If Germany's on your list, consider timing your trip around one of Europe's biggest parties: Munich's Oktoberfest. I've been in Munich for each of the last two Oktoberfests, and I'm so impressed by the simple Bavarian joy of the party. For a visitor, there's no better place to see (and join) Germans at play. Inside huge beer-hall tents, you'll find a slap-happy world of lederhosen, dirndls, fancy hats, and maidens with flowers in their hair. Join the party with me in this clip from my new, one-h

Munich's Oktoberfest is winding down -- despite its name, the party gets underway in mid-September and ends on the first weekend of October. From the ceremonial tapping of the first keg at the festival's opening until the celebration's final evening, the huge fairground outside Munich's city center is a slap-happy world of sausages, fancy hats, and maidens with flowers in their hair. For a visitor, there's no better place to see (and join) Germans at play - the atmosphere is infectious. Admissio