On Thurs. of this week I found out I was going to Munich for Oktoberfest! 5 of us, 1 French, 2 Spanish 1 Bolivian and me, made the 4 hour drive in a VW Polo, which is even smaller that a Golf. Getting tables in the tents is either really expensive or on a first come first serve basis. So, since Oktoberfest opens at 8 a.m., we left little Oestrich around 3 a.m Friday morning with another car full of tauschies. By 9 we had lost the other car but were parked in Munich in the pouring rain. But we made it and thankfully some other friends were already at a table, so within 15 mins we had 13 people crammed around a table drinking liters of beer from the biggest glasses I’ve ever seen. By noon, nearly everyone in the tent is standing on their tables singing traditional German songs toasting at every other drink and dancing to the German folk band playing. Oh, and about half of the people there had on traditional Bavarian attire, suede shorts, suspenders, pointed hats. It was amazing.

Once it started getting dark, the rain had let up and several of us rode festival rides, like the Frisbee, and ate wurst afterwards. All of the tents were becoming absolutely packed and we’d lost our table when we came outside, so the 5 of us went back to the car to sleep. It was absolutely miserable. There is however, a certain type of bond that forms when you spend over 24 hours sharing your personal space with 4 others. And we still had the drive back! That was one of the best weekend trips I’ve ever made!