Prost!

What a great weekend! Just a warning that this is going to be quite a long blog post since there is just so much to say!

On Thursday (9.16.10) I didn’t have any class so Chris P and I went to get our train tickets ready for Oktoberfest. We got a really sweet deal! There is a ticket that takes you to Munich for 28 Euros for five people. I bought three of them for the entire group and they all just paid me back. Since the individual price was 5.60 we decided to tell everyone 6 so I didn’t have to deal with all that change! It was nice because people were fine with it and Chris and I split the extras so we only had to pay about 3 Euros. It was a great deal! J Since the plan was to only go for the day, the ticket included our way there and back. I’m glad that traveling to Munich is so cheap. I have a feeling we will be doing it a lot. After we got the tickets figured out, the group all met to get a tour of the Fortress. It was great because the sun came out right as we got there and it made the view much better. When Mom, Dad and I were there it was a little cloudy. It was nice to see it again because I actually learned something this time. My friend, Steve wasn’t there so I could actually listen to what the audio tour said! Haha! On Thursday night all of the girls in my group decided to go out. We were planning on going to this really cool terrace for some drinks but it ended up being closed. We were all disappointed because it was a really nice night and the view would have been great! Of course there are a lot of other options though! We ended up going to the Salzach Bar which is a boat on the river that stays permanently docked. It was really cool! We were the only ones in there for awhile which was fun because the bartender played any songs we wanted. We all got fancy drinks. We talked to some guys and the bartenders which was fun. They were all really nice and it was fun for me because I was pretty much the translator. It is fun knowing German better than the rest and I think I am getting more confident with it so that is good! Overall it was a really fun night and I think we are heading back to the bar for Megan’s birthday on Tuesday.

Friday was a really calm day. We all knew we had a big day ahead of us so we didn’t really do much. I got some homework done but other than that I did absolutely nothing. I didn’t feel so bad because it rained all day and there isn’t much you can really do. Then Saturday came!! We got up early to get on the bus to the train station and everyone was really excited. I felt a little bit of pressure because I planned all of the train stuff but for the most part it worked out. I looked online and it said the first train was at 9:08 but when we actually got to the train station it said the earliest train was 10:17. I felt bad that I messed up the times but no one really cared at all which was nice. Everyone was really appreciative that I got the tickets so that was good. We just waited until the next train and I then got worried that the train would be full. We saw so many people in their Oktoberfest outfits. Once the train came everything worked out fine! The train was empty when we got on and everyone got to sit next to each other. I could finally relax once we were on the train. The train was about two hours long. Once we got to Munich we figured out a meeting time and everyone kind of split up. We all decided it would be way too difficult to stay in a group of 17. We all started walking towards where the tents were and some people went the wrong way so that is why we got split up a little more than we thought. I was with Kevin and Brady the whole day and it was a lot of fun. When we got to the entrance to Oktoberfest it was crazy! I have never seen anything like it. So many people in crazy outfits! It was basically a large fair with buildings, rides and vendors. The tents looked pretty busy but we decided just to go for it. We went to the Hofbrau tent and were surprised we got in right away. It took a lot of pushing but we eventually got in. Inside was nuts! People shouting, dancing on tables and singing! So great! We figured out that you can’t get a beer unless you are at a table but it was pretty much impossible to find a table. We walked around for a little while and then left. It was fun to experience it though because it is the most famous tent there.

We then found a smaller building that was actually seating people so we got in a lot easier. It was called Wildmoser’s. They sat us at a table and told us we had to be out within an hour and a half which was not a problem at all. We all ordered the classic 1 liter beer and did the classic “Prost!”. It was so great! I have to admit I thought the beer was good! I must be getting used to it. Haha! It still was a lot of beer but I actually finished it. I had one beer to Kevin and Brady’s two beers but that’s ok! I loved hearing all of the German drinking songs and everyone hitting there beers on the table! It was so great and so typical of what people think Oktoberfest is about!  After that tent we walked around. The people watching is amazing! So many crazies. We decided to try and find other people in our group. We went to one tent we thought they would be in since it was the beer everyone liked. We didn’t get too far because we met some really cool guys from London. They were so funny! Kevin likes talking to random people so he started to talk to them and they were great. We ended up getting a beer outside the tent and which was fun too. They actually blocked off people from the tent after awhile which was weird but we were glad to have gotten there when we did. After we left the tent we walked around some more. We never did find anyone else in our group. There were just too many people. We found some other nice people to talk to and we looked around at the stuff they were selling. I got a Oktoberfest pin for my collection so I was happy! We all met back up at 10:00pm at the train station. Our train left at 10:45 and we reached Salzburg at about 1:00am. Luckily we go on the last bus back to our dorms. I was glad everything worked out on the way home.  When I got back to the dorm I was glad Laurann was on Skype because I got to talk to all of the family. I have only talked to Mom at work on Skype so it worked out well.  I was so tired after all that I slept until 12:00 on Sunday. Today has been a really relaxing day just getting some stuff done. It will definitely be hard getting to class on Monday after such an awesome weekend!