Finally!

The single trip that I'd been looking forward to for the entire semester.

A couple weeks ago I visited Munich, Germany for the world's biggest beer festival, Oktoberfest. I thought the festival would be the best part of the weekend, but it turned out there were so many other amazing parts of my stay that had nothing to do with ordering mass quantities of beer and getting decked out in Lederhosen.

That was cool too though :)

Reuniting

My friend Johannes, whom I met when we studied abroad together in Singapore, kindly hosted me during my time in Germany. He lives in a tiny village called Turkenfeld, population 3,000, outside Munich.

He also just started his own blog, which pretty much guarantees that he is sick.

I thought staying outside of the city might prevent me from getting the full Bavarian Oktoberfest experience, but it turns out that I was completely wrong, and that was all due to the hospitality of Johannes and his family.

More on that later :)

The State Fair on Steroids

Friday morning I got up bright and early to commence a day full of eating, drinking, and being German.

Johannes's family gave me some important items to start my day: a shirt to complete my Bavarian look, breakfast from their local bakery, and a beer so I could start drinking before the festival even started 😂.

Johannes decided to stay in Turkenfeld for the day to get some work done, so I met up with some friends from Georgia Tech at the festival instead.

My first impression of Oktoberfest was that it was a state fair on steroids. The internet will show you photos of those giant-looking tents and everyone holding pints of beer, and those are definitely the highlights.

But outside of the tents, you've got food stands, rollercoasters, a Ferris wheel, and many more activities that do not mix with drinking beer.

Day Drinking

I typically hate day drinking, but that's part of the fun at Oktoberfest. Each tent also had bands playing live music in both German and English, which added to the vibe of the festival.

As the day went on, more people would graduate from sitting and chatting to full-on dancing on the tables with liters of beer in hand. You couldn't even order in quantities any smaller 😂.

That Friday I stayed at the festival from around 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM, although my energy definitely peaked around 3 or 4 PM. Oktoberfest runs well into the night, and I genuinely don't know how the Germans do it, but they showed no signs of slowing down, even as I was ready to go home.

Small-Town Bavaria

That night, I reunited with Johannes and was joined by my college roommate Chase who would also be spending the weekend in Turkenfeld. Johannes invited us to a friend's birthday party, and it was just as cool as Oktoberfest in its own way.

I felt slightly guilty for crashing a German friend group's night and forcing them all to speak English so that Chase and I could understand them, but they were all incredibly nice and we talked long into the night.

The host, Markus, cooked some Hungarian Goulash that was out of this world.

In three days in Germany, I think I was served more protein than the last three weeks in France.

I loved it.

I also just loved chatting with Johannes's friends about what they do, and how Germany compares and contrasts with the US. It was fascinating and is yet more evidence why talking to locals is my favorite thing to do when traveling.

Exploring Munich

The following day, Johannes, Chase, and I went back into Munich, this time to see what Munich has to offer beyond a massive festival and beer.

There were more than a few gems, including an artificial surfer's wave, the English Garden, and the Olympic Village from the 1972 Olympics.

Also because it was Oktoberfest, it seemed like every restaurant had a live band, just like they did in the tents at the real thing. The vibes were too good.

I tried my fair share of German food, grateful to be in a country where I had the chance to actually feel full after a meal. It's going to be hard to go back to those rubbery American pretzels after the crispy, delicious ones I had in Munich.

Slowing Down in Turkenfeld

That night, Johannes's mom made us a home-cooked Bavarian dinner of Semmelknödel (bread balls), which tasted amazing.

The best part, however, was that we just sat, chilled, and ate. One course at a time.

I realized that I hadn't taken a meal this slow in years.

It was an introduction to this world where eating can be more than just a vehicle for consumption. Rather it can be a mechanism to relax and connect with others.

While it's incredibly American of me to see it as the former, it made me realize why Europeans value sitting down and eating slowly. Even though it's not "productive," it's such a valuable way to recharge and spend quality time with those who matter.

The Last Dance

Continuing on the theme of slowing down, Chase and I slept in the following day and were treated to another amazing Bavarian lunch courtesy of Johannes's family.

We then headed to Oktoberfest for another day of drinking, dancing, and Lederhosen!

I met up with another German friend, Consti, who I also studied abroad with. Studying abroad in Singapore was the biggest travel hack I've ever discovered because of how many friends I made who live all around the world.

It's exponentially more fun to pay a visit to a city when you have a local friend to show you around.

The tent we were in was pretty hype, but the best part was just catching up with him and walking around Oktoberfest together with his friends.

This was the trip that I was most looking forward to this semester, and it didn't disappoint.

Oktoberfest lived up to the hype, but looking back on it, the best part of the weekend wasn't the festival or the drinking. It was the opportunity to slow down, experience the Bavarian life beyond Oktoberfest, and reconnect with old friends.

As I headed back to Metz, I felt grateful for the hospitality extended by Johannes and his family.

I felt grateful for the home-cooked family-style meals.

I felt grateful for the opportunity to see the city through the eyes of my local friends.

And I can't wait both to return the favor and to see what adventures lie ahead :)