OKTOBERFEST

The only way I think I should start this blog is by saying that I had the best time of my life this past weekend at Oktoberfest, and this blog will not do the justice. However, I will attempt to describe my days and interactions with people, so it may be long and boring, and if so please feel free to skip this entry. Let me start off with the flight to Munich, early Friday morning.
My roommate Nate and I enter the airport and are walking to our departure gate when we came across 4 of the biggest and largest individuals I have ever come across. It turns out, that the entire WWF (World Wrestling Foundations) tour was on our plane, which consisted of over 30 professional wrestlers. They were by far some of the biggest people I have ever seen, including a guy named Big Mark who weighs 500 pounds. This all started at 8 AM, which was only a sign of the hilarious events that were to follow.
When we arrived in Munich, we took the Metro to our hotel, which took about an hour. To my roomate Nate and I surprise, our hotel was unbelievably nice, with a large heated indoor pool and spa. Our room had 2 very small twin beds, which we pushed together, and one person slept on the floor. After dropping our stuff at the hotel, we headed straight to the grounds of Oktoberfest, to start the festivities. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Oktoberfest, it is a massive festival in which thousands of people come together and celebrate life while drinking large amounts of beer. There are several of tents that fit thousands of people, and people drink/sing/chant/cheer all hours of the day. I have never been a part of such a happy occasion where strangers were so nice and welcoming to each other.
When we got there on Friday, we went straight to a tent called Hippodrum to meet up with our friends Alex and David (from Cal Poly), but it was too busy so we sat with a local German named Mario, and his group of friends from work. This guy was severely intoxicated, but extremely welcoming and we had a great time. After our first several beers, Nate and I were standing on the tables and signing unknown German songs, and having the time of our lives. Unlike Barcelona, all of the locals wanted to talk to us and hug us. It was a great experience. After several hours in the first tent, we decided to look for another tent, and then went back to the hotel to take advantage of the amentities. We all took Sauna's and relaxed, which was a total change of pace from my last several weeks abroad. After a long nap, we decided we wanted to eat somewhere local to the hotel but ended up in the hotel bar, the only place that was opened, and were forced to listen to blaring loud music while trying to enjoy our meal.
The next morning, Saturday, we woke up quite early and were at the Oktoberfest grounds by 9AM. Believe it or not, all of the tents were full of people already drinking beer, and we were forced to sit outside of a tent, in the outside tables. This turned out in our favor, as we sat in the middle of a rivalry between local German's, and German's from a small town. As the morning and beers progressed, we were in the middle of one of the most fun/best atmospheres ever, chanting songs and screaming. It was so fun, and we met so many people that were all so nice. After our morning in this specific area, we decided to get some lunch and attempt to go into the Haufbrau tent, which is one of the most popular and largest tents. Again the long was extremely long, but Nate, my roommate, was approached by an unethical waitress who wanted 50 Euros (80 US dollars ) for us to be snuck in. We took the offer, and had a great afternoon in this tent, although there was standing room only.
I then got split off from my group, which turned out to work in my favor. I met random people, hung out with some other Americans, and was approached by a Bulgarian girl who I spent some amount of time with that afternoon. Before I knew it, it was 7 PM and time for me to get back to the hotel, as I had no idea where my roommates where. It turns out they were all sleeping for several hours, which I should have done. At dinner, around 8PM, I could barely stay awake, but made it through an incredible dinner, which talking about it makes me hungry.
Last day, Sunday, our flight out of Munich was at 9pm, so my roommate Nate and I headed back to Oktoberfest early in the morning, and reunited with several American friends who are traveling abroad, and several of the most beautiful Australian girls I have ever met. We had such an amazing last day, and thinking about it really makes me want to go back. It is amazing how different the European countries are, and how much emphasis they put on free time, and having a higher quality of living. I had one of the best weekend of my entire life, and am grateful for every minute of it.
Mom, Dad, Ari, Jon, Grandma Beth, Papa, Barbara and the rest of my amazing family and friends.... Miss you all and your all in my thoughts..... constantly.
-B