Well, I am thoroughly exhausted by another weekend of incredibly fun times.
I flew to Munich, Germany on Friday morning and arrived alone without anyone's cell phone number and no money for a cab (for some reason Germany hates Visa so I couldn't get money out of an ATM). Luckily, Montana and Shana were waiting for my plane to land, which was a huge relief because the entire flight I was having visions of wandering around a crowded, loud Oktoberfest alone and scared as hell. So anyway, we went to our hotel and then straight to the center of the activities! Of course it starts to rain, but it didn't really bother us--we were on a mission. It was too late in the day to get into a tent, or so we were told, but I decided to try to shmooze my way in anyhow, to no avail. Every time someone went in I started yelling "Hey! I know you! I am coming with you!" But needless to say, no one was buying it. So we ended up huddled under an umbrella outside and were happy when our first beers arrived. I had approximately one sip before some large man tried to sqeeze past me, sending my mug flying into a hundred little pieces all over the ground. The Germans got a kick out of this and of course made loud cheers-ing noises and chugged their own beers happily (similar to the reaction I would get the next day when I tried to jump over a mud puddle and ended up falling in it).
It was wonderful running into so many Santa Clara kids, it is basically impossible to get in touch with people when roaming calls cost about 10$ a minute and you don't know anyone's cell number anyway. So bumping into people you had no idea would be there was really fun! And let me tell you, I am SO glad that I have started eating chicken again because Oktoberfest chicken is the greatest thing I have ever tasted in my life. Montana and I split at least two chickens each day, I am pretty sure.
I did not realize that Oktoberfest was like a carnival; there were roller coasters, ferris wheels, and the scariest looking 'fun' houses I have ever seen (certainly not MY idea of 'fun'). It was only a matter of time before the always-enthusiastic Montana dragged me off to a roller coaster, despite my pleas that all I wanted to do was eat chicken and drink beer, and rides are "sooooo expensive!!" I don't remember the last time I had been on a carnival ride, but me and roller coasters have officially rekindled our love for one another. I can't tell you how many rides I rode this weekend, but what I can tell you is that I blew about least half of my money on them. Well worth it though!
Saturday morning we arrived early, as we were told we should, in order to get into a tent (we would rather not get soaked again, thank you very much). But apparently a half hour early isn't early enough, so that was pretty unfortunate. However, we scored a prime table outside under the heaters. It was a long day and everyone had to take a nap at one point or another, but it was so, so much fun. There were people from all over Europe, and everyone is so darn happy to be there that if you strike up a conversation with them you are automatically their new best friend. Which is awesome, because there is nothing like making friends with jolly, rowdy, singing, leiderhosen-wearing Europeans. All in all, Oktoberfest was beyond my expectations and I wish that I was still there, although my family gets in tomorrow and I cannot wait! And then in 6 days I am off for three-weeks of European roaming!
Singing and dancing... How come they kicked me off the table when I tried to join in??
Cheers!
