Hello again! I am determined to finish telling you guys everything about the trip because it has been two weeks since it ended and I am seriously lacking behind! We got up early the next morning to catch the train from the Hauptbahnhof in Zurich to the Hauptbahnhof in Munich. We walked the mile to the train station and came upon a strange sight. Everyone was drinking beer at 8 am! People were in hats and costumes and drinking that early! We got on the train and I could not believe how much beer there was. People were bringing thirty packs on the train! We took our seats and watched as the madness unfolded. At first, we were in pretty calm carts. People were just playing cards and enjoying their beer. We had to move because we were in someone's reserved seats at the next stop. We moved into the back cart and that's when things got crazy.
Not only were people drinking, they were getting up and singing! The guy who worked on the train kept trying to calm them down but they couldn't be tamed (as Miley would say). Here is a little taste of what that four hour train ride was like:
This went on for hours. It was unbelievable. We finally arrived at the train station and people were in lederhosen everywhere! The train station was extremely packed with people going every which way. The grounds for Oktoberfest aren't far, so everyone passes through the main train station to get there. We managed to get out and get on our train to the campground. When we arrived, we got exactly what we paid for: tents. It wasn't completely roughing it though, we had sleeping bags! (but no pillows)
high class living
loving my tent
It was already pretty late in the day, and the free buses from our campground had already left, so we decided to just stay at the campground for the rest of the day. We met some of the nicest, most interesting people. One group was from Ireland. The majority didn't go by their actual names. Gully, Stacky, Cats, and Rachel (the long person with an actual name) were the most fun group I could've imagined. They made us feel extremely welcome (along with everyone else) and were always ready to have a good time! They were joined by another couple from Ireland, Michael and Lynne, who offered to let us stay with them in Dublin (which we will definitely be taking advantage of!). There were also a few people from Australia! Cara (who is also coming to study in London) had just finished a trip swimming from island to island in Greece and a boat trip down a lake in Croatia (she had some really cool stories) and Justin and Hannah, who were traveling around Europe for six months. The final person in our group was Chris from LA, who dropped out of college to move to Europe and is going on a three month crabbing trip in the Arctic! (some of the things that these people told us almost sounded made up but I choose to believe them)
We basically just danced and laughed the night away that day. Here's a few of us chilling at the picnic table!
Rachel, Me, Justin, Cara, Hannah, (complete stranger), Katie
(starting at left and going around) Stacky, Michael, Lynne, Rachel, part of Cara's head, Justin, a cup over Hannah's face, Me, Katie, Garrett, Cats, Gully, some guy
It was so interesting to talk to them about what they thought of America. They all LOVED our reality shows! They were all big fans of the Kardashians and of Jersey Shore. We nicknamed Justin "J Bomb" because we wanted something that sounded like JWOWW. They kept asking us what had been happening because they get all the shows a few weeks after us! We also asked them how they thought Americans spoke. Basically, everyone described someone from the deep south - talking really slowly with a lot of "y'alls." Thankfully we don't speak like that so they liked us! It felt like we stayed up laughing all night with them, but at about midnight we were all exhausted and headed to our tents. A great time was had by all.
Munich Day 2: Oktoberfest
The next day we woke up rested and ready to go! We went to board the bus for Oktoberfest, but the driver got completely lost and we ended up going really late. We managed to get in a group photo though! This is pretty much everyone who was staying at the campsite (at least that I liked):
us + Oktoberfest BFFs
There were also some really cool girls from UNH who are studying in Budapest in this shot - I might go visit them! We all finally got on the bus to go. Halfway through the busride, we had to pull over and they had to get something out of the luggage compartment under the bus. It turned out that something was a person. Her name was Jasmina and she was from Finland. I thought someone had shut her in there by accident but it turns out she thought it would be fun to ride in the luggage compartment. Her friends got scared that she might suffocate (legitimate fears I think). She later told us all she wanted was to ride her luggage compartment in peace with a baguette. She was quite the character.
