"I Love Munchen"

I started off my nine day "Travel Week" on a plane towards Munich, Germany for the one and only world event, Oktoberfest. My friends and I stayed in an airbnb 10 minutes from the heart of Munich, and it was more than a PERFECT experience. We had a kitchen full of FOOD and COFFEE at our disposal and a king sized bed to share. At first, I was a little skeptical considering the first thing the owner, Markus, showed us was his unfathomable shoe collection...When I say he had more than 100 pairs of shoes, I am not exaggerating. They filled the shelving to the ceiling! Not only that, but when I went to the bathroom, I noticed dozens of bottles of cologne on the cabinet shelf. What man needs 60 bottles of cologne?

Of course I was immediately hungry and all I wanted was bratwurst or schnitzel, but fatigue settled in and I shamefully settled for spaghetti at an Italian restaurant. The following day we spent strolling Munich. I saw local farmers markets and craft stores in the central square, and I was in awe at the fairy tale like structure of the buildings. I mean that as in I felt like I was in the land of "Far Far Away" from Shrek. I mean it! The facades of buildings were of white stone and they had castle-like elements to them. Not only the buildings were surreal, but the German men and women as well. The women formally dressed in durndls and the men in lederhosen...They looked absolutely ridiculous, and all I kept picturing was my dad and two brothers wearing those outrageous leather trousers. That gave me a good chuckle

But now for the day of infamy: Oktoberfest.

I began the day beating the sunrise and waking up at 5 am ready to rally. I got my durndl on, braided my hair, grabbed a coffee, and practically skipped my way to the tents. I know 5 am sounds a little ambitious, but it was necessary. By the time we got in line at 7 am, thousands of people were already there! After policemen whistling and herding me in line, I somehow ended up at the front of the line of one of the main doors with my group of friends.

At the time, I thought this was the ideal position position being at the front and having first calls on the tables. But little to my attention, I had a mob of a thousand people behind me.

So, in reality my position was: Door-Me-Mob of thousand people...I was standing in the death zone.

9 am the doors opened.

Flood gates. Flood gates of people sprinted in, and I was amongst them. My friends and I vouched to stay together, but within 15 seconds I was frantically running alone in the madness just trying to find a table. Fear and shock settled in as I realized I was separated amongst crazy people and the tables were filling up. But adrenaline and instincts kicked in, and I started jumping and climbing over tables and barriers in my durndl to find my friends. By some miracle, I was suddenly standing in front of a table of familiar faces and I grabbed a seat amongst my friends with a huge smile and wave of relief.

Immediatly waitresses were around, and I had my first beer stein at Oktoberfest. I kept saying "Skol" instead of "Prost" whenever someone cheered with me, and I always got the strangest look. For those who do not know, "Skol" is cheers in Danish and "Prost" is cheers in German. Regardless, everyone was in good spirits, and I spent hours in the tent amongst the people and music.

Besides the stein, the soft pretzels were unbelievable. They were twice the size of my face and even came with cinnamon on them. A few hours in, I had my fill and left the tent to explore the outside festivities. It was like a carnival with tons of food, games, and rides. After strolling the outside, my friends and I left by 5pm and returned to our airbnb for some well needed rest.

I would say I did Oktoberfest right. One day is well over enough, and would I do it again? Absolutely! It is an experience I recommend to many. A piece of advice: a warm, quiet, comfortable space really pays for itself. My first experience doing an airbnb and Oktoberfest is very positive, and Munich itself is is a charming city with so much more than what I could see in the short three days.

I will be returning to you, Germany.