Big Wall- My Berlin Experience

So... I realize I have been slacking on this whole blog thing. But between not having classes until 1:00 three days a week, it's been hard to find the time.

Naht.

Not too much has happened since Oktoberfest- thought I got my identity stolen, found a great deal on some boots, discovered Ramen with egg, took a train to Germany and saw someone shoot up heroin for the first time. That was weird... apparently heroin is a problem in Prague. Haven't these people seen Requiem for a Dream?! Damn. But all is well... identity still mine, boots still cool, and although I'm becoming a lard, the Ramen w. egg was a great discovery. My next endeavor is Ramen with peanut butter and hot sauce... think of it as the hobo's pad thai. Yes please.

Got back from Berlin yesterday afternoon... a few of us hopped on a train Friday morning and headed to the Deutschland. What a cool trip. Firstly, the train was probably the best investment ever as we saw some pretty amazing countryside en route.






Not to mention that Jenna and I felt pretty regal as we sipped Macchiatos in the dining car.




Our arrival in Berlin proved to be somewhat hectic as we realized we didn't have the address to our hostel... until thank GOD Max saved the day by remembering that he'd written it down. We proceeded to scan the UBahn map for Picadilly Square and Charlie St.

Isn't that in London?

Yes.

Back to square one... thankfully Anna was able to look it up for us on the Google machine and give us directions. Our hostel was more of a warehouse with beds but at 18€ for the weekend, who's complaining? It had a bar in the lobby and included breakfast. Perfect.



Creepy...

We lucked out the first full day we were there because the weather was pretty nice- we even saw sun in dreary Berlin! Blue skies seemed like a foreign concept. Hopped on a bus tour that allowed you to get off and explore every so often. Cut to Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate, Holocaust memorial (they better), Jenna and I in love, some wall, and other cool looking buildings.











After some serious sightseeing, we decided to do some car shopping and hang out with bears.





Jenna much preferred this one over the Bentley.



When the night started to fall and the bears went to sleep, we decided what a perfect opportunity to visit Rapunzel.



But she was out at the clubs so we had to turn back. Good thing the hostel offered its own alien spaceship to hang out on and have weird extraterrestrial shots.





Can't really tell you much about what happened after that... but I'm pretty sure I'm now missing a kidney.

Then there was this weird thing:


I think it was the ship's rubbish... they were really big aliens. Now that I have no idea where to go from here, enjoy these other shots from Berlin.









Voila! There we have it. Berlin in a microcosmic, bear friendly, fairytale-like nutshell. I should probably start writing my Graffiti paper due Wednesday. Will I? Probably not till tomorrow around this time. Hope everyone is well and that the US is working on its economy because this exchange rate is KILLING ME...

figuratively.

From Budapest to Oktoberfest...

Ahoj! or... Gutentag!

Despite my blogging hiatus, I am still alive and breathing after our wild Oktoberfest adventure... barely. What a whirlwind weekend. It all began on Friday, where we met our German friend at her workplace to take off for Munich. As the four of us followed behind her to the parking lot, we joked that the silver compact car/roller-skate in the first spot was hers. She brings us to the silver compact car in the first spot and we load up our backpacks. She introduces him as Oscar, and the German speaking GPS as Sheila (although we are warned that Sheila is not so bright). The tight squeeze made us a little more acquainted with each other but just enhanced the adventure nonetheless. Especially when I caught sight of her ME bumper sticker! She loves Bar Harbor, visited last year... what a small world. Five hours later, we pull off the Audobahn and arrive in Munich at our mysterious Ukranian School. And so it begins....

We arrive in front of the Hofbräu tent around 9:00 as it is the last Saturday of Oktoberfest and the tents are packed. Pregame with an orange capri sun while we wait in the massive crowd slightly resembling a line.

















After about 30 minutes, we hear several whistles blow and the gates are opened. Let me give you a visual:























Right. So we got in. I don't really know what else to tell you besides maybe a few facts and my photos to explain my trip.

The Hofbräu-Festzelt is the largest beer tent of the Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany.
During Oktoberfest 2007 (16 days), there was a total consumption of 6,940,600 liters of beer and 700,000 whole roast chickens.
The center of the Hofbräu tent is known as "The Pig Pen". For obvious reasons.

SO- With that being said, here are some photos of our experience on Day 1: Hofbräu.



















































I decided to take a quick break to do some weight training since I've been feeling rather lazy lately.























Har har har. Moving on.....
















Ian, Jenny, Jenna, Mike and Jenny's friend. We decided that after our third liter we'd need a nap before continuing on further. Grabbed a quick bite to eat, stole a mug, made some friends with Aussies, and back to the room.
















We actually made it with only one break to take a quick snooze on the grass. Thank God for Mike.


















Round Two! Oktoberfest at night. Half-chickens galore.






















































An insider's tip for future Oktoberfesters: Get your cute blonde friend to make friends with the security guard so that you get VIP access to come in and out as you please. And no waits for restrooms!



So that was day one. Now, it was great, but something was missing. The official outfit of Germany/Oktoberfest is Lederhosen for the men and Dirndls for the ladies. Basically ALL of the locals were sporting these cool outfits and we simply felt like frauds without them. So we fixed that problem for day two.



Best €45 I ever spent.




Made friends with some (fifteen year old) locals.





After all the excitement, we had to head back to Prague for school on Monday. Overall, probably one of the best weekends I've ever had. As my friend said, "This is like Disneyworld for college kids." Can't go wrong there. Well, I guess you might feel a little wrong the next morning- but with lots of veggies and water, it's a price I am willing to pay.

Off to Munich...

This may very well be my last blog post.

Bon voyage!