OKTOBERFEST! Man, it was so great, I wish I could remember it.
Just kidding. It was great though, something about being at the real Oktoberfest, and not like your church's version was pretty awesome.
We took two overnight trains so that we would only have to use one Eurail day, since we would be boarding the next night before midnight. I was happy about this because I didn't think I would want to be there for more than a day, and wow, was I right.
We got there around 6am and waited in line for about an hour. Then I proceeded to be flattened against a wall as people elephant rampaged their way into the tent area. It was crazy, I was disappointed in humanity a little. (This will continue to be a theme for me).
Then we proceeded to wait outside until the tent opened, and then we took turns going in and getting pretzels. Paul and I played a thousand and one games of speed and waited for our turn to go in.
TIP: YOU CANNOT BRING BAGS IN THE TENTS. If you end up going to Oktoberfest, be aware and do not bring a backpack, because they will not let you in. This is why we had to take turns going in, because some people had to stay with the bags.
Inside, since each tent represents a different brewery and theme, looking up there were big clouds and starts and different paintings and murals. It was pretty sweet, the tent was so big it held probably at least a thousand people. We found our group and listened to the opening music which was pretty cool. They brought out the first keg (which I think is a tradition) and then when it turned noon, they started serving beer. It took us about an hour to get our liter's (they only serve them in liters for 10 euro's each) and after we had drank ours, Paul and Theresa and I went to walk around, we went souvenir shopping and got awesome blue Oktoberfest t-shirts. Then we walked Paul back to the train and Anna, Theresa, and I went to the Residence museum in Munich, and to the Hofbrahaus! German food is not my favorite, but going to Hofbra was one of the highlights of the trip for sure. It was so much fun, and the food was pretty good for me not liking German food. Then we got gelato, and tried to meet up with our group at the train station.
This is the part of the night I really became disappointed in the human race. We got to the train station and were sitting on the floor and I had fallen asleep (after being up on the train all night). As I was abruptly woken up that we were gonna move to another place to wait, I was informed that many drunk people had walked by and thought I was passed out, drunk.
Yeah, the half of a liter of beer I drank throughout the course of the day really did me in.
Pathetic. I was even wearing my Holy Spirit sweatshirt. Don't get drunk in your household gear, I mean, don't get drunk at all, but one should never get drunk when wearing household gear.
Anyways, we ended up moving to McDonalds to wait, and when I tried to go to the bathroom, a girl cut in front of me and a few other German ladies, and the German ladies proceeded to ask her to go to the back of the line, and then they all started cussing at each other and I got hit with a purse and it was a big mess. I was exhausted and I just had to pee.
I headed back to my seat and stumbled upon Chai, who told us where the rest of the group was sitting, and we made our way back to them, but not before a drunk man stumbled (literally) up to our table asking us, in German, if we spoke German, and he was baffled when we said no. I know in his intoxicated mind he couldn't really process this, but no meant no we do not speak German, so when he began yelling at us, in German, we still had no idea what he was saying. That was our cue to leave.
We boarded another overnight train to come back home, which started a long and difficult sleepy trek back to Gaming, but with few problems, we made it back, and all was well.
Look, Oktoberfest was amazing, when you walk in it is like a giant fair with huge tents that hold thousands of people, little shops and stands everywhere, rides and a big ferris wheel, but after a few hours I began to feel incredibly tired and burnt out. PLEASE GO. Please, I highly suggest it. If you heard from your friends that it is crazy and not worth it, they are wrong. Go for one day, do what we did with the trains, it takes one Eurail day, and I promise you will not regret it.
As for the drunk people, I hope they learn, and we need to pray for them. Trust me, if I couldn't remember my weekend, I'd be pissed.
Stay classy Franciscan.
Stay tuned for the next post about the POLAND PILGRIMAGE!
Thank you Jesus.
- Savannah
