Schwarm: flashmobbing in Munich

Back home in Munich, and the fun continues. Last night we participated in Moment of Starlings, a flash mob event that momentarily bewildered many a passerby downtown.

We received information on the meeting point by SMS about an hour before the event was to start. After crowding into a bookstore to listen to an introduction and receive some general instruction, we were off. Text messages with new instructions arrived sporadically over the next hour and a half, and the crowd of a hundred or so people was delighted to do the bidding of our unseen puppet master.



I loved the looks on bystanders' faces as we slalomed through the Isartor Sbahn station in a long, single-file line and then ran up the down escalator. Well, about half of us did. That is one long-ass escalator. Pant pant.



After some general swarming and barking at a giant turbine, an SMS told us to go pick up a pillow and congregate in a dry fountain. You can imagine what happened next (actually you don't have to, since I have these nifty photos of it).



At the end we were rewarded with some Glühwein. And we got to keep all of the feathers clinging to our clothes, hair, and faces. Lucky us.

I have been a big fan of Improv Everywhere for years, so I was super excited to get to participate in a flash mob myself. Although our performance was nowhere near the caliber of a Grand Central freeze, nor as meticulously coordinated as a Best Gig Ever, it wasn't bad for a group of beginners. The organizers did a great job coordinating the various moving parts, and I'm looking forward to the next one.



This was the second of four planned flash mobs. The next one is on November 25th and will be part of the Spielart Theater Festival in Munich. See the website to find out how to sign up. You'll need to understand at least a little German or go with someone who does; all of the instructions are sent out in German, but I'm sure you could find someone at the event who will help translate if you need it. Or you can just follow the swarm.

Squeezing the fun out of London

I have had the good fortune to go to London twice this year, with more trips planned soon. Such an infinitely entertaining city, with friendly people and charming accents. I could spend years there and not get bored. This time I was hosted by the lovely and talented Em and her husband Jeremy. You might notice a certain similarity between this post and one on her blog.



Em just moved to London, so it was fun to get to explore her new city with her. We found a local pub with her favorite beer (I use this term loosely) on tap and another one with a fun-filled pub quiz night. Our all-American team did surprisingly well given how many questions had to do with English soccer and Mr. Bean. Still, I recommend that they recruit some locals for next week.



I don't usually like shopping but even that is more fun in London, especially when there are kitschy blow-up Christmas decorations overhead. There's no Thanksgiving in Europe to hold back the Christmas stuff, so it starts appearing as soon as the whether gets nippy.



My trip happened to coincide with Guy Fawkes Day. Unfortunately we didn't see any bonfires, but there were fireworks all over the place. Next time I'm hoping for some effigies. Even if I have to make them myself.



A lot of our time was spent wandering aimlessly. One can do this all day in London, passing from one neighborhood to another while being constantly entertained. And if you happen to wander into a museum or gallery or two along the way, all the better.



One of our days of wandering centered around Rivington Street, an area full of galleries, cafes, and artsy little shops. We had a cheap and delicious lunch at Cargo while admiring the graffiti art. We took in some wonderful exhibits at Rivington Place and White Cube. Later on we stopped for coffee on the animal-print sofas of Zigfrid von Underbelly and spent about an hour photographing ourselves in the mirrored mosaic bathroom.



Another highlight of the trip was our many bus rides across town. When you're not in a hurry, it's much more fun to travel on the top level of a red bus than deep underground. Especially if you get the front seat, and you're traveling west into a glorious sunset.

Oktoberfest 2009 day 16: Das Schützen Festzelt

Somehow we managed to survive another whole Oktoberfest, concluding with a day in the Schützen Festzelt. This is the largest tent at Oktoberfest, and they really know how to pack in the people.



As we were ordering up our first round of beers the tent shook with a mighty loud boom. Everyone jumped a bit except for the waitress, who calmly explained that they were doing some last-day-of-Oktoberfest ceremonial shooting over on the steps to the Bavaria statue, right next to the tent. There were more booms to come, so we might as well get used to it.



The feel and atmosphere inside the Schützen Festzelt was similar to that in the other large beer tents, and the food was about average for Oktoberfest tent food. Unlike most of the other tents, though, this tent had wines (and even weinschorle) on the menu in addition to beer. Can't wait to bring Em there next year.



The creepy mannequins attached to the walls were pretty cool, too.



The Kaiserschmarrn looked better than it tasted.



And there we have it, ladies and gentlemen: another year of Oktoberfest behind us. Whew.

Oktoberfest 2009 day 13: Weinzelt, good and bad

After a couple nice visits last year, I was really looking forward to our evening reservation at the Weinzelt this year. Overall it was a fabulously fun Oktoberfest night, but my esteem for this tent has dropped considerably. I'll have to be on the lookout for a new favorite.

The main reason I love the Weinzelt is because almost all of the tables are booths, meaning there is a nice barrier between you and the asses of the drunk, sweaty, squirmy guys sitting at the table behind you. This little detail increases my enjoyment of a long session at Oktoberfest considerably. Another nice touch is that the Weinzelt stays open an hour later than the other tents.



