoever decided that freely available fireworks and legal public drinking is a good combination is a genius. Kate's nerves were shot by the end of the night, I wont be able to convey the chaos very well in words and pictures. Imagine 1000's of drunk people with bags full of fireworks setting them off haphazardly in any direction that takes their fancy. I couldn't actually tell when midnight was, there was just constant fireworks from about 11:30 until 12:30. 

Calm before the storm

Eerie freezing fog heading up the hill.

Sometimes the ones on a stick that shoot really high and explode would fall over between lighting and launching and would end up going horizontally through the crowd. One scooted past our feet, past the crowd of people standing next to us before hitting a tree and exploding behind a large group of people. 

The bloke next to me loses a body part...

This guy was holding the stick in the air waiting for the rocket part to launch, but for some reason, it didn't. The sparks were licking up his arms before he suddenly dropped it in front of him, where it blew up maybe two metres in front of us. And the noise it made. Every so often you would here the crowd scream in unison when one had obviously exploded on the ground.

Top-hat man hands out rose petals for some reason

Kate's Impression 

It was such a great (and adrenaline fuelled) atmosphere. Once we'd decided where to stand, you're almost too afraid to move. I flinched a few times thinking I was going to go out as a sparkly red firework. There were lots of petals everywhere. A man in a top hat went around to crowds of people handing them out for people to throw in the air. It seemed innocent, but even being hit in the face by a rose petal was terrifying at this point. 

The local Council saves money on fireworks displays because everyone brings there own. I don't even think there was an official display. They will however have to spend a fortune to clean up the unholy mess that was left behind. Every intersection on the way home was covered in party remnants and presumably fingers.

Towards the end it was so smokey that visibility was down to about 20m.

Launch of the space shuttle?

 Shortly after midnight the sound of fireworks began to be drowned out by the sound of ambulances and fire engines as they raced around town re-attaching fingers and putting out fires on balconies.

Just a small fire being put out on the way home.....

The newspaper this morning said there was only 160 injuries in Munich and 1 death in Germany this year which they were pretty upbeat about. They're a funny bunch these Germans; they are quite happy to blow up small pieces of their country and take eyes out, yet on their way home they would refuse to cross a deserted road until the green man says so.

Here is a short video of the chaos.

On a side note we booked some flights to Portugal in mid January for €15 each. We are doing Porto, Lisbon, across to Spain to Seville and Granada, then over to Morocco to Tangiers, Fes, and home from Marrakesh. Pretty excited!

- Joe