Norway: Bergen & other notes

I can't wrap up my posts about Norway without mentioning Bergen, our favorite city of the trip. It was adorable, charming, vibrant, historic, and fun - everything a European city should be.


There's a small market for extremely fresh fish (and other stuff, like local knitwear and cloudberry jam) downtown.


This was a gorgeous sunset to watch, sitting outside and sipping 10-euro beers. We sipped slowly.


This area is called the Bryggen, and greedy German merchants from the Hanseatic League used to live here and make lots of money trading dried Norwegian fish (meanwhile the Norwegians were too drunk to figure out how to do this job themselves). We learned a lot about this history while in Bergen, mainly from the (free-with-admission English daily at 10:00am) tour we took of the Hanseatic Museum, which was also where we came across these creepy flying dried fish:



Bergen also had a fabulous art museum, where we say several Munchs and other works by Norwegian and international artists. Good stuff.



We traveled to Bergen from Oslo via train, making a detour to take the Flåm railway down into the Aurlandsfjord and then a boat through the Nærøyfjord. While the fjords were quite lovely, I could have skipped this part of the trip. We got enough fjord in during our Hurtigruten ride, and the Flåm railway was not as impressive as I was expecting, most likely because of all the crazy mountain railways we experienced during out two years in Switzerland. Plus I could have done without the 6:30am train departure from Oslo.


Overall we really loved our trip to Norway (if you haven't gathered that yet from the gazillions of posts I've made about it). I think I need to go back sometime during the midnight sun (or perhaps the Arctic winter - although that's probably less fun, northern lights notwithstanding). But first I need to win the lottery - Norway is expensive!

All my Norway posts:

Kick the Baby
Oslo
No bras allowed?
The Hurtigruten
The Lofoten Islands
Å i Lofoten
More Norway trip photos on Flickr

Enough with the hugging already, Europe

Sometimes when I get overwhelmed with the current political reality, I like to fall back into this alternate version:



I love you, President Gore.

Norway: two days in Å

As soon as I read there was a place called Å, I knew I had to go there. Then I did a little research and found out it would be kind of a pain in the ass to get to, what being all the way out at the end of the Lofoten Islands and all. Was I being silly, choosing a destination solely based on its name? I did a little more research, decided it really would be worth visiting, and called to book a rorbu there for two nights. A rorbu is a traditional wooden fisherman's cottage, and the Lofoten Islands have many of them. I think they've pretty much all been converted into tourist housing, and more are being built (at least in Svolvær - I don't think we saw any new buildings in Å).



Our rorbu was right on the water, with a fabulous view. The furnishings were a bit rustic, but completely livable. The kitchen was small but manageable, and we made all of our meals there. The one restaurant in Å was closed for the season, but there were a few open restaurants in the nearby towns (a couple kilometers' walk away). Å also had a general store (open for a few hours a day), two fishing-centered museums, and two hostels (also closed for the season), in addition to many rorbuer for rent. Upon arrival I felt a wave of panic about being stranded somewhere so remote for two days (no beer and no TV make Homer something something...), but the feeling passed and I was able to relax and enjoy.



We spent our time in Å exploring the village (OK, this part took about 10 minutes, walking slowly), admiring the view (which changed hourly thanks to variable weather conditions) from our rorbu, and hiking. Our hike took us past a couple lakes and up into the mountains, offering up gorgeous ever-changing views. Definitely worth the trip!

Sidenote: in addition to being an adorable fishing village, Å is the last letter in the Norwegian alphabet.

Now where was I?

Whew, that was fun! I feel like I've been on vacation for the past two weeks. I think I managed to attend Oktoberfest 8 or 9 times - so at least half of the days. Impressive that I'm still standing, no?

The major thing I learned from my marathon of festing is this: if you don't have a reservation, go during the week, and go early! There was a huge difference in crowd level between weekends (including Fridays) and weekdays. On a weekday one can get a seat in pretty much any tent for lunch and some afternoon drinking, without waiting in line or getting shoved around by too many drunken frat boys. The music is a little more low-key and traditional during the day, but it picks up in the early evening, which is about the same time that the dancing on the benches starts. Speaking of Oktoberfest music, how long until I get these songs out of my head? (The playlists at the tents are very repetitive, to say the least.)

