Jack-O-Latern

So the kids and I carved a pumpkin the other day. It was their first time they have ever done it because they don't celebrate Halloween in Germany. They had a really fun time taking out all the seeds and picking out a pattern to cut out. They were in such aww watching me carve the pattern out. They were so excited with the finished project they waited down in the dark basement with the pumpkin until their dad got home. It was so cute. :)

 

Oktoberfest

The best word to describe Oktoberfest is "CRAZY". It's what you imagine it to be and more, much much more! We were crazy enough to go on the first day which is one of the busiest days. We got up at 4am to be ready by 6am. We got to the grounds at 8am and stood in line to get into a tent for 2 hours in the rain. It was incredible how many people were there to get into a tent just like us. We finally got into a tent and found a table. We then had to wait another 2 hours to be served a beer. After an hour and a half we were told that the table we were sitting at was reserved at 12 and we had to leave. We were so upset because there was no sign saying that the table was reserved and if there was we would have sat at a different table. It was very frustrating after all the waiting we did. There was no way we could find another table at this point so we just had to stand around and luckily we found a nice bavarian man sitting at a table and he bought us a mass (a liter of beer). After we got our beer we started to have a good time. The only problem was that we hadn't eaten since 6 in the morning so the already strong beer was even stronger. It was a fun time and we eventually found a table. At this point people don't sit at the tables they stand on the benches and sing, dance, and prosit (cheers). Germans take their drinking seriously and it gets really crazy the more people drink. On the way out of the tent Alexa and I ran into a guy who was wearing a kilt and only a kilt. He had taken his shirt off and was walking around in the cold weather basically naked. Alexa and I went up to him and he offered me his shirt so I took it. haha. When we left I opened the shirt and it was the funniest shirt I have ever seen. It was the cookie monster wearing Britain flag printed shorts kicking a soccer ball. Alexa and I laughed for like an hour about that shirt. :)

Me at 6am in the rain

The building of the tent and then the tent during Oktoberfest

The tent we went into the first time

Siobahn and me

Sarah and Alexa

If you can imagine the second time we went was even more crazy than the first time. We didn't go so early this time and we went on a Sunday so it wasn't so busy. We got into the Augustiner tent and we found a table right away. The only problem was that the table was reserved again so we would have to move again. So after about an hour we tried to find a table in the non-reserved section. We found a table of Italian men and they let us sit with them. It was really fun at first and then they started to be very inappropriate to the point that we had to move. We switch tables and sat with some 70 year old Bavarian men who in the end were not any better than the Italians. However, we didn't have to deal with them for very long because they ended up leaving not to long after we sat with them. It was a fun night but it was crazy. The thing about Oktoberfest and being a girl is that before you're done with your mass there is a new one waiting and ready for you to drink. You have no idea where it came from and who bought it so you drink more than you really think you are drinking. The crazy hilights of the night consist of Alexa being proposed to by a man she has only known for a half hour (actual wedding ring present), Me being accused by an Italian of stealing his wedding ring (really??), and getting an entire liter of beer poured down my front. It was a fun time but it was almost to much fun. It's much to intense for my taste.

Alexa

Sarah

Alexa with one of the old Bavarian men

All of us with one of the Italian boys

Alexa and old Bavarian man

Me and another old Bavarian man haha

View of Oktoberfest from the swings

View of Munich from the Ferris Wheel

Rischart 

So basically I missed the last week of Oktoberfest because after my fun crazy night I got really super sick. I again came down with tonsillitis and was in bed for five days. I don't know why I keep getting it but maybe Germany is telling me I don't belong here haha. It was okay though because after the two days I had I was okay not going again. I'm really glad I went and experience it but I wouldn't make a special trip to Germany for Oktoberfest.

Quarter Century

I don't know how or when this happened. Me being 25 years old. I remember like it was yesterday being young and playing with my brothers and getting into all sort of trouble. Where did the time go? This is the first birthday I have ever spent away from home and more importantly not with family. I was feeling a bit uneasy about it but it turned out great. My good friend Sarah and Siobahn came over the night before and stayed over at my place. We watched this ridiculous show called Beverly Hills Nannies and ate skittles. The next morning we started the day off right by eating breakfast at McDonalds and did some last minute shopping for the BBQ that I had planned. The girls were so great to me and while I was getting ready they made me the most beautiful cupcakes I have ever laid eyes on.

Around 3pm everyone started to show up and it was so nice for everyone to join me for my birthday. Tiffany, Alexa, Siobahn, Sarah, Lia, Pablo, Victoria, and Aladin all came to enjoy some food and drinks with me. It was so great and I felt so loved. Siobahn and I gave our best attempt to start the grill and cook the meat but sadly it didn't work so well for us. lets just say that without lighter fluid I don't know how to get a grill started. Luckily we had Aladin there to save us and he ended up cooking the meat perfectly. My host parents came home from vacation just in time to eat with us. Everyone sang me happy birthday and we all enjoyed
a delicious BBQ'd meal together.