The Weinzelt, per its name, serves a decent selection of wines instead of Oktoberfest beer. You can get weißbier at the Weinzelt, but not all night long (I forget at what time they actually stopped serving it). The food at the Weinzelt is top-notch, but comes with a similarly high price tag (evening reservations are around €80 per person). While I very much enjoyed my dinner, fine food seems kind of out of place at Oktoberfest. There's so much else going on around you that it's hardly possible to give your meal the attention and appreciation it deserves.



The worst part of the evening was getting into the tent: only one door was open, and there was a giant crowd of angry, drunk, reservation-holding people all shoving to get into it while asshole security guards looked on and offered no assistance. It was a horrendous experience, even by Oktoberfest standards. And from what I've heard from other people, this is pretty much standard practice at the Weinzelt on popular evenings. If you can't be bothered to allow customers into your tent in a way which does not squish the air out of their lungs, I'm not sure I can be bothered to fork over money for an evening reservation at your tent again. No matter how cute your flashing pink bunny ears, nor how awesome you Oktoberfest band's renditions of Lady Gaga songs.



We'll see which parts I remember most when next year's Oktoberfest comes around.

Greetings from... where do you think I am?

Anyone know where I found these adorable cross walk signs? I mean, they're not quite as awesome as the East German Ampelmänner, but they're still pretty cute.



Put your guess in the comments. Maybe there will be a prize for those who get it right, or for those with the best answers.

UPDATE: We have a winner! Eva guessed correctly; these little guys are found in Andorra. More about our trip there soon.

Greetings from southern France

Have I mentioned recently how much I love living in the center of Europe?

Italy: you say Bozen, I say Bolzano

I was happy to finally get back to Bolzano (Bozen in German), a city where we spent some time many years ago and completely loved it. At the time we were living in Italy and found Bolzano's German-ness to be novel and charming; this time around it was the Italian side we were more interested in. Although the locals supposedly prefer German, the city feels almost perfectly bilingual, and almost every conversation I had involved exchanges in both Italian and German.



Luckily it wasn't too hard to find enough Italian details in Bolzano to completely delight me. Bolzano's cafes serve real espresso and delicious aperitivi. The city's center contains many winding, cobblestoned pedestrian streets teaming with life. The cuisine in most restaurants is heavily Austrian-leaning, but we had an amazing Italian dinner at Hostaria Argentieri. We took it as a good sign that the only menu available was in handwritten Italian, and and our instincts were dead on.



This time we stayed at the Parkhotel Laurin, a grand old-timey hotel with a gorgeous private park and an elevator that contains a sofa. The location was great for exploring Bolzano on foot, and the rooms were clean and modern. We've also stayed at Hotel Figl, which I can also highly recommend: central, good value, clean, good.



The views of the vineyards and Dolomites surrounding Bolzano are gorgeous, and there are many nice hikes that you can start right from the city. We skipped him this time, but I also recommend a visit to Ötzi. That is, if you can tear yourself away from people-watching as you sip your prosecco at an outdoor cafe.

Italy: Val Gardena

The Dolomites were the perfect place to unwind after two weeks of Oktoberfest. A friend recommended Val Gardena, Italy - about a 3-hour drive from Munich. It's a ski resort area in the winter, and popular with hikers in the summer. Since we are now the shoulder season, we were able to get a great deal on a room with half board at Hotel Grones in the little mountain town of Ortisei (St. Ulrich in German).



Signs in the area were often posted in three languages: Italian, German, and another one which contained wacky things like ë. This turned out to be Ladin, a local language similar to Romansh (one of Switzerland's four official languages) and about equally decipherable. At the hotel and around town we heard all three languages being spoken around us, and it made my head swim a little. Our waitress clearly preferred speaking Italian with us, while the hotel owners were happier chatting in German.



The roads were small and windy, which made for some heart-thumping every time a tourist bus came flying towards us. There were a lot of tour buses. I don't want to imagine what it must be like in the high season.



We visited various little towns in Val Gardena (each with a cute little church and graveyard, some hotels, and at least one collapsed wooden barn). There was a little Sound-of-Music-style spinning involved. And a waist-tall squash. I'll let the photos say the rest.

In Munich tomorrow? Join the Carrotmob

Tomorrow (Saturday, October 17th, 2009) afternoon Munich will experience its first Carrotmob. If you understand German, watch the video below (if you don't, check out Carrotmob's English-language website):



The idea behind Carrotmob is to reward businesses which pledge to become more environmentally-friendly by delivering a bunch of consumers to their door. In this case, a small Munich grocer has signed up to spend 30% of their sales from the Carrotmob to make environmentally-friendly improvements to their refrigeration system.

Tomorrow's Munich Carrotmob will take place from 12 to 3 PM at Löwenzahn, Lindwurmstraße 135. There are Carrotmobs in many other cities (especially around the US), so if you can't make it to Munich tomorrow, try looking for one in your area.


