Location: Munich, Germany

Date: Sept 21st-24th

Oktoberfest and The Tent

It's been four days now and I have to say, I am pleasantly surprised as to how kind, welcoming and helpful Europeans have been so far. Locals in Munich, make a great effort to help you out, and are open to meeting new people with the festive spirit in the air. The plane ride was pretty uneventful although I did manage to finally see "The Hangover" which I thought to be totally honest was funny but just alright. For my flight from London to Munich I sat next to these two girls from London who were heading over to Munich for only the night with other business partners that were also on our flight. They arrived at 4 and since I was waiting for friends until 10pm they invited me along and insisted that I pay for nothing as it was a business expense. Thewere in their late 20s and a really great group of people. I had a blast my first night in the Lowenbrau tent and Oktoberfest truly is the biggest and best party in the world. I was in shock for the first ten minutes but by the end of the night you are singing and dancing and cheersing "Proste" after every song. Back at the airport I was exhausted and as we headed for "The Tent" on the 40 min train ride, I was ready for a serious sleep. "The Tent" was great, but it was a pretty chilly and quite uncomfortable sleep so the second and third night I slept in a bunk bed in this massive covered tent. For 5 EUR more, I figured in was worth it. The first day there, we saw the sights a bit. Munich is a beautiful city, however I have a feeling, I will never get used to the beautiful architecture in Europe. We saw some cathedrals and I fell in love with the big open squares and parks all over the city. Canada could definitely use some city center open spaces, it really changes the feel of the city. Everything seems to move slower. We sat and had lunch next to a big park in the middle of the city near Marienplatz (the main square) where people were playing frisbee, playing chess and relaxing on the grass. I had soup (well goulash) and a beer. It was incredible. I may only eat soup the entire time I'm in Europe. I could become a soup connosseur! That night we were at a tent that I can't remember the name of, but it was a great time, where I met people from Kentucky, England, Ireland, Australia, Tunisia, and for the most part Germany. The Bavarian people are very proud of their festival and their beer, and they continually ask you if you are having a good time, their role as hosts I guess. Never in my life have I experienced anything like it. A handsome German man, gave me a rose and kissed my cheek and told me that in Germany, if you think a girl is very pretty and you like her, you give her a rose. I blushed said "Danke Shun" (i think that's the right spelling) and continued to dance on my bench. He thought I was German, in the second hand German dress I had gotten for Oktoberfest. The outfit is definitely worth it. Grandpa Frank will be very happy to hear that our last name is recognized as German and instantly the locals want to know what area of Germany our family was from. I guess I'll have to find out for next time. It kind of blew my cover though when someone would speak to me in rapid German and I was forced to say "English?". Next time, I'll learn some German. The end of the night, terminated with a not so nice image of a very large Bavarian woman, wearing no bra, who sat down on the end of our table, tapped her large German breasts while she danced and then proceeded to pull them out and lick them for all the boys to see. wow. Anyways... on the way back to "The Tent" that night, I met a guy from Australia who was travelling with a big group of friends, so I sat around the campfire for a bit with them and finally went to sleep after a crazy day. Day two was much more relaxed, and then went to Haufbrau for another evening of good times with some new friends I'd met at the hostel. I spent day three getting my luggage, getting a train (which was much harder than I expected, next time I'll make my reservations earlier) however Eurail Aide is AMAZING, and found me the perfect route with the least reservation cost and great timing. So here I am on the train with beautiful German countryside, flying by my window.

Until Toulouse!

With Love,

Katy