Back in the Fatherland: Updated

So I was in Germany for the 1st time in my life this past weekend. I gotta say, the parts I saw (Munich/Oktoberfest) were remarkable. For those of you who don't know, Oktoberfest is an annual debacle of a beer festival (more info). Millions of people go to Munich Germany during this 3 week period, which starts in late September (go figure), to experience this amazing Bavarian event. First of all, as you may have seen in the pictures, people get dressed up in typical Bavarian garb. This involves men wearing Lederhosen and women wearing Dirndl. I am not sure that I could ever wear such an outfit, however, most of the men that do wear it are drunk most of the only day that they sport the outfit. The plot of land that is used is vacant all year round. On the grounds are amusement park type rides, games, venders and about 12 different tents (each holding massive amounts of people and a different type of beer).

I experienced Oktoberfest in true fashion by making a full day of it. I was on the grounds from 10am until 10:30 pm. I spent most of the day in the Augustiner tent, and enjoyed Oktoberfest beverages, food, and people. By the way, when I say tents, I mean wooden structures with an opaque tent like roof. The hall was packed with people and for the 1st time in my life I experienced a male bathroom line that was longer than the females. Unbelievable. I will say this to all the women reading this, I am sorry for all those times we are in and out while you are still waiting. Yet, this does build character in your careful planning abilities.



Because I am a food guy, I must say that the half chicken (Wiesn Hähndl) I ordered was delicious. They must drop it in a tub of oil to make it as crisp as it is. Plus, it was very salty (no complaints though). I am not sure if that is a Bavarian thing, or if it was implemented to make people drink more. At about 7pm, it was time to venture out of the tent for a little walking and one last beverage. The festival was a happening place, but not as rowdy as inside the tents. The last stop we made was the Lowenbrau tent where we sampled their brew and ate one last half of chicken. Overall - this was a great experience (probably because I've never seen so many different nationalities drunk at one time).

One more thing, they have pretzels in Germany that are bigger and almost comparable in taste to those steamy ones in Philadelphia.

Check out my Sunday morning breakfast...

That's right - pretzel with cream cheese and chives.

As for Munich, it was a nice looking city. It is pretty remarkable that the architecture looked so authentic and old, even though it was probably only built 60 years ago.

One last thing I must mention is that when crossing the street with pedestrian crossing lights, typically it is common to walk when there are no cars coming, even if the light is red. However, in Germany, if one does this (only foreigners do this), the Germans will yell at them. Very weird for a couple of reasons on a few levels. One, it just proves how the German culture is very rigid. I am not saying that this is a bad thing, it is a fact of their culture. Two, I felt uncomfortable being yelled at in German. Stupid Hollywood movies.

Maybe off to Amsterdam this weekend to see Brooke!