Oktoberfest

11:00 PM in Padova Monday, October 2, 2006 – Hey world! As you have already found out I made it home to Padova safely after one heck of a time at Oktoberfest. Truly a great experience. I definitely recommend a trip to Munich for anyone who has a passing interest in the great taste of beer because those Germans certainly know how to do it right. We arrived in Munich about 1:00 on Saturday after leaving at 5:00 in the morning. It really shouldn’t have taken so long but we made a few stops and wound up in some traffic from an accident, but by the time we got there it was middle of the day and every tent was filled to capacity and they weren’t letting people in. It took us only an hour and a half in line to realize that they weren’t letting people in anymore so we took off to a sports bar down the street where a bunch of guys were watching German soccer. Naturally I needed my football fix so I sat at the bar and ordered some darn good beer and watched soccer with them. I think there was like 5 games going on, but it was fun cause you could tell some of the guys were from out of town and were cheering their team on while other guys were from Munich and were cheering their team on. It was just what I needed for a football Saturday, beer and men yelling. Except this beer was nothing like the beer I drink on a normal football Saturday. Thank God.
The girls that we went with to the bar were the only three girls in the entire bar save for one woman in the back but she looked like more of a man than Chuck Norris.
After the game we managed to find a great bar for dinner where I had the best food that I have eaten since I’ve been to Europe. No lie - Some hamburger meat, mashed potatoes, and green beans and a big ol’ liter of bier. They really don’t mess around. I’ll tell you what else they don’t mess around with – those dresses. Those skirts and shirts that the women wear are some of the best things to happen to mankind. I would’ve bought some of those leather trousers too with suspenders (I think they are called Lederhosen or something like that) if I didn’t spend all my money on beer. Some things are just more important. So we met some Germans at dinner that knew about the Lions (The Lions of all teams) the Red Wings and the Pistons, naturally. They knew some English words but after a few beers (or just one of those huge things with beer that is 10% alcoholic) it doesn’t matter what language you are speaking, the beer is doing the talking for you.
After dinner we were finally able to get into a tent (me and Laura snuck in with some Italian VIPs) and from there it was like beer heaven as you can see from the pictures.
EVERYONE HAS BEER and is standing on the table and singing these wonderful drinking songs and the best part about it is that everyone is having a good time! I didn’t see one person unhappy the entire weekend besides the people that couldn’t get in at first but even they had beer and were just happy to be there. I made a ton of new German friends even if I didn’t speak a lick of German. I knew how to say Prost! (or is it Brost?) I don’t know or care really but I really want to learn those songs.
I met someone who had spent a year in Detroit and declared himself the biggest Tigers’ fan in Europe (he was from Switzerland) and wanted to know if the Tigers’ had won that night. I was ashamed I couldn’t tell him, but how was I to know?? That night ended very well, we all made it back to the bus and to a very nice hotel about 35 km outside of the city.
Woke up Sunday pretty early had some great breakfast while some sort of a marching band/parade went by outside… kinda weird… and then we were at it again by noon. (Tents didn’t serve until noon) At that point we only had 3 and a half hours to get our fill in before the bus left to come home. And we managed. I think I better just leave it at that. Midnight last night I arrived back in Padova with a new t-shirt and a beer mug that I was able to yoink along with a handful of dirty clothes. Che festa!
I am about to go watch a movie with my roommates I think so I will get at you tomorrow after I go to my first day of classes. I am so nervous because I already missed a day, but that was because I didn’t know which classes I was taking. I know I’m gonna be the lost foreign exchange student without a clue. Oh well, that’s what I am. K bye.