Siobahn, Sarah, and Lia

Lia and me

Victoria, Tiffany, Alexa, Pablo, and Lia

Aladin and me

Betty Crockers

One of the highlights of the day was when Jurian (the 5 year old) came out to the Garden and started waving around an American flag. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen and he was so excited about it. He is just so darling!

After dinner we all cleaned up and I went with the girls back to Alexa's place to get ready to go out. It was a lot of fun us girls just talking and getting ready. Before we went out to the club we played a game of cards at it was a blast. When we finally left for the club I realized I had forgotten my ID and because of this we missed our last bus. Stupid me! We tried to call a taxi to take us to the S-bahn but they were not answering the phone. We decided to take the long walk to the station and luckily half way there we ran into a taxi. It ended up being a very fun night of dancing and I owe it all to the great friends I have made here in Germany. My 25th Birthday has to be up there with one of the best.

Barcelona

Tiffany and I were so lucky to have the same vacation time available and we both wanted to do some traveling. We were debating between Ireland or Spain. I have always wanted to go back to Ireland and I definitely will someday but with the weather in Munich this summer always being so rainy and cold we decided it was best if we went somewhere warmer and beachy. We found a great hotel that had a mini kitchen in it and a very inexpensive flight to Barcelona. My friend Lia is from Spain and she couldn't be more happy that I decided to go there. Our flight to Barcelona was very smooth and everything went very well. When we got to the airport in Spain we had to take the train into the city to get to our Hotel. It was so full with people and it smelled like body oder so BAD. It seemed like it took forever for us to get to where we needed to. Thank God for Tiffany because she is very good at navigating through train stations. After what seemed like forever we finally got to our Hotel. It was very nice hotel. The best part about the Hotel was the receptionist. She was the nicest person and so funny. After we dropped off our luggage and got everything situated we got back on the train and headed straight for the beach. The beach in Barcelona is okay but It's hard for me because I compare every beach with Hawaii. The beach in Barcelona was very crowded and very small. We decided we were going to get our first Sangria at this place on the beach. It was very expensive but it was nice. Lets just say that liter of Sangria made Tiffany and I a little buzzed.

After our Sangria we walked around a bit more and just took in our surroundings. After a while of walking we found a great place to eat. We got Paella, a liter of Sangria, and a salad for 15 euros. It was delicious! Paella is so very yummy. The only complaints I had of the place is the waiter was a bit strange but hey it was worth it. 

The one thing about spain that is so so so very different than Germany is the time of day that they eat. People in Spain don't eat dinner til around 9 or 10pm. The restaurants don't even open until 8:30pm and the whole city is dead until around noon. It was a bit hard for us to get used to this. In Germany people eat dinner at 6pm and everything is closed by 8pm so we have been accustomed to those hours. It was a bit challenging to wait until then to eat but it worked out just fine. Plus the food in Spain is amazing so it was worth the wait. 

The next day we wanted to have a beach day but the weather wasn't very promising for it so we decided to do some exploring. We walked down La Ramblas a very popular street in Barcelona. It has a lot of street vendors and a very big market that sales all kinds of produce and meats. We had some delicious fruit at the market. The weather in Spain is very humid and in the afternoon it is a bit unbearable. In the afternoons we would go back to the Hotel and eat lunch in our mini kitchen and take a little siesta. I completely understand now why they do that. By the afternoon you are so covered in sweat that you have to go back just to freshen up. After our siesta we did a bit more exploring and had our late dinner. 

Our days pretty much consisted of this every day except for the day we went to Sitges. Sitges is this little coastal town outside of Barcelona. It is the most beautiful place I have seen in a very long time. The beach there would give Hawaii a run for it's money. The town it's self has so much diversity and is very cute. Sitges is the gay capital of spain, is the place where Bacardi rum was invented, and has so much character. Tiffany and I spent the entire day sitting on the beach and relaxing. It was by far the best day of the trip. you know how much I love the Ocean. Sitges was so great that I wished we would have spent our six days their and just went into Barcelona to see the big attractions. 

The only things that were really awesome in Barcelona were the Sagrada Familia and the Park Güell. They were both designed by Guadi and they are beautiful. The Sagrada Familia is the most amazing cathedral I have ever been in. It is so strange yet beautiful at the same time. 

Gaudi was a very talented man but he never finished any of his works. They are still working on this cathedral and it's not estimated to be finished for another 10 or so years. The park Güell is another very awesome creation of his that he never finished. It is still beautiful!

The view from the park....that is Sagrada Familia in the middle. 

All in all it was a great trip. It almost went off without a hitch but well it's me and that just can't happen. On the way back to Munich we missed our flight. Tiffany thought the flight was at 2pm and it was actually at 8:55am. So by the time we found out that our flight was not at 2pm it had already touched down in Munich. This caused a big problem because it was to late to get any sort of discount or anything so we ended up buying a whole new flight. Well correction, Tiffany was very nice to buy my flight because it was her mishap that got us into the trouble. The next flight wasn't until the next morning so we ended up spending 16 hours in the airport all together and spent the night there. It was great to get home finally and get some rest. I had a wonderful trip and I happy to share it with Tiffany.