OKTOBERFEST!

On Wednesday (9/17) Kelly, Karen, Adam, Matt and I decided last mintue to go to oktoberfest that weekend. So we ran to the train station to get tickets at 8pm cause the ticket center closed at 9pm. We spent a full hour there trying to figure out a way to get there because all the direct trains from Florence to Munich were all booked. We finally got everything figured out and we were so excited to go.

On Thursday (9/18) we left at 6pm and got into Venice around 9:30pm. Our next train wasn't until 5am! Of course we knew this going into it and we thought it would be fun to just wander around Venice at night and kill time. IT WAS NOT FUN! The train station was a 20 minute bus ride from any sort of civilization. We finally found our way to a place recommended in my Let's Go Italy book after wandering deserted streets. It was really creepy not having anyone around. The canals were really pretty even at night. I wish I could've seen them during the day when the city was in action with people. I tried to take some pics but they all came out pretty dark. We had dinner then went to a bar to kill some time. Around 1am we decided to see if we could find anything else to do in another area of venice. It was absolutely freezing out. We didn't find anything and everything in Venice (bars, restaurants, etc) closes by 2am so we had nowhere to go. We found a well lit area right near the bus station and sat for awhile because we were so tired from walking so much. We played a few rounds of catch phrase to keep us occupied. Some police officers approached us and said that we couldnt stay there because we were under a roofed area and it was considered "camping" which is illegal. So we grabbed our stuff and started wandering again. I had a tank top, tshirt, 2 long sleeves, and a scarf and i was still freezing. We were going to take a taxi back to the train station but none of them were around the bus station even though a sign said that they run 24 hours. Around 3am a bus pulled up and we asked if he would take us to the train station and he said sure. We were just happy to get inside the bus to warm up. We arrived at the train station which is near NOTHING, only to find that the station doesn't open until 5am. We saw a hotel across the street and decided to ask if they would let us just sit in the lobby until 5am. Luckily the guy was very nice and said yes we could stay but only til 5. There was an upstairs lobby area with couches and we all staked out our spots, set our alarms and actually got a solid hour of sleep. Our train tickets that we got from the ticket counter in Florence didn't have a time printed on it for our train form venice to Verona but we remembered it said 5 something. We get to the train station only to see that the train to verona doesn't leave until 5:50. We waited around until 5:30 when the cafe opened up to get some breakfast then we got on our train to Verona. I didn't sleep very well on the train because I kept waking up to make sure we didn't miss our stop. Half way into the ride we realized that we wouldn't get there in time to catch our train to Munich from Verona. We don't know why the ticket guy in Florence gave us this itinerary if the trains overlapped! We figured we'd sort it out when we got to verona. All of a sudden, Karen realizes that she can't find her train ticket from verona to munich. Again, something we'd figure out when we got there. We finally got to Verona and THANK GOD we had a ticket lady who spoke english and we explained the situation and Karen was able to get a new ticket because she still had her receipt to prove that she had bought one before and we all got seats on the next train to munich. Honestly, the woman was an angel. We get on the train to munich and the cars have little rooms with 6 seats each. We find our room and get comfy. Time goes by and we realize that we're not moving. A conductor comes by and tells us to go find another car because ours is broken. Obviously. So we start walking through the train and we find one with just one business guy and pile in. After the business guy gets off at his stop, we reclined all of our seats to make a bed so we could stretch out. We're all comfy and ready to get some sleep only to have our car door slammed open by some very angry germans who wanted to sit in their assigned seats. We get our stuff together and decide to go back to our car to see if they fixed it. We start walking and get from car 158 to 160 (we were 159). our car is completely gone! We find a conductor who says that we should sit in 160 but there were people already in our car. We separated because we coulnd;'t find 5 seats all together. Karen and I found a car with a couple from England also going to oktoberfest and a guy from austria. I decided to go check on the others who stayed in our assigned car. The conductor was checking tickets and she actually kicked out 3 people who were in our car but shouldnt have been so karen and I came back to join the others. We finally arrived in munich at 3pm.

We got to the hotel and finally relaxed, showered, etc. We fit 3 girls on the queen bed and the 3 guys slept on the floor. We walked around munich for awhile and got something to eat around 7 or 8ish. All of the shopping stores close at 8pm in munich so I didn't have time to find boots or a jacket (i stupidly wore flip flops...dad, i don;t want to hear what you're gonna say lol). so needless to say i was freezing! we decided to check out the hofbrauhouse which is a famous bar in munich. There was about a 10 minute wait outside but when we got in, i felt like i walked onto the movie set of beerfest. There were tables and tables of people with HUGE mugs of beer, singing songs and laughing and just having a good time. It was basically Oktoberfest on a smaller scale. We walked around the building for about 30 minutes without finding a table for a group as big as ours. We finally split up and half of us found a table, kicked the other people on it off and we got our huge mugs of beer. It was awesome! we had so much fun meeting other people from all over the world and just hanging out with each other. It was just a taste of what the next day (oktoberfest) was going to be like. we didn't stay out too late though because we knew we had to get up early to get in line outside of a tent to try and get a table there.

We woke up around 7ish and left around 8ish. There was already a huge crowd when we got there. I felt like a little kid seeing disneyworld for the first time, there were rides and food stands everywhere. We decided to go for the most popular tent so we could see the mayor of munich tap the first keg of oktoberfest. they didn't let people in until 10am and We didn;t get in the front door but they said we could get in through the back so everyone sprinted to the back and fought to get in there. We finally squeezed our way through the security guards who were HUGE scary guys. Again, we couldnt find a table so we walked around for a while. Beer wasn't being served until 12pm and luckily right before 12 we squeezed onto a table with some people. You have to be sitting at a table in order to get beer. We were sitting with a bunch of people from Australia and a few from other places as well. It was just a huge, fun, crazy party. Everyone was having a good time. However, the table we were on was reserved at 3pm so they kicked everyone off and we all left the hofbrau tent to find another one. I ate my first bratwurst and it was DELICIOUS! We found an outdoor part of a tent and sat there for a while. When we decided we had fully seen and experienced oktoberfest, we left to see some of munich. We got dinner and went back to the hotel. We were showering and getting ready for bed when Adam and Matt came back into the room (we all had separated at oktoberfest) and they were completely wasted! it was really funny until Adam realized he lost his northface jacket with his camera and blackberry in the pockets. Luckily, whoever found it called the last person dialed which was matt (who was passed out by this time) and so we answered and arranged a meeting place. Adam was too drunk to go by himself and Karen and kelly weren't offering to go at all, so i said i'd go. We took a cab there, met up with the guys who had all his stuff and took the subway back.

The next day we woke up and had breakfast which was amazing (and free!) and then went to catch our train back to florence. Luckily, on the way back we only had to stop and connect in verona for 30 minutes. We got back to Florence around 9pm. It was a craaaazy weekend but it was all worth it. Munich was a beautiful city and i wish that i had more time there to explore and see all the sites. Oktoberfest was a BLAST and i would go back again anytime if i could.

I'm leaving tonight for Capri, sorrento, amalfi coast, and pompeii. We're going through a student travel group called bus2alps. A few friends went on last weekend's trip and said it was amazing so i'm excited to go! I promise not to wait a week to write about that trip! I love you all and miss you everyday!

Ciao! Eliza xoxo