Munich 09/24-09/25

 OKTOBERFEST!!!! This weekend was liters of fun. Mass beers (each 1 liter) and giant pretzels while cheering, singing and having a good ol' time in the tents starting at 9:30 in the morning... it was a fabulous weekend. The festival was a such a great German experience, and I'm so glad that I was able to attend such a huge and famous event. The tents were crowded with people all jammed into tables starting in the wee hours of the morning. And the whole time barmaids in dirndls (oh how I wish I had a dirndl) were carting liter after liter of beer to every table. The liveliness and camaraderie among the attendees was infectious in the best way. Spectators cheered on men and women who proudly stood on tables and chugged their mass beers from top to bottom. The theme song of the event seemed to be "Seven Nation Army" by the White Stripes... but only the melody sung to da da das every 15 minutes or so. And a traditional German band belted out songs throughout the afternoon, keeping the drinkers singing and clinking mugs while shouting "Prost!" When we finally left the tent, we explored the festival grounds, which were packed with rides and food booths and more beer tents. Later in the afternoon we explored Munich. I really loved the city. I saw the Glockenspiel when it went off at 5 p.m. and had a beer and pretzel at the Hofbrauhaus. It was truly a German experience. We capped off the evening with a Ferris wheel ride back at Oktoberfest. The view of the city and the festival was breathtaking. It was a fantastic and unforgettable weekend.

Triberg 09/17-09/18

This weekend was a breath of fresh air. We went to Triberg in the Black Forest and saw Germany’s tallest waterfalls. It was insanely beautiful and everything was so green. The waterfalls were sectioned off into different tiers, which created a beautiful effect. I loved being out in nature and hiking around. There were trees everywhere. It was a nice change of pace after spending several weekends traveling to cities. I was also excited to check out the cuckoo clocks. The stores were bursting with clocks of all shapes, designs and sizes. I was amazed at the intricacy of each of the clocks and the variety of designs. The city itself was pretty slow-paced and most of the stores were closed, but it was still a worthwhile area to check out because it was so gorgeous. 

Bad Durkheim 09/10-09/11

The weekend was much closer to home and full of festivity. The girls and I went to the Nachtshift club and enjoyed a night of dancing Friday. The club was fabulous, because there was a room with hip hop music and another with techno. I really enjoyed dancing in both rooms and being able to let loose.
The next day we headed to Bad Durkheim for the largest wine festival in the world. It was like a town carnival on steroids. Bratwurst, wine, beer and candy vendors overflowed in the area with a variety of delicious offerings. I had a delicious bratwurst and tried the best beer of my life! It was so smooth and tasty.
Sunday we checked out the festival in our German hometown. It was about a tenth of the size of the Bad Durkheim festival, but it was great in its own right. My favorite part of the festival were the chocolate covered strawberries on a skewer. They were hands down the best I've ever had. Chocolate in Germany is far superior to that in the States. It must be because of their higher quality dairy. Whatever it is, it's amazing, and I'm going to have to take so much chocolate home so I don't have withdrawals or have to settle for our slighted chocolate!

Brugge and Brussels 09/03-09/05

 

Three-day weekend! We definitely made the most of it. Saturday we went to Brugge, Belgium. It is a quaint little city that looks like it is right out of the Medieval times. Cobblestone streets twist in complicated maze-like paths with tall stone buildings erected all around, and canals run watery paths through the city. Sunday morning we were lucky enough to stumble upon a farmer's market in Brugge. Dozens of vendors handed out samples of cheese, so I was in heaven trying all the delicious dairy products surrounding countries came to offer. In the afternoon we moved on to Brussels, Belgium. It was a much bigger city and had the ironic juxtaposition of modern skyscrapers and old cathedrals. I enjoyed checking out the Grand Place, the Atomium and Manneken Pis--it was so tiny! And of course I tried waffles (with chocolate, strawberries and whipped cream, yum!), chocolate and Belgian beer. All of it was absolutely scrumptious. My favorite of the Belgian beers was a raspberry one.

Monday we had breakfast in our hostel (HI Hostel Jacques Brel, which was incredibly nice and highly recommend) and then headed to Luxembourg. Luxembourg was very beautiful and had a deep river canyon in the middle of the city. It was such a green and lush place that my eyes were overwhelmed. Our outing in Luxembourg was very rushed, and one of the girls almost got left behind, because she nearly missed the bus. However, I made a total jerk of myself by insisting that the bus driver pull over to pick her up from the other side of the street where she tried, but failed to get food (it wasn't ready in time). I literally stood in the front window of the bus and frantically waved her down so she would run to the bus. The bus driver was nice enough to pull over, so we all got home together. It was a moment of panic, but now we all just crack up about it. Overall I really enjoyed getting out and utilizing my three-day weekend to see such beautiful countries!

Neuschwanstein 08/27-08/28

Such a delightful weekend visiting Schloss Neuschwanstein and Schloss Linderhof. Schloss Neuschwanstein is the magnificent castle that the Disneyland Castle is modeled after. It was insanely intricate inside and stuffed from wall to wall with ornate objects. Schloss Linderhof was a little less extravagant, but worthy of its title of castle none the less. It had a vast and gorgeous garden area, which was my favorite part of the places we visited that weekend. Unfortunately the beginning of our day started with a downpour of rain, but by the time we got to Linderhof, the sun graced us with its presence and warmed us with its rays. It turned out to be a very beautiful day.