Oh...Oh...Oktoberfest...

We had originally planned to spend the week following Aaron & Emma's wedding on a random Greek Island. However, when the invite came our way to 'pop' over to Germany for 5 days we just couldn't resist - it was a chance for us to catch up with friends of new and old and it also just happened to be in the middle of Oktoberfest - do I need to say more?

After a short (2hr) flight we landed in Munich and the race was on. How much beer and how many pretzels and bratwurst could we consume in the 80 odd hours we had in the country. After living in South Korea for 6 months, a country renowned for cabbage (not beer), Brendan well deserved a couple of steins of decent German Beer. Actually - as we were schooled by our Munich friends - at Oktoberfest they are called a Mass and if you dared asked for a Stein you would receive a confused look and promptly be labelled as an ignorant tourist. Ignorant no more, we were soon sitting in a giant beer tent at Oktoberfest bellowing at the waitress over the traditional brass band "Ein Mass bitte".

Anyway, to digress for a moment - coming to Germany was definitely not all about Oktoberfest. Brendan and I have many very special friends in Germany and it was fantastic that we could catch up with most of them in our short time there. We were lucky to stay with Kathi (a true Munich girl who we met in Thailand not long after we started our trip) - a fantastic host/tour guide/travel adviser and a great friend. I have known Mareike "my German sister" since I was 15 - we met as Exchange partners and have since shared so many special moments together in various parts of the world. It was great to have dinner with her in Munich and catch up after quite a few years. We also had the chance to reunite with Claudia and meet her boyfriend Michael. Claudia was also a German exchange student with my family and I haven't seen her in 9 years - she made the 900km drive from Berlin to see us for a great evening in Munich. A big thank you to all our truly wonderful friends in Germany for their effort to make our trip amazing. We really enjoyed seeing you all. For me it was also very special to make a return to Germany after a long 9 year absence. I will make sure it is not another 9 years before we return.

So...back to our Munich adventures. Within hours of arrival in Munich we were set up in Kathi's apartment and on the subway on our way to Oktoberfest. We were marched past the Lowenbrau tent (that's for drunk tourists we were told....um...ok) and taken into the Hacker tent where we managed to squeeze onto a table (miracle) and order our first Oktoberfest Mass. For those who haven't been to Oktoberfest, allow me the opportunity to try and use mere words to describe the experience of standing on a table, gripping a huge Mass of German beer, with 10 000 loud, mildly to very drunk festival goers singing "Hey baby" and various other crass songs at the top of your voice. The smell is a mix of sweat and beer, but is redeemed by the constant aroma of German cooking coming from the tent kitchens which supply all manner of meat in the kilograms...vegetarians not welcome :) Outside the tent, October has brought the start of mild evenings, but inside it is HOT. The combined body heat of thousands of people drinking and dancing (and that's just the ones at the tables) is sauna-like and you have to strip off the jumpers and scarves to avoid excessive sweating. But all is forgotten when you are handed the BIGGEST beer you will ever see in your life by a woman carrying 12 of the beasts and thwumping them down on your table, promptly snatching your Euros and then running off to bring more disgusting quantities of beer to thirsty festival attendees. I soon learnt that the trick is to drink the first 1/3 of your beer quite quickly - this is to avoid the wrist cramp that otherwise sets in from having to hold the beer in your hand and the sore arm from supporting your beer as you cheers all 15 members of your table every 10 seconds - those Mass are very heavy - quicker you drink, the sooner they become lighter. All the while you are standing up on a bench seat, hoping it won't give way under the weight and force of everyone dancing, and bracing yourself for the next push in the back from the drunk but very friendly fool behind you that will send you and your beer flying across the table. Ahhhh....good good times. Go with a sense of humour and try and leave with at least your dignity...if not with your wallet and phone.

How do Munich'ites' (Munich'ens'??) do this day in and day out EVERY year.....they are some tough people! Thankfully we separated the drinking sessions with a fantastic day of sightseeing around Munich with Julian (Kathi's friend) which included eating white sausage for breakfast (a Munich specialty) which is best served with a warm crusty pretzel, visiting some stunning churches and buildings. We did a free city tour which was incredibly informative - I think even Julian, a lifelong Munich resident, learnt a fair bit on the tour. Kathi also took us for a great trip to the Bavarian alps, which start about 1 hour drive out of Munich city. We did a baby hike that took us about 2 hours up to a Chalet where we of course ate more meat, cheese and bread (and one of the best pieces of cake i have EVER eaten...mmmm) and yes, drank more beer. Detox here we come.....

Well, I think my thesis on our 5 days in Germany must come to an end...phew....how did I write so much on 5 days. Boy did we squeeze some cool stuff into those 5 days. Thanks again to everyone in Germany for a fantastic time, we hope to see you all again...sometime soon and somewhere cool in this big wide world. Back to work for us for the time being. Until our next adventure....

//Kate