The biggest party on Earth...

This past weekend I ventured away from the lovely city of Strasbourg to go to Munich, Germany to visit Kevin and also to experience Oktoberfest. Oktoberfest is an annual festival that lasts 18 days from mid-september through the beginning of october. The first Oktoberfest was held in 1810 (that makes this year the 200th anniversary) to celebrate the marriage between Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and Therese de Saxe-Hildburghausen, and involved lots of horse racing. Because the party was such a success they decided to hold it the year after that, and the year after, and so on. They hold it in September because the weather is nicer, but they keep its traditional name. Somehow Septemberfest doesn't have the same ring to it.  

Now a days, Oktoberfest is notorious as the biggest party in the world. This year they expect around 7 million people to attend. It has also become less about horse racing and much MUCH more about good ole' fashion German beer. There are countless breweries in Munich alone, but 6 large breweries get one "tent" (more like a giant building) to decorate and serve beer in liter mugs. They also offer other attractions such as great food and an extensive amusement park. A ride on the ferris wheel will cost you 6 euros, and a pretzel? 4 euros! This is the place to go if you want to spend all of your money.

So naturally, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Lucky for me Kevin lives in Munich! All the hotels and hostels were booked, and I get to spend time with my best friend! I bought a train ticket, and on friday I started my journey.

I know its kind of hard to see, but this was my train route! I got a ride to Kehl, Germany from Strasbourg (its about 15 minutes) and took relatively short tram ride to Offenburg. Unfortunately, someone jumped in front of a train in Offenburg before I arrived, so all of the trains were delayed. One of the conductors took a look at my ticket and threw me onto a totally different train and told me that it would work. So much for seat reservations though! The train was packed. After a kind old german man helped me make sense of everything, I found a seat and tried to relax. After that I switched trains in Karlsruhe to get to Munich. I sat by a nice Swiss woman, and we talked the entire time! We were both heading to Munich so she helped me understand how the trains in Munich work.

I finally got of the train, and Kevin was there waiting with a boquet of dahlias! My favorite! He took me to a quaint Bavarian restaurant for a crash course in Bavarian culture!

This was the ceiling of the restaurant decorated with pretzels and these heart shaped cookies that are similar to valentines in the US. Sweet nothings are scribbled in frosting and the cookie is hung around the neck of a sweetheart. Apparently they are not really edible, as they can last for 20 years! Kind of like twinkies I guess.

The next day, Kevin and I woke up early to go to the parade of the breweries. All of the breweries (and one winery) in Munich have a band, float, color scheme, and costume in the parade. It was so much fun!

Even though it was only 11 AM, everyone was already drinking out of their giant mugs.

All of the floats were so beautiful and interesting!

After the parade, Kevin and I walked to Oktoberfest and watched the Mayor open the first keg of beer and proclaim that Oktoberfest can now begin! All of the beermaids suddenly emerged and began distributing the liters of beer. Each beermaid carries 8 mugs at a time. One was too heavy for me! I don't know how they do it! Apparently they get huge bruises on their arms by the end of the 18 days. 

Kevin and I then began our search for a table to order a beer. Because it was the opening day of Oktoberfest, people had been there since 9 or 10 am! We got there around 1 and there was no hope for us. So we continued walking around the fairgrounds. There was some really great food. I tried some roasted walnuts, and some german style potato pancakes with applesauce. Just then, I spotted something! A rotating bar on a carousel. Don't worry it was spinning very very slowly. It was easy because you ordered the beer and found a spot on the carousel. We had a great time! We tried a Weissbeer (see photo below) which is brewed with hay, but tastes really smooth and refreshing. It was fun to meet all of the people on the carousel and find out where everyone was from. There were a lot of americans at oktoberfest! 

That night, we met up with another Lewis and Clark student, Hannah, and found a table in the Lowenbrau beer garden. Kevin insisted that he buy me my very own Mas (mug) of beer, despite my pleas that we should share. It worked out fine though because we were there until it closed at 10 pm, so I had plenty of time to finish my mas and order a pretzel too! 

The next day we woke up and went to another parade that was more about bavarian costumes and music. I loved all of the costumes, they were so colorful!

Then kevin and I bravely ventured back into the fairgrounds, but skipped beer drinking this time. We went straight to the line for the ferris wheel. I really wanted to see the view of the fairgrounds and of munich stretching out beyond. It was the perfect day for a ride on a ferris wheel!

Each of those white buildings is a brew "tent". More like a warehouse! They decorate them all beautifully though! 

Kevin and I left Oktoberfest for good and explored downtown Munich a little bit. We ate lunch at an Italian restaurant and visited some beautiful churches. Everything in Munich was destroyed in World War II, so the cathedral had to be rebuilt. It will never look like the original, but I think they did a pretty fine job. I can't imagine how hard it must have been to see such a beautiful thing blown to pieces. I think it takes a lot of bravery and will to rebuild. 

I left Munich sunday night, and rode on the train with a really friendly german man who was a choreographer in L.A. for 10 years. He worked with Madonna and Michael Jackson! Wow!

I got home at midnight, and boy was it nice to relax after such an eventful weekend. I had such an amazing time with Kevin. We started dating 2 years ago this weekend! I'm glad I have such a great friend in my life.

That's all for now! Keep reading my blog!

Auf weidersein!