I want to travel everywhere
twice: once with a camera and a lot of mistakes, and the second time with no
camera—just experiencing everything—and without the mistakes from the first
time around. Oktoberfest in Munich was a
really cool experience, but the whole time my roommate and I joked that we
could now write a detailed guidebook for how to do Oktoberfest properly. Here are the Sparknotes:
1.
Get a
drindle (or lederhosen). This is the
traditional German attire for Oktoberfest, and we have been kicking ourselves
since then for not getting our own drindles.
You’d think you would be in the minority putting on a ridiculous dress
or some crazy pants and suspenders, but actually everyone wears them—even the
little German kids with their families.
So go with the drindle and get some braids going while you’re at it.
2.
See every
tent. The coolest thing about
Oktoberfest isn’t necessarily what you do, but what you see, provided you take a good look around. All of the tents are decorated like nothing
I’ve seen in festivals in America—think a giant inflatable chicken turning on a
spit on the top of a building.
Definitely worth wandering around for a while to see.
3.
Speaking
of chicken…Try it. An Oktoberfest
specialty is half of a roasted chicken, and it is absolutely delicious. Another favorite is the giant pretzels. We also saw a lot of people wandering around
with decorated heart-shaped cookies wrapped in plastic around their necks, but
we couldn’t figure out what they meant, so we never got one. However, I took the liberty of looking them
up…so here is a little background information on this little tradition, and
even a recipe! http://www.squidoo.com/lebkuchen-heart
4.
Happy
camping. My roommate Brinda and I
decided that we were outdoorsy enough to stay in tents for 4 nights…I spent a
week in the woods of the Upper Peninsula, took bucket showers on a farm in West
Virginia, and was a dedicated Girl Scout through 8th grade. But I wanted the heck out of that tent by
night 4. Cold and crowded, so brace
yourself if you think you’re up for it.
5.
Walk
around Munich! So many people only
go to Munich for the festival, but the city itself is beautiful. We decided to spend our last day exploring
the city, and we all agreed that we wished we had more time for that. We came out of the subway and saw this huge
stone building completely covered in statues that we hadn’t seen before—a
breathtaking first glimpse of Munich.
Check out all of the old churches, clock towers, and rows of
gingerbread-esque houses.
As I study abroad I am working my
way through my heritage: first to Hungary, then to Germany…and I am officially
booked for Ireland first weekend in November!
No more travelling for October, which is actually fine by me. I never thought I would call someplace other
than Rockhurst or St. Louis home, but “headed home to Prague” rolls off the
tongue pretty easily these days. I had a
lot of cities to choose from and have visited quite a few, and have yet to
regret picking Prague. But maybe I’m
biased.
Out in Munich
At the Festival
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