The next morning we rolled out of bed eager to put on our outfits and have a good laugh. We looked absolutely ridiculous.. and loved it! Luckily, we went downstairs to get breakfast and saw dozens of other 20 year olds dressed in Dirndl and Lederhosen and we were immediately happy that we had gotten them as well. We left for the festival around 7:15 am, which was the time that was recommended by the head of our tour group, (the day before we had asked around and heard times ranging from 4 am to 10 am so we hoped for the best). We walked a couple blocks and easily found the festival by following the hundreds of "amish-looking zombies" crowding the streets. Locals were legitimately hanging out of their windows and standing on their porches walking us walk and laughing. On arrival, we saw the huge Oktoberfest grounds. Numerous rides, food booths and giant buildings, ("tents" with signs showing their names) lined both sides as we walked through. The fest was already busy for 8 am, especially since the tents didn't open until 9:30/10:00 and beer wasn't served until 12. We found our way to the Hauffbrahaus sponsored tent, which we heard was THE ten t to be at. Once we were in line, we waited a few hours standing outside and were directed in a large crowd (which felt like we walked about the perimeter of the tent 5 times) led by the guards who motioned and used whistles. We may have felt like cattle and were closer to strangers than we have ever wanted to be, but we knew there would be beer at the end of the misery. After what felt like an eternity of being pushed around we were finally in the tent. We ran around like crazy trying to find empty seats, but there were none (either they had been taken by those who had gotten there at 5 am or had been reserved a year + in advance).. that's what we get for choosing the most popular tent on opening day. Anywayyy, we found our way to the end of a standing table, there were 50+ in the middle of the building, and stood/sat there very impatiently for the next couple hours. You were not allowed to get served unless you were very close to a table, therefore dozens of people crowded around each one in hopes of getting a beer. The kegs are not tapped until noon on opening day, so we ordered our drinks and then eagerly awaited the music to start and drinks to be poured. We tried to make friends with the people around us, but everyone had been standing for far too long, with far too little to eat or drink, to want to be overly friendly. Our waitress was a treat however and let us order drinks hours ahead of time and, since we tipped well, promised to bring ours out as soon as she was able. She did not disappoint and by 12:30 we all had our own liters, which went down like water since we had been looking forward to them and standing up for hours! (Sorry Mem) When the kegs were tapped, on the balcony where everyone could watch, the owners of of Hauffbrahaus all toasted and then proceeded to fill liters and pass them down over the edge to people near the balcony. People began to climb on one another to get higher and have the chance of getting one of these first beers LOL. Once the first beers were delivered everyone became much more friendly and we got to know a lot of the people around us. ALSO, one by one people started jumping up on the tables and finishing their full liters in one gulp for everyone's amusement as we all cheered. This was quite impressive, I am not going to lie! However, if they spilled too much or went too slow everyone proceeded to boo them, which was equally as entertaining. I considered jumping up just to get the photo, but was too afraid of public embarrassment when I refused to chug my liter. Sweet Caroline and a few other classic Oktoberfest songs were on repeat most of the day and everyone joined in and swung our glasses even though none of us knew any words to these other songs ( I have no clue why Sweet Caroline is one of the songs.. so random! But it was good to hear something familiar). We were surrounded by hundreds of people dressed up in the traditional outfits, from all over the world and everyone's goal was simply to enjoy themselves which was nice. We stayed here for a few hours and then decided to go into the fair and check out other tents. We walked around sampling different foods and going into a few of the other tents to see how different they were from our first choice. By then, 3 o'clock, almost all were completely filled.. but we were still enjoying ourselves exploring the festival. After another hour or so of wandering we decided to leave Oktoberfest and go get dinner back at Ratskeller again ,since it was quiet and familiar, we were a tad overwhelmed with the loud environment that we had been in all day (believe it or not). I got a delicious goat cheese salad and,much needed, water.. which was a perfect end to the day. The waiter was super rude and gave us crap for not tipping him since we were from America (???? we haven't tipped ANYWHERE in Europe, it is considered rude), but we brushed him off and concluded that we were ready to get back to Ireland where they loved us and didn't love sausage at every meal. We went back to the hostel soon after dinner, woke early the next day to say our goodbyes and then took a plane back to Dublin and bus to Cork.
The new sights, lively festival, sunny weather and Bryant friends all made this a great experience in Germany.. but in the end I could have hugged the taxi driver when he opened my door with a smile back in Cork. This city, the rainy weather and Bandon Road are starting to feel more like home every time that I leave and I am so glad to be back safe in my bed.
In closing...
The more I travel, the more I am learning about my own country. By speaking with other I see how the US is viewed as a whole, how us as Americans are perceived in varying cultures and I am even developing my personal feelings as well. Furthur more.. When meeting new people I ask where they are from.. where they have been.. what they think about everything that crosses my mind.. what I should see.. and in my head I try to see their why. Why they feel the way that they do, unfiltered and honest. I am becoming more inquisitive, like a toddler, I just want to ask why to everthing! I am teaching myself to see that there are different people, with different thoughts because once I am able to completely accept that, I will be able to open my mind to so much more. Therefore, I try my best to push past my personal biases and understand how their past and experiences have shaped how they view my life, without any judgements. By exploring their minds and sharing my own, I am able to open myself to new possibilities for my future and understand more deeply my own viewpoints and aspiration. By speaking to a man on the plane, a 26 year old who travels to and from Africa on business every 4 weeks.. I began to question if my future needed to be as concrete as I have made it. My generation is told that education (esp. college), then a job that pays well will lead to a happy, family oriented, life. Though I do have particular dreams for my future, I can't help but question how much of that has to be set in stone right now. Do I want to travel more before I settle down? Do I want to work for a company that is based in New England or overseas? Have I found my passion in life? All of these questions suddently came to mind as he spoke about his "jet-setter" life. Then I realized that I did not want to answer a single one. Yet I am now feeling more prepared to accept the unknown and trust that my heart with direct me where I should go...
The day after arriving home, I decided to take a right instead of going straight on my way to the gym. I did not know if this would be shorter or not, but I trusted my gut. During my walk, I began to question why I did not hesitate to take a new path and decided this.. I am learning to question what I know to be best, what is comfortable. I am seeing that new paths may be frightening sometimes, but they are there to try if I allow myself to take the chance.. who knows, I may be shocked at what I find. That day, I found a much longer walk to the gym... LOL
Bye for now!
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