OKTOBERFEST and the beginning of October

My short but sweet trip to Munich, Germany this past weekend was one of the craziest and most exciting adventures of my life. It didn't go smoothly to say the least, but the fun and laughter smoothed over the bumps in the road we encountered. We left Friday morning, and after a brief panic when Kelly-Ann's flight hadn't been booked by the travel agent (luckily she ended up on our flight after all) we arrived in Munich at around 3pm. After getting lost a few times, we wound up on the metro en route to our hostel, when we got off a stop early and ended up at the entrance to Oktoberfest. We we thrilled with our mistake, and all began snapping pictures of the festival and the area around it. I wasn't expecting to love Germany so much, but the orange and yellow leaves decorating the ground around the quaint and statuesque buildings made me feel like I was in a storybook.

We dragged ourselves away from Oktoberfest, anxious for the next day, and continued looking for our hostel, which seemed to be tucked away in the most random corner of Munich. We entered what appeared to be a broken down carnival now filled with seedy looking bars, following signs for the Hostival Hangover, until we reached the dirt patch we would call home for the next two days. Instead of the building we expected, in front of us was a giant tent and a row of outdoor port-a-potty-esque bathrooms. Needless to say, we were taken aback and less than pleased with this living situation. After some complaining and failed attempts to relocate, we dropped our luggage in our sheeted-off quarters and headed out to dinner. One of the most amazing sights I saw that weekend in Germany was stepping off the metro in the city center on our way to dinner. Emerging before us was an incredible church of such antiquated and intricate architecture, I was blown away. The night turned around as we sat down at a steak house and were served the most delicious beer I have tasted in my life, followed by one of the best meals of the trip. Our moods elevated by food and drink, we headed to the Hofbrauhos, one of the most famous beer halls in Germany. I was exhausted, but I enjoyed my first liter of the trip and enjoyed watching the rowdiness of the crowded hall, excited to participate more the following day. We returned to our humble abode and attempted to sleep before the big day ahead of us.

After about an hour of sleep, it was time to get out and head to Oktoberfest. We arrived at 8:30AM and joined the throngs of people entering the festival. I was exhausted and a little cranky at that point, but as soon as we found a table and ordered our liters my mood quickly turned around. It's really hard to describe what exactly makes Oktoberfest so much fun. Merely saying it's a big room full of people drinking, chanting, and cheersing at the same time doesn't give it nearly enough credit. After getting kicked out of the reserved table we stole, we sat in the outside area surrounding the tent, and then met up with some other Loyola students who are abroad in other countries. It was so much fun to see familiar faces, and surreal being altogether at this 200 year old festival in Europe. I had a blast, as well as the best hot dog of my life (probably over a foot long, and I devoured it all). Four of us hit up a ride before leaving (a little dizzying, but gave a great view of the festival), and then we headed home for a quick nap before dinner. I was not one of the few troopers who made it out that night, instead snuggled into the bottom bunk I shared with Ali and passed out before our 11:30AM plane the next morning. It was a very quick trip, but I had more fun than I can describe, and I'm so glad I decided to spend the money on the experience.

So October is off to a great start...this week has been FULL of class, class, and more class. Tues-Thurs are now 9-5 days, and Mon and Fri until 2:45. It's definitely a lot of hours, but the minimal homework makes up for it..sort of. So I'm off to CanCan tonight and then ROME for the weekend!