Yes, you read correctly. I was at Oktoberfest last Thursday. To be honest, I wasn't all that excited about it to begin with. If you know me, liters of beer, drunk people on county-fair-style rides, and lots of camera-toting tourists (including yours truly) aren't really my thing. But that's not to say that the experience wasn't entertaining, because believe me, it was entertaining.
First of all, with my blonde hair and traditional Bavarian attire, everyone believed me to be a native. My friend Keri from high school was also similarly garbed, and the two of us were tourist magnets. No one even cared if they realized we were American -- they still wanted to have their picture taken with us. Especially if they were Italian. We had choruses of "Bella, bella!" following us throughout the streets, which sounds less charming when slurred and coming from a pack of forty-five year old men.
But don't let my personal grievances give you a bad impression of Oktoberfest! It does have its merits, most of which fall under the category of "things to eat." Chocolate-covered fruit, roasted nuts, sausage and sauerkraut, crepes with nutella filling, fish-on-a-stick (not to be confused with "fishsticks" -- these ones have tails and eyes) . . . The list goes on and on. And all of these delicacies can be purchased at stands outside of the beer tents, so the prices are slightly more reasonable than those in the tents. (Think 10 euros for a liter of beer. Yes, it's a liter, but ten euros?!) Let's see. Other good things about Oktoberfest. Hmm. Yep, nope, that's it.
Munich is a phenomenal city, and Oktoberfest is interesting to experience once. But I won't be headed back that direction till the festival is over, the crowds have died down, and lederhosen is worn daily only by old German men, and not intoxicated foreigners.
I spent the rest of the weekend in Regensburg, hanging out with old friends and reliving my abroad experience. A part of me wishes I were back there, but most of me feels just plain excited to get to know Tübingen as well as I know Regensburg. They are both such beautiful cities that it's impossible to complain about having to live in either one!
All this traveling has meant not a whole lot of work on my project yet. But have no fear! I hereby swear that the next blog post I write will be about the letters. Until then, enjoy this picture of Keri and me in our dirndls at Oktoberfest:
First of all, with my blonde hair and traditional Bavarian attire, everyone believed me to be a native. My friend Keri from high school was also similarly garbed, and the two of us were tourist magnets. No one even cared if they realized we were American -- they still wanted to have their picture taken with us. Especially if they were Italian. We had choruses of "Bella, bella!" following us throughout the streets, which sounds less charming when slurred and coming from a pack of forty-five year old men.
But don't let my personal grievances give you a bad impression of Oktoberfest! It does have its merits, most of which fall under the category of "things to eat." Chocolate-covered fruit, roasted nuts, sausage and sauerkraut, crepes with nutella filling, fish-on-a-stick (not to be confused with "fishsticks" -- these ones have tails and eyes) . . . The list goes on and on. And all of these delicacies can be purchased at stands outside of the beer tents, so the prices are slightly more reasonable than those in the tents. (Think 10 euros for a liter of beer. Yes, it's a liter, but ten euros?!) Let's see. Other good things about Oktoberfest. Hmm. Yep, nope, that's it.
Munich is a phenomenal city, and Oktoberfest is interesting to experience once. But I won't be headed back that direction till the festival is over, the crowds have died down, and lederhosen is worn daily only by old German men, and not intoxicated foreigners.
I spent the rest of the weekend in Regensburg, hanging out with old friends and reliving my abroad experience. A part of me wishes I were back there, but most of me feels just plain excited to get to know Tübingen as well as I know Regensburg. They are both such beautiful cities that it's impossible to complain about having to live in either one!
All this traveling has meant not a whole lot of work on my project yet. But have no fear! I hereby swear that the next blog post I write will be about the letters. Until then, enjoy this picture of Keri and me in our dirndls at Oktoberfest:
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