We finally got to Oktoberfest and it was crazy! People in lederhosen running every which way and thousands of people in general trying to get in. We first had to run through a parade (which was scary with police surrounding it) so we could make it to the grounds. Oktoberfest is the biggest festival in the world and let me just say, it's gargantuan! We started the day by going on a roller coaster, which was awesome! I haven't been on a roller coaster and I love the feeling of it. There was a sign that said you couldn't lift your arms in the air, and I didn't take it too seriously and almost ended up getting my hand chopped off! Thankfully I made it out alive. Stacky was terrified out of his mind and screamed "I want my mummy" the entire time. I spent most of that ride just laughing.
After our roller coaster adventure, we decided it was time to find ourselves a beer tent to park in. We ended up at Lowenbrau, which I don't think is the biggest tent but it is still pretty massive. Most of the tables were already taken so we split up and found a couple half tables to put our group at. I'm not really sure how to describe this beer tent in words. The beers themselves were massive (and cost 10 euro which is not cheap). There was a band playing and every once and a while they would play a song that would get everybody standing on their chairs dancing. My personal favorite was "Sweet Caroline" which I have never belted so loudly in my life. They played the song that goes "Heeeey! Heeey baby! Hoo Haa I wanna know, if you'll be my girl" approximately 37 times and the Germans couldn't get enough of it. At some points, people would just start yelling and everybody would start yelling, then everybody would say "cheers" and take another gulp! We laughed and sang and danced and drank for hours. I didn't think I could just sit around for that long and enjoy it but something was always going on! There was actually a fight which was a little too intense for me, but the police thankfully broke it up.
The German waitresses were quite the sight too. They would carry around 7 of those giant beers at a time! They were always screaming at people to get out of the way in German and they were quite intimidating despite being in outfits that looked like Little Bo Peep. Here is a little taste of the madness:
very, very large beers in steins
crazy beer tent
Heeey, heeey baby (hoo hah) i wanna knooow if you'll be my girl!
Around 7 we realized that it was time to go back (we were supposed to catch a bus back but ended up taking a train). Here is one last shot of the group!
the most fun bunch I have ever met
We eventually made it back to the campsite safe and sound! I lost Garrett and Katie for a little while but thankfully we all ran into each other at the train station. We got back to the campsite and had another great night! I was dancing around, per usual, and I told the people who ran the campsite (Stoketoberfest travel group) that I would get my ipod. They ended up using it all night! We danced to Britney, Lady Gaga, Miley, Spice Girls, every cheesy pop group you could possibly think of. They were impressed with my vast collection of dance music! I made sure to show them how we dance it out here in the United States (especially when "3" by Britney Spears came on). I sort of did the Bad Romance dance (I just kind of made it up on the spot but people seemed to think that it was right). I tried to keep everyone dancing for as long as I could! We ended up dancing until at least midnight (the campground quiet hours start at 10). I didn't want the night to end!
me + Lynne + Rachel = best buds
Michael and me! (he had a cool hat)
Cara! (she's done some cool stuff)
Chis and me! (that cup is from Oktoberfest - you're not allowed to bring them out of the beer tents but he managed to sneak one out!
The next morning we got up and ate breakfast at the campsite (which was surprisingly good) and headed to the airport. We were very, very sad to go and even as I write this now I miss all the people that I met over that weekend. They made all of us feel so comfortable.
We had a layover in Dusseldorf on our way home, and we decided to turn it into a little photo op. I mean, who hasn't dreamed their whole lives of going to Dusseldorf? We wanted to capture every moment.
looking like native Dusseldorfians
longing to see Dusseldorf
Finally we made it back to London! I will describe everything that has happened since in detail soon. I'll give you some quick highlights - Buckingham Palace, Stonehenge, Windsor Castle, Bath, British Museum, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, Tower Bridge. Details and pictures to come soon! Hope that everything is going well in the states!
loving this : )
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