Un Viaggio Italiano: Oktoberfest, Munich, and Dachau

I cannot even begin to describe how hysterical, cultural, and wonderful this weekend was. I'd have to say that this has been, by far, my favorite and most memorable experience since I have been abroad.

It first started out with, of course, a long bus ride. Laura and I had booked this weekend through Florence For Fun, a tour group for study abroad students. It was extremely helpful to have transportation and lodging already booked because Oktoberfest is definitely not an easy weekend to book by yourself, especially if you don't know the area. When arriving at the train station (wearing my KU shirt) I saw/heard some obnoxious guy, who just happened to be wearing a MIZZOU jacket. Ew! He looked at me and it was hate at first sight. Not going to lie, I miss my midwestern traditions. He also was a jerk, asking me where Toto was and why KU basketball lost to VCU, ouch. But typical. However, right behind me I heard a girl stand up for Kansas, and I found out she also went to KU! We both shrieked for joy, and I am happy to say that I have finally met someone from KU. Anyways, enough of that. We left Florence at about midnight on Thursday night and finally arrived in Munich at around 9am. Sleeping in the bus was, well, not the most ideal location, and it was FREEZING cold, I thought I was going to turn into a popsicle. Our hostel wasn't ready for us to check it, but we were able to put our luggage in a private room, change/freshen up, and head out to start the day.

What did we do? Oktoberfest, of course.

Oktoberfest started about 200 years ago, when the royal wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen occurred, and it was a HUGE festival. It originally was a horse race that soon became demanded over the years. Beer tents became popping up throughout time, and these numbers started increasingly rapidly. And there you have Oktoberfest!

Let me just say that it was definitely an experience. The festival was HUGE, and local Germans dressed up in the traditional Dirndl (dress for women) and Lederhosen (dress for men). There were about 8-10ish beer tents, but the most popular ones could hold anywhere from 8,000-10,000 people. There were rides everywhere, and it kind of reminded me of a huge version of the Kansas State Fair, but without the white trash/farming things. At around 10AM, Laura and I got into the Hof beer tent and stayed until about lunch time.

We started off the day right by ordering a huge German pretzel and some royal German beer. We went to the Hofbrauhaus tent, which apparently is the 2nd largest tent at Oktoberfest, and definitely one of the most fun. The government owned this brewery and it was started in the 16th century by Duke Wilhelm V as the royal brewery, in which today the brand still retains a crown emblem. Anyways, German beer is much stronger than American beer and you could only get one size: 1 liter. It was also 10 euros per pop, and needless to say I was very careful in saving my money. We hung out with people we met from the bus ride and then at 3 we were able to check into our hostel, which was nice to have a quiet (and really comfortable) place to take a nap.

When we woke up, Jake Bauer had arrived!! I was so happy. It was so refreshing and wonderful to not only see a familiar face, but a friend from back home who understands the KU love. Not to mention he's also my best friend's boyfriend, and I think it helped the both of us out to finally see a good friend. Once we woke up enough, we headed back to Oktoberfest for another fun night. By this time, Laura and I had already bought our wanted souvenirs (a red hat for me, and an Oktoberfest t shirt) and were proudly sporting them in the Hof tent. There we had such a wonderful experience, which is what I love most about Europe: the people. Only in Europe can you meet so many people with different backgrounds, yet also run into people that you would never expect. I met a 6'10'' lumberjack from Iceland, who also does programming on the side. I met students on a study abroad experience. German students in lederhosen. An American from North Carolina, in which we had a hardcore discussion concerning Roy Williams, Bill Self, and Allen Fieldhouse. And of course, there was the band. There was a stage in the middle of the tent, and every time they played a new song, the whole tent would sing, dance, cheer, and laugh. The most popular songs were a couple of German drinking songs (of course I don't know the words), Queen (what is up with Europeans obsessing over American music?), I LOVE YOU BABY (10 Things I Hate About You, anyone?!), and much more. It was definitely the place to be that night, and I don't think any other alcohol-related experience will ever top that.

Now, of course I didn't go to Germany just for a drinking festival. Being a history nerd, I had to check out the sights. Saturday morning, Jake and I attended a bike tour around Munich. There was a group of maybe 20-30 of us, and we followed a tour guide all around the city. He showed us important buildings, historical landmarks, and even talked a lot about art. We visited Marienplatz, Hofbrauhaus, National Theatre, The Residenz, Odeonsplatz, Hofgarten, Schwabing, The Engligh Garden, Chinese Tower Beergargen, Surfer's Bridge, the National Museum, and more. The whole thing lasted about 4 hours, and at the end we had lunch in the 2nd largest beer garden in the entire world. I had this AMAZING German dish....bratwurst, sauerkraut, German potatoes, Radler beer (German lemonade beer), and this amazing cheese that I cannot stop thinking about. I cannot remember the name, but I will recreate that cheese someday. After that delicious meal, our tummies were full and the bike tour came to a close. Jake and I headed back to Oktoberfest, where we hung out, bought souvenirs/gifts for people, and hung out in the Hof house for most of the night. Again, it was a great time, and I am aching to go back.

The next morning Jake, Laura and I went to Dachau, one of the concentration camps during the second world war. My good friend Matthew Heck recommended it to me, so it was on a top priority to visit. It was fairly easy to get there, we took a train for about 20 minutes then hopped on a bus which took us to the site. Clearly, this was one of the more serious aspects of my weekend in Munich, but (again, as a history nerd), it definitely was one of the most worthwhile. There is something so eerie and creepy about going to a concentration camp. The area now is beautiful, covered with trees and lots of green grass. However, at the same time, you walk around knowing that people were tortured, killed, and treated with such disrespect here. We walked around the area, went through the museum, and watched a 22 minute documentary about the site. Another thing creepy about Dachau? I didn't see any birds, none landing or flying over. Says something about the eeriness of the location. Anyways I learned a lot, saw much of the real I definitely recommend going to see it.

After Dachau, we said our goodbyes to Jake (sad...but I am going to see him in two weeks!!) and Laura and I went to a German brewery for a quick lunch. We had the amazing cheese that I mentioned earlier, and this delicious rotisserie chicken, which apparently Germans are famous for making. Then we walked back to the hostel, got our stuff, boarded the bus, and said our goodbyes to Germany. I was super sad to leave...I had an absolute blast, and there were things about Germany that I liked better than Italy. For example, the people are friendlier and more helpful. People smile more there. I wouldn't say the food is better (you can't beat legit Italian food) but it was definitely different in it's own way and extremely satisfying. It was also great to see so much World War 1 and 2 historical sites, which are some of my absolute favorite parts of history, besides art history.

The bus ride back was much, much better than last time. We watched 4 great movies, and that helped pass the time. We also drove through Austria, which was so gorgeous. Sadly, I won't have time to visit there, but I hope to someday in the future.