Now I've got about four days of 'normal life' before visitors and travel descend upon me again. So, if I've owed you an email for the past month or so, expect to finally get a reply this week. Right after I hose down the apartment. And figure out what to do with 50 green tomatoes...

There's a club for everything

Really? This is a team sport? Practiced by men?


OK, listen up Germans. I know how much you like to use English words (such as, say, 'club'). But sometimes, when you only put part of what you are saying in English, and leave part in German, you can end up with a meaning you never intended...

I don't think these guys ever figured out why we were so fascinated with their shirts.

TnAL exclusive: Sarah Palin at Oktoberfest

Look who I ran into at the Wiesn!

The home stretch

This Oktoberfest business is seriously exhausting! I've spent 6 of the past 11 days at the Wies'n, and I'm planning to go at least one more time. I'm going to need a vacation once this is all over.

The other night we had dinner at the Käfer tent, one of the smaller tents at the Wies'n. Käfer is a well-known gourmet shop and restaurant in Munich, and the fare at their Oktoberfest tent is similarly pricey and delicious. Despite the fancy-schmanciness of the tent, the evening still involved plenty of giant steins of beer and dancing on the benches to ridiculous live music.

Apparently my bedirndled friends and I were looking particularly adorable all sitting in a row, because strangers kept coming by and taking our pictures. It was kind of like being extremely minor celebrities.

What else? My least favorite day was last Saturday, the most crowded day of "Italian weekend". Normally I would have never attempted to go on the busiest day of Oktoberfest, but we had friends in town just for the weekend and gosh darn it I was determined to get them into a tent. We woke up ridiculously early and were standing in line waiting outside the Löwenbräu* tent at 8:30 AM. The doors finally opened at 8:45 (after the lion let out a big roar), and we scrambled to find a spot for our group. We were downing our first liter of beer before 9:30. Breakfast of champions. The atmosphere couldn't have been more different than that at the Käfer tent. The crowds were insane. I headed home rather early, but not before our fancy Maβ-holding contest.


It's not like I've been drinking non-stop this whole time... I've also gone on a couple rides here and there. There are three roller coasters and a dozen or so other rides interspersed between the stands selling sausages and gingerbread hearts on strings. Who decided that big, stomach-churning rides would go well with giant steins of beer?



Overall I'm enjoying Oktoberfest more than I expected to. I mean, not the puke in random doorways all over the city, or the roving bands of drunken tourists, but the rest of it has proven to be pretty darn fun. Who would have thought?

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* I know what you're thinking, but here in Germany Löwenbräu is not the same cheap crappy beer that it is in the US. I have no idea why that is.

Oktoberfest advice: avoid these common injuries!

As fun as Oktoberfest is, there are still some dangers lurking, particularly where beer steins are involved. This friend (who will remain somewhat anonymous) demonstrates a couple common Oktoberfest injuries for us. See this vertical welt on her forehead?


Here she reenacts how she got it:

My advice: don't do this.

Injury number two: blisters from repeatedly lifting a Maβ beer stein.

My advice: um, bring weightlifting gloves?



Anyone else sustaining any Oktoberfest injuries?

Dear American news media,

Please stop citing Bild as a source when you report about Germany. You look like idiots.

Yes, Bild is Germany's "top-selling" newspaper. It is also the intellectual equivalent of the National Enquirer. Seriously. Take a look.

Disgustedly yours,

Jul

Oktoberfest waitresses demonstrating their mad skillz

The waitresses at the Wies'n must start training months in advance for all this beer-carrying.


Looks like seven liters... not bad.






Eight! Even better.

One waiter, too:


Pretty impressive, no?

Breathalyzer, Oktoberfest style

This Fräulein was administering breathalyzer tests to the guys at the table behind us in the Hippodrom, but not for the usual reasons. They weren't interested in finding out whether they were fit to drive (the Premier of Bavaria has already educated them about that). Instead, they were receiving certificates proudly boasting the blood alcohol level they had achieved.

In other Oktoberfest news, there's a dirndl-gate! And it has nothing to do with a boob popping out. As if that weren't enough, lederhosen have their own scandal going on. Who knew old-timey clothing could be so controversial?