UPDATE: The Carrotmob was a success! Despite crappy weather, their money-raising goals were reached. When we went there seemed to be the perfect number of people milling around and buying things - no long line, but it was definitely the busiest shop on the block by far. Unfortunately the rain made us not so eager to stick around and listen to the band play, but it was still a fun time.

Italy: Bolzano's colorful market

I could have wandered up and down this street all day.



Not that Munich doesn't have a nice market; it does. But for some reason everything looks more delicious when it's in Italy.



Luckily we didn't have to just look.



We came home with many delicious Italian treats from this market.



My husband gets credit for most of the photos. He was shooting away while I was buying as much as I could carry.

Hiding out in the Dolomites

Greetings from Italy. We're recovering from Oktoberfest in a cute mountain resort town, because the best way to get over too much German beer, pretzels and kaesespaetzle is to wash it down with Italian wine, pasta, and cheese.



I'll be back to finish off my Oktoberfest posting in a few days. But for now, the sauna is calling me.

Oktoberfest 2009 day 12: tent hopping

A new set of visitors, a new introductory tour of the Wiesn. We went around noon on Wednesday and poked our heads into several of the tents. Most of them were pretty quiet, and all of them had free tables. Only the Hofbräu tent was full of rowdy drunks at this hour.

We decided to lunch at the Augustiner tent. The service was pretty bad but the food was decent (including my veggie ravioli). The tent's most striking feature was its forest green canvas roof.


Fake lederhosen at the beery-go-round. You can't buy Oktoberfest beer unless you're in a tent or on its patio, but there are a few places around the wiesn where you can get wießbier. One of those places is this slowly rotating platform (actually there are a couple of these).


I get the feeling that this ride would not meet US safety standards.


This sign struck me as an interesting example of Denglish, advertising a little temporary cafe outside of the Oktoberfest grounds. Wiesn is the place where Oktoberfest is held; Treff is a German word meaning 'get-together'. Obviously the After part is supposed to be understood as the English meaning of the word, and the sign is trying to say 'hey, here's a place where you can hang out with your friends after Oktoberfest'. At least I hope that's what they're going for, since the alternative would mean using the German meaning of After, which is, ehem, anus.

And on that note, we're off to the last day of Oktoberfest. Ein Prosit!

Gooooooooooooooooooool!

Urinal at Drei Königinnen in Augsburg, Germany.

Oktoberfest 2009 day 6: Bavarian Heaven

Thanks to its charming decorations and lively atmosphere, the Hacker tent (Himmel der Bayern) makes it onto lots of people's list of favorite Oktoberfest tents. The walls are painted up into a fairytale-like Bavarian town, and the ceiling is a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. Today (a Thursday) we decided to go for lunch, and had no trouble scoring a prime table at around 11:30am.

The tent finished filling up pretty quickly, and there was constant competition for the extra seats at our table. We were joined by an adorable old Bavarian man for part of the day; he was thrilled to death by all the attention the bedirndled foreigners were giving him. I think we made his week.



It's actually quite easy to get a lot of attention in Bavarian Heaven: just stand up on your table and chug a liter of beer (or better yet, have your friends hold the table in the air while you stand on it, like the guy in the photo below). The whole tent will cheer you on, and celebrate your inebriated victory. But be warned: if you fail to finish they will boo mightily, and never forgive you.



We had lunch (merely so-so food) and a couple rounds of beer in the tent. Around 5:00pm we got kicked off of our table due to an evening reservation, but by that point we were ready to move on anyway. It was time for some rides.

Oktoberfest 2009 day 4: itty bitty tent

Last year I don't think I even noticed the tiny tents interspersed amongst the big Oktoberfest tents, but there they are. Most of them have names which describe what kind of animal they most like to kill and cook up for your dining pleasure. We spent yesterday evening in the Heinz Wurst- und Hühnerbraterei, a tent that holds fewer than 400 guests. The largest tents, in comparison, hold around 10,000 people each.



When we first arrived at our tiny little tent, I was skeptical. It was about half empty (reserved tables which hadn't been claimed yet) and the band hadn't started playing. It felt like a sad little imitation of the real Oktoberfest. When the entertainment for the evening took their place, my skepticism grew: visually, the duo resembled a certain Will Ferrell SNL skit.



But as the tables filled up and the music got going, I grew fond of our little tent. Turns out it had a lot going for it. The seats were more comfortable than the backless benches typical of a big tent, and the open windows made it not as hot. There was more drink choice than in a large tent, with weißbier and wines on the menu in addition to Oktoberfest brew. Everyone in our party agreed the food was fabulous. Plus as someone who is mildly uncomfortable in large crowds, I appreciated the smaller scale.



The musicians were great and really got the crowd going. There was plenty of dancing on the tables and singing along to Oktoberfest classics. And I never had to wait in line at the bathrooms. All in all it was a very fun night at the Wiesn, and a nice change of pace from the big tents.