OkToBeRfEsT 2009!!!!

What a weekend!!!  Friday afternoon I arrived in Munich, hopped on the train and got to the city center.  When walking out of the platform the first thing one sees is the center of Marrienplatz, with the most enormous beautiful castle, one has ever seen!!  I walked to the hotel and went up into our room.  It was incredible, the accommodations, superb!!  I quickly dropped my things off, changed, and went to meet the girl for dinner.  “The girls” I am referring to are Kierstin Ruppert and Poppy Hall, 2 of my best friends from GFS.  I have known both since we were in 4^th grade and love traveling with them!  Poppy is studying in Paris, and Kierstin, in Florence.  We ate at a restaurant in the city center.  It was underground and served typical German food with a unique flair.  About halfway through our meal a rather ahem-interesting-ahem young man decided he wanted to join us.  He was from Ireland and very funny!  After dinner we walked around for a bit and then went back to the hotel to get a good nights rest to prepare us for a full day Saturday!  During Oktoberfest most of the activities happen during the day so bars, pubs, clubs, etc. close relatively early (11:30pm-12). 

7:30am our alarms went off and we excitedly got ready for the day!  We ate breakfast at the hotel and hopped in a cab to go on over to Oktoberfest.  This was like NOTHING I had ever seen before.  The best way to describe is would be to imagine a state fair…times 20 plus hunt cup/pimlico plus tailgating plus outdoor bars.  Everywhere you look there are booths selling food (pretzels, sausage, candied nuts, etc), rides (ferris wheel, roller coasters), and beer tents.  The beer tents are about as big as a football stadium.  You have to wait in a line and then periodically as people leave they let more people in.  We got there by 9am so the line was not very long.  There are hundreds of wooden tables filled with people and we just went and sat down where there was room.  We ended up making friends with a group of local Germans, Australians, and Brazilians.  Most people are dressed up in typical German outfits and the waitresses walk around and you have to scream how many beers you want to get their attention.  The beers are HUGE! Each tent serves a different type of beer.  The waitresses can carry 10 beers at a time!!! I have no idea how they do it, the beers are so heavy!  There are also people walking around selling pretzels and other snacks.  I have never seen so many people in my life!  At any moment you can expect to hear at least 3 languages being spoken.  Out of nowhere a table will start singing and the entire tent will join them.  People are dancing on tables and slamming beers.  Prost, the German word for cheers is heard everywhere!  It was incredible!!  ****(The following part is for my OSU friends J, especially Amy) The Aussies at our table decided to play the “mine” game.  I was got paying attention and when asked whose beer is that I stupidly responded, “mine”, so there I was.  Surrounded by literally thousand of people doing 10 push-ups in the middle of the beer tent!  Kierstin and Poppy both had friends who were also at Oktoberfest.  We met up with Poppy’s friends in another tent, and then we met Kerstin’s friends!  Both of them have awesome friends!!

            By 3:00pm we were hungry and tired!  We went back to the hotel for lunch and Poppy and Kierstin headed upstairs for a nap.  Sometime during the festivities my camera took a dive in a full mug of beer.  It could not be resuscitated. L  So I went out into the center of town and had to invest in a new camera.  It was nice getting to walk around.  Munich is like no city I have ever seen before.  It has store, restaurants, and bars built into these enormous castles.  There are people everywhere!!!  I wish I could have spent more time exploring the city!  I would love to come back!  The Germans are much much different than the Swiss.  The Swiss are very calm, content, helpful, quiet and value personal space.  The Germans I met were loud, rowdy, fun, and personal space did not exist!  After getting a new camera I went back to the hotel and joined the girls in their nap.  Dinner was on our mind when we woke up so Kierstin and I went to the Hofbrahaus, recommended by Greg.  It is right by our hotel.  It was crowded and we had t wait for a few minutes to get in.  The Hofbrahaus, or HB, is a huge old castle that now serves several purposes.  There is a large room that has an um-pa-pa band and many long wooded tables where everyone sits.  There is another portion of the castle that serves as the restaurant.  Kierstin and I ate in this area. We got traditional German braised meet and a delicious drink that is beer mixed with lemonade.  When we first sat down we ordered water and the table of gentleman behind us were not happy with that beverage selection!  After dinner we walked around for a bit, got some gelato and went back to the hotel!  It was a fantastic day and great way to start our birthday celebrations (Kierstin turns 21 in 2 days, and I turn 21 a week after her!)  I would absolutely recommend Munich to everyone!  Oktoberfest really is indescribable. This morning Poppy had an early flight so she left and Kierstin and I had breakfast and did a little souvenir shopping.  The airport is a 50 minute train ride from the center of the city so I hopped on a train and am currently en route back "home".

Prost from Munich!!  xoxo

I have been having trouble placing pictures so they not very organized.  Sorry!