Oktoberfest

Gee, it’s been a month since I updated this thing…lots to talk about!

Things are still going remarkably well for me over here, and it’s hard to grasp that I’ve been here for three months already. At the moment I’m at home sick, but the upside of that is that I finally have time to catch up on my blog! School is going well; I’m getting decent grades and improving my German every day. My host family is unbelievable; I feel very much at home and we really enjoy each other’s company. I’m starting to look around for an internship with a hospital or the Red Cross, which I should start in December.

A few days after my birthday I went on a bike ride on a trail that goes from my house all the way to downtown Frankfurt. I got over halfway to the city when I realized that I would not be able to make it back if I went all the way. I nevertheless enjoyed a nice bike ride with beautiful scenery and weather.

On the way back I snapped a photo of my town, Ostheim.

A few weeks after that was a fest in the area called “Streuobstwiesnfest”, roughly translated to “Orchard Fest”. I played polka tunes with the community band and we enjoyed fresh-pressed apple juice. Let me tell you, there is nothing like 100% juice from Hessisch apples…

Two buddies from school and I enjoy going to Club Cocoon, a massive club in Frankfurt owned by house DJ legend Sven Väth. We always a great time enjoying the music, meeting people, and going nuts on the dancefloor.

The Internationale Automobil Ausstellung (IAA) is Europe’s biggest autoshow and it is held in Frankfurt every other year. I went to the IAA with James and his host brothers and we saw all sorts of new cars and took tons of pictures. Some of my favorite cars included:

Lamborghini Reventón Roadster

Audi e-tron

Ferrari 458 Italia

Mercedes Gull-wing SLS

Two weekends ago I decided to take part in what is possibly the single most well-known aspect of German culture; Oktoberfest. My friend Amber from high school is working as an au pair near Munich and she invited me down to crash at her place and enjoy the festivities with her. I took the train down Friday night and Amber was there to meet me at the train station. We went out to dinner to catch up and we ended up meeting some Americans who were there for Oktoberfest. We chatted with them till 2am or so then headed home for some sleep before the big day at the fest. The next day we babysitted the little’ns till 1 then it was go-time. I got my lederhosen on and we were off to Munich.

We started at Marienplatz where we met Jonathan, a friend of mine from my Kansas days, for lunch. Jon was in England visiting his dad and he just happened to be in Munich the same day as me. We got to catch up over a yummy lunch and had a good time talking about where we've been and where we're going. After that we called up Quinn, a friend from high school, who ALSO happened to be visiting Munich at the same time. He is studying abroad with Northwestern University in Tubigen at the moment. Our time together was short-lived, but it sure was nice to see him.

Then we decided to make our way to the fest itself. The sight of the Oktoberfest grounds itself is breathtaking; never before have I seen so many people. The main drag is lined with carnival rides, beer tents & gardens, food stands, souvenir shops, and roller coasters. After looking around for a while, we got in line for the Braurosl tent where our American buddies from the night before had landed themselves a spot. In line we met people from all over the world, talking to people from Germany, Peru, England, Australia, and many more. One conversation (in German, by the way) went something like this, with a guy asking "So where are you from?" "America, you?" "Iraq..." "Well then... it's nice to meet you!!!" at which point we shook hands, did a quick photo-op, and continued to talk about what brought us to Germany and Oktoberfest.

After about an hour and a half we got into the tent and man oh man was that something. Literally thousands of people are standing on the tables, singing and dancing like there’s no tomorrow. A band, strategically placed in the center of the tent, plays everything from traditional German drinking songs to modern American pop hits. Amber and I managed to find a table near the band where we joined in on the fun. We had a great time, learned lots of songs, met lots of fun people, and danced the night away. After the tent closed we talked with a guy named Dario for the longest time about the election, Obama, and America and then with a pair of girls who took a particular liking to Amber :p Slowly but surely, we made our way home and I slept in late the next day.

Then Amber and I said our goodbyes and I met up with the American dudes we met Friday night. We checked out the Frauenkirche together; a very cool, historical church in the heart of Munich with amazing architecture. I slept during most of my 6-hour train ride back home, but I did so knowing that I had just experienced one of the most exciting, interesting, unique aspects of German culture there is.

This past weekend was a good one too. Saturday was the Day of German Unity, sort of like our 4^th of July but not as big. We celebrated with a block party where I got to meet all our neighbors and engage in some really interesting conversation. On Sunday I went to church and followed that up by playing at a jazz club called the Schlosskeller (the Castle Cellar; it actually is in the basement of a castle). We (me on trumpet with a tenor sax, upright bass, and e-guitar) played for a few hours before a small audience and had a great time just jamming and enjoying ourselves. This upcoming week (oct. 10-17) I’m going to Austria with the community band for a sort of retreat where we’ll get to do a lot of relaxing, rehearsing, hiking, and performing in the Alps. I look forward to telling you all about it, it should be a great time! Until then, auf Wiedersehen and goodbye!