Wies'n

For those of you who have attended an "Oktoberfest" in the states, pssssh. We've been attending the Leavenworth Oktoberfest for the past couple of years, and while probably as close to authentic as it could get, it still doesn't even hold a candle to the Wies'n. We missed the first two weekends of the Munich festivities due to our trip back home for a couple of very important and special weddings (we love you, Richens and Kellys). However, fear not, we were able to arrive back in Munich just in time for the closing festivities and enjoy our first true Bavarian Wies'n.

Once again, Ryan's aunt's sister's family (what a mouthful) came through big for us. Christine and David offered us two tickets to join them in the Lowenbrau tent with their food & wine tour. To kick of the tour, they were taking the group to the closing day of Oktoberfest, Sunday, October 5. We gladly accepted their offer, put on our brand new Lederhosen and Dirndl, and hopped on the U-Bahn (underground) to the Wies'n.

Dressed the part, ready to go

Cheesin' up the U-Bahn

We arrived two hours before we were supposed to meet the group to take in the whole fairgrounds. And it truly is a fairgrounds. There are rides, games, food vendors, beer gardens, "tents" (more like huge, wood buildings), and more. We made a lap of the whole scene, took a ride on a surprisingly fun roller coaster, and then headed for the Lowenbrau tent.

Bar + Carousel = Awesome

Foot long!

Ryan and a few people from our table decided to ride Skyfall after a few Maß

It is hard to put into words what this experience was like. We were seated at our reserved table, which is the only way to get into a tent on a busy weekend day. Unless you arrive at the crack of dawn to wait in line for the opening, the major halls are typically so full that it is difficult to find a seat. And if you don't have a seat at a table, they will not serve you. We were lucky to have all the work done for us!

Throughout the course of the afternoon, there was much beer drinking (obviously), eating of giant pretzels and chicken, standing on benches/tables and singing, and of course, some amazing people watching. After about four hours, the tour group took off and we were left to our own devices. We stuck around for another two to three hours, ordering more beer and making friends with random strangers to find a new table to sit at.

Lowenbrau tent, from the floor. We were seated in one of the balconies.

View from our table.

Herr Boyd

The band came up to our section to play 'Amazing Grace'

And then proceeded to serenade the section

Frau Menne

By the end of the day, we were completely worthless human beings (are you surprised?). We stopped at a pizza place on our way home to grab some food, and needless to say, I couldn't even remember paying for dinner. And let's be honest, at this point, Ryan couldn't even walk straight so he was no help to me. The next morning, being the accountant that I am, I counted our remaining money and compiled a list of all of our charges from the previous day to determine if we paid. This is one of our favorite restaurants that we frequent often, so I am happy to report that we did pay our bill - phew!

Mark your calendars: next year's Oktoberfest is September 19 through October 4! Our guest room is filling up fast so make your plans early!

Until the next post!

xoxo
L & R

Maybe it won't rain on us this weekend?

Think again. It rained.

As a follow up to our weekend visiting Christine and David in Berchtesgaden (see previous post), we took their excellent advice and went on a quick weekend trip to South Tyrol, Italy. The beauty of South Tyrol is hard to beat and hard to describe.  It is a series of towns along a winding valley with almost every acre of land terraced for vineyards or apple orchards and surrounded by the Dolomites on all sides. We were a bit tired from traveling weekend after weekend, so we decided to stay in on Friday night and then leave for South Tyrol early on Saturday morning. After a few hour drive that took us through Austria and over a mountain pass, we arrived in South Tyrol around 11am.  And what else would we do at 11 AM? Wine tasting of course. I found a quaint family owned winery through my Google efforts which led me to a random Brit's foodie blog. Weingut Hans Rottensteiner was run by an older gentleman who must have been one of the owners, because his picture was all over their pamphlets and wine guides. He didn't speak an ounce of English, but gave us many free tastings.  Although we did slightly feel obligated to buy just based on his generosity, we wanted to buy a couple of bottles because they were so tasty! We even walked out of there with Ryan's pride and joy - a magnum bottle.

After wine tasting, we drove to downtown Bozen/Bolzano (another fun fact: this area used to be an Austro-Hungarian territory until WWI, when this primarily German-speaking territory was annexed by Italy and now they speak and use both languages).

Bolzano (the Italian name), is home to a really fascinating artifact and archaeology museum. In 1991, a body was found in the Dolomites covered in ice, whom they now refer to as Otzi, or Frozen Fritz. After a semi-botched recovery of his body and much research, it was determined that this man is over 5,000 years old and lived sometime between 3350 and 3100 B.C.! His body, clothing, weapons, tools, and other artifacts are on display at this museum. Yes, I said his actual body! He is kept in a giant freezer type room where you can view him through a window. He and his belongings were so well preserved in the ice, you can still see his skin, tattoos, nails, teeth, and they could even tell what his last meal was which was still in his stomach (an early form of wheat-porridge)!  He and his belongings were so much more advanced and sophisticated than previously thought that he alone changed anthropologists timeline of human history by over a thousand years! I could go on forever (Whitney had to sit through a long story telling session in person already) because I get so excited just thinking about it, but I will end with a declaration that I thought this was one of the more fascinating two hours I've spent in a museum in my life. We weren't allowed to take pictures but here is one that I stole from the museum's website.

This does not even do it justice!

After the museum, we continued our whirlwind trip and hit the mountains for a hike. We took a gondola up the mountain and stopped for lunch (and to hide from the rain) in an Alm. The Alm was recommended by Christine and David and was well worth the trip. They served a delicious wild mushroom lasagna covered in wildflowers!

the wild mushroom lasagna with wildflowers

accompanied by a frothy mug of beer

Until the next post!

xoxo,
L & R