Two days down, 14 more to go

Greetings from Oktoberfest 2008! We are still alive and well. The city is awash with drunken tourists and locals alike, most of them wearing some kind of tracht, or at least funny hats (note to self: take more photos of funny hats). Many precious memories are in the making here, I tell you, and we are only one weekend in to this 16-day festival. I'd like to take this opportunity to remind Headbang8 about our mutual agreement to not post embarrassing photos of each other.


The Hippodrom - supposedly the young, hip, flirty tent with a high number of celebrity sightings. We did see some guys being followed around by video cameras and a boom mic, but alas none of us were able to recognize them.


The Weinzelt (wine tent - no maβes here!)


The Ochsenbraterei (ox roaster). This was our third tent of the day yesterday. I hardly have any pictures from inside. Probably better that way.


If you want an animal roasted on a spit, Oktoberfest is the place for you!


The pregnant chick stole our beers!


One popular festival song here in Germany is about playing cowboys and Indians (which I for one take offense to - how dare the Germans appropriate our cultural heritage! WE come from the land of cowboys and Indians, that's OUR childhood game, dammit!). Anyway, the song comes with a choreography kind of like the Macarena, except with lassos. Really, I am not making this up.


Our neighbors from the next table over get a little fresh with our kilt-wearing Scot.


I was all set to declare the Weinzelt the most sophisticated tent, and then the band came out wearing giant condom suits. Why yes, those are enormous hairy balls that jiggle when they move their legs. Thanks for asking.

More to come!

Oktoberfest: O'zapft is!

You'll be pleased to know that the beer was paraded in and arrived safely at the Wies'n. The first keg was successfully tapped by the mayor at the stroke of noon.



Here we go!

Does Oktoberfest have its own language?

All over the place I've been hearing references to Bayerisch (the Bavarian language) in connection to Oktoberfest. The official website has an English-Bayerisch dictionary. A friend gave me an Oktoberfest song book* which also includes a Bayerisch phrase guide (and an interview with Roberto Blanco, of all people. WTF? All I know is that if he's performing at Oktoberfest, I am so there.) Advertisements seem to be tossing in a Bayerisch phrase or two all over the city.

This confuses me a bit ("this" meaning the whole Bayerisch thing, although the Roberto Blanco thing also has me a little baffled). First of all, despite warnings to the contrary from non-Bavarian Germans, Bayerisch is not the default language in Munich. German is. People don't speak Bayerisch at me,** and they don't speak it around me. In my eight months here, I have heard very little Bayerisch, and trust me, I do a lot of eavesdropping. You want to see a city where people speak dialect instead of a real language? Go try Zurich, because Munich is pretty solidly a convert to the Hochdeutsch camp. I hear more English and Italian here than I do Bayerisch. Secondly, rumor has it that Oktoberfest is sooooo commercial and so very overrun with tourists that the locals, for the most part, are oh-so-fed-up, and don't even hardly go to the Wies'n anymore.

So whom, exactly, is going to be speaking all this Bayerisch at me? Is it one of those scenes like Colonial Williamsburg or a Renaissance fair where the employees get all crazy into character and refuse to speak like a normal person? Somehow I'm skeptical. But just in case, I'm arming myself with a few key vocabulary words and phrases. Feel free to print this out and carry it around as a cheat-sheet. Oktoberfest starts tomorrow!

Z ' dringga mächd i biddschee a Mass! - I'd like to have a beer.
biddscheen - please / you're welcome.
Deaf i mi zu dia hisizn? - May I sit down here?
Naa - no
Zoin - The bill, please.
aufmandeln - to aggrandize oneself, especially when you do not find any free seats in the beer tents.
aufstöin - to donate a beer.
Bierdimpfe - notorious beer drinker, "tavern potato".
Fetznrausch - totally drunk.
Gaudinockerln - luxuriant breasts
Weißbia - wheat beer (only in the smaller beer tents at Oktoberfest)
Deaf i Dia a Busserl gem. - I'd like to give you a kiss.
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* The Oktoberfest Song Book comes on a long blue ribbon, so that you can hang it around your neck. Very handy!
** As if trying to prove me wrong, a little old lady actually came up to me and spoke Bayerisch in the grocery store today.

Am I the only one who is confused by this sign?

Not the part in Norwegian - I understood that perfectly, it says "age limit 24". But the English part had me puzzled. Do I have to take my bra off to go in? I wondered. Do they have something against jock straps?

Is it common for bars to have such signs up, and I've just never noticed before?