Oktoberfest & The Last Days

Oktoberfest

After taking a 10 hour night train (that was an experience in and of itself), we finally arrived in Munich at 9:00am. We quickly bought some dirndls (the traditional dresses the girls wear) and headed straight to Oktoberfest with our bags and all. We were lucky to make it into a tent pretty easily (Schottenhamel) and sat in a reserved section since those were the only tables left. It wasn't reserved until 3 or 4 that afternoon, so we had plenty of time. I don’t really know how to begin to explain what goes on inside the tent. There are around 7,000 people in each tent, people start drinking around 9:00am, and the food is incredible. It starts to really take off when the band comes on around noon, and everybody (remember, 7,000 people) get up on the benches and sing and dance while drinking liters of delicious German beer, specially brewed just for Oktoberfest (more alcohol content, like German beer didn’t have enough already). My favorite song they sang is this random old, American country song (go figure) about “take me home, to the place I’m from, West Virginia…” EVERYONE knew it, everywhere we went.

Saturday was just as crazy, with people literally rushing the entrance to get in & get a seat… at 8:00am. We again were lucky and found a seat in the Himmel der Bayern tent (without a table reservation, it is pretty hard to get into a tent, and tents & the outside biergartens are the only places they sell beer). We stayed until we were kicked out of the reserved seats, and sat outside at the biergarten with some CBYXers from Radolfzell. It was really nice to see them again after two months & just hang out most of the day. Sunday was much easier to get into a tent. We just walked right into the Paulaner tent at 9:00am, and not many people were there. I guess that’s when the Germans rest… hmm.

Our sleeping arrangements were a bit comical. We stayed in a random campground 20 minutes away from the city. It was really cold & really rainy for most of the weekend, and as always, I came extremely unprepared (think, no proper jacket, no umbrella, etc.) I did have a sleeping bag, though, which is more than some of the people that came with us had. The campground had its own biergarten and cafeteria, so that is where we spent our nights. That is also where my camera saw its last night (dropped in a liter of beer… creative way to go I suppose). Saturday night we also walked around downtown Munich, which was actually quite impressive, and I would really like to go back to see it when Oktoberfest is over. We tried to get into the infamous Hofbrauhaus (think the ULTIMATE massive beer hall that paved the way for others), but it was Saturday night, and it just wasn’t possible. Instead we drank at some Australian hostel, which was actually really fun…. It was nice to take a break from the crowd and just chill out with some good CBYX friends.

Despite the weather, I had an incredible, unforgettable experience, and I highly recommend everyone to go once in their lives…. I don’t know if I could do it again though. Maybe I would try out the millions of carnival rides or actually walk around next time. We’ll see.

Last Days

My last days in Bremen were bittersweet. I was super anxious to start the next phase of the program & to move somewhere new, but it also sucked leaving these people that I had come to know so well over the course of two months (maybe a little TOO well). There were only 15 of us, and most of us spent pretty much every single day together, so it was sad to say goodbye.

One of the coolest things I got to do on one of my last days in Bremen was make a trip to Bremerhaven (a huge port town about 45 minutes away), and visit the Auswanderer Museum. Bremerhaven, for many, many years, was a port where millions of people shipped out of to come to America… including my grandfather. I searched through the museum’s records, and found the New York passenger list for September 1, 1950, with my grandfather, his brother, and his mother on it. It really is incredible to think that about the journey he made, and how far he’s come today. Who knew that another generation Grigalis would be in the same exact place, 60 years later?

Wednesday we had a going away party at the language school, said bye to our teachers, tutor, and the rest of the CBYX students. Thursday morning, super early in the morning, I made my way to the train station with my host family and headed off to Mainz. As a going away present, my host family gave me a map book of Bremen (to remember the place I began my journey), and left a really nice note inside. They were such nice people, and I really wish I would have made more of an effort to hang out with them.