T̶w̶o̶ One p̶e̶r̶p̶e̶t̶u̶a̶l̶ ̶e̶x̶p̶a̶t̶s̶ immigrant settling into home country number five.
I’d almost forgotten how much fun sledding is. I’m happy to report that the Bavarian version is almost as good as the Swiss. Wallberg is on the Tegernsee, about an hour’s drive outside of Munich. A quick 5-10 minute ride up on the gondola is followed by at about a half hour of flying downhill … Read more
And now for something completely different… Yesterday some friends and I took a Bayern Ticket up to Regensburg to hang out with Sarah, Christina, Tammy, and An and force them to show us around their Christmas markets. It worked. The offerings at the Regensburg Christmas markets were, shockingly, pretty similar to what you find at … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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?
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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!
I am happy to announce that I am now the proud owner of my very own dirndl. I love it more than I ever thought I could love traditional clothing, Bavarian or otherwise. It fits surprisingly well, and I adore the colors. (Even before I bought it I was told that I have a very … Read more
Last week we went to a Pfarrfest at a small parish church in Munich. A multi-generational crowd was gathered for food, drink, socializing and music. The preist worked the crowd, greeting everyone and making them feel welcome (upon learning I was from the US, he even broke out with a couple words of English). Dessert … Read more