East Munich woodlands and old quarry in Waldperlach.

The woodland is within Munich city - a haven for wildlife and diverse species of trees and plants.  

The energy of woodlands is unique. Transforming. There are signs of industry - a disused quarry, paths, machines, felled trees - their trunks sprayed with numbers & ready for collection.

But nature is returning, as it will and I was reminded of Wordsworth's poem The Ruined Cottage - how nature reclaims - as the trees have, all around and in the disused quarry. I recorded the music on my Lowden guitar and is one of my versions of Shebeg Shemore originally composed by the great Irish harpist Turlough O'Carolan- shorter version to fit the video!

The numbers are staggering: 2018 will see 6.3 million visitors at Munich's Oktoberfest.

One of the best attractions of the Oktoberfest is the Oide Wiesn, an enclosed area with an entry fee of 3 Euros.  Here it is a far less hectic experience and a chance to eat in one of the restaurants - the famous one being the Festzelt Bavarian beer tent. Yes it seats 5,000 - and has a dance floor- if you fancy grooving along to the famous Wolfgang Grünbauer and his orchestra.

The Oide Wiesn (Bavarian for The Old Wiesn or Oktoberfest) is full of memorabilia: Old cycles, motorbikes, parts of fun fair rides, tractors dating from the 1930s, a section of an old Wall of Death (with motorbike), and the traditional bands playing music as it would have sounded decades ago.