9-23 20:55

On Monday we were told that we couldn't "upgrade" our Eurail pass. We would have to ask for a refund for our first pass and then purchase a new one. Eurorail.com told us that the only way we could get a full refund is if we mailed in our pass and re-ordered a new one, which means we'd have to wait until it is shipped to us before continuing our journey. The first time we ordered, it took over a month to ship! Our alternative was to buy a new flexi pass at the Reisezentrum and mail in our old on one to Eurail.com for an 85% refund. Problem is we don't have enough money to buy a new 15 day flexi for the two of us. SO we decided to just keep and use the pass we have, giving up a few days in Muelhaussen. Later on, we'll just purchase train tickets back to Munich on our return.

It was about 6pm on Monday by the time we figured all of this out. Jack suggested we call Caroline and meet her at the HofBrau Haus for dinner! I was so excited! Hofbrau Haus is considered by Germans as a "tourist spot" because the environment mimics that of the Oktoberfest bier tents, which is PERFECt because we weren't able to get into one on opening day. Spending Monday night - our last night - at Hofbrau Haus, roaming the streets of Munich with Caroline couldn't have been more perfect! Hofbrau Haus is humongous and it was packed to the brim, but we luckily snagged half a bench right at the front entrance! I had called Caroline earlier from a payphone at the train station. She had just been leaving her job so the timing was perfect. We agreed to meet at the HB Haus right away, so Jack and I jumped on a couple of Ubahn lines. We had to ask a few strangers where it was - the streets are so narrow and winding, it seems like it would be waiting for us around every corner. I kept saying "I can smell it!"

Due to the amazing seats we had, Caroline spotted us before she was even through the door. She had sounded so excited and surprised when we had called her earlier! I was very delighted to be seeing her again so soon! The Hofbrau Haus was a MAD HOUSE of drinking, laughing, yelling, dancing...People would jump up on tables to dance to the oopma band that exhuberantly played. At random, tables would burst into song (in German of course) and usually Caroline would know the words and we would all sway to and fro with our drinks high in the air in front of us, prosting and cheering! Other times the room would rumble with the sound of people slapping the wooden tables and stomping their feet, like is sometimes done on the bleachers of a sports event, the din increasing with intensity until you're unable to hear your own shouting, all this taking place within a matter of seconds!

We ordered a Radler for Caroline before she arrive - the minimum amount is enormous: 32 oz. Jack tried a few different types of German beer. We watched the oopma band play and we also got to see the dancers - a guy and girl in German outfits dancing together and a group of guys playing wooden spoons on their legs, knees, and wrists. There was a group of girls twirling around too but I couldn't see them very well from where I stood. Caroline showed me the outdoor area, which was very pretty and decorated with christmas lights. We all talked about various things including Caroline's day with Anton, the possibility of her British friend Becky coming in for the weekend, and Jack's & my itinerary for the rest of the week. I ordered fried Bratwerst and sauerkraut for Jack. I had Spaetzel, which is a dish of egg noodles SMOTHERED in cheese (gouda?) and mixed with sweet, carmelized, fried onions. The meal was fantastic and totally German. The salad I ate with it had pickled cucumbers that weren't quite pickles, yet weren't cucumbers...it was very delicious!













From there we wandered the brightly lit Munich Streets. The night air was perfect. Caroline bought us ice-cream -- I had 3 scoops: Banana, Cookies n' Cream, & Dark Chocolate. CnC will always be my favorite, but I was surprised how fantastic the dark choclate was! Omg it was good! SER goot!I'm already looking forward to trying it again! On our ice-cream eating stroll, we luckily ran into this phenomenal violinst Caroline had told me all about. He is a street playing musician and she had shown me a video of his playing the other day. He is extremely skilled!! Caroline even teared up while showing me the video, it was that pretty. That night he was playing with a backup group -- another violinist, cellist, and a percussionist who also played the same "box" we saw the other night. They played a very beautiful piece that showed off his technical skills and then they played a rendition of Paccabell's canon "in D Major" that was totally hiipped up. It was very upbeat with awesome percussion and a very jazzy bass part. I couldn't help from bouncing up & down, nodding my head profusely. I was compelled to start beatboxing! We threw them what shrapnel in our pockets we could afford and continued on.




We eventually found ourselves in some main sqaure, chilling by this big fountain. We took pictures of the beautiful scene that surrounded us and of each other. The water sprayed so tall it blurred the brightly colored lights of the building signs, fading the light to a soft glow. It was very relaxing and beautiful. I sat on Jack's lap. I can remember Caroline's smile. Care took us to the train station and we hugged many times before boarding. She thanked us for coming and told us to be safe.




Munich Hauptbahnhof


The overnight trains, we discovered, down have 1st class cars but luckily we had a small room of six seats to ourselves for most of the night. Surprisingly I slept pretty well, waking up off and on, considering the uncomfortable circumstances. Our train left a short time after midnight. Jack woke me at 6am when we arrived in Budapest, the destination he suggested we scope out first. I had spent some time in the middle of the night reading up on Hungary and Budapest, its history and guide of things to do. Caroline had lent us a "Let's Go Europe" book that Jack found in her room; it had been left there by the last tenant. It has proved to be very helfpful so far. I suggested we stay in Budapest during the day and head to Vienne in the evening where we could stay in a hostel for the night. We walked around Budapest, heading towards the House of Terror. People gawked when we mentioned we were walking the 3-5 kilometers it took to get there. It was a bit tiresome with the backpacks, but totally worth it.

Doin' Munich In Style Part II - Ruth

...We also went on a huge ferris wheel and got to enjoy a SPECTACULAR view of Munich & Oktoberfest! Caroline and I went on a sweet ass super fast rollercoaster together. Then all of us but Jack went on this RIDICLOUSLY high swing ride that was AT LEAST 10 stories high!!! Seriously the fucker was HIGH and we were merely sitting in these tiny swing seats with our feet dangling down, strapped in with a loose seatbelt and held up by four small chains! I sat with Caroline because I knew it would ease my fear of heights. I am so glad I confronted my fear! If I hadn't I would have missed out on a completely unforgettable, thrilling-ass-crazy experience!!






We left Oktoberfest around 6pm and I trekked to the grocery to buy toilet paper and bananas while everyone else slept. I enjoyed strolling the streets of a forgeign land alone.




Around 8pm Jack and I went to the Hauptbahnhof to upgrade our Eurail ticket from a Saver to a Flexi so that we could wouldn't be tied down to a schedule for the rest of our trip, but unforunately the Eurail office was closed. We will go back Monday at 11am to change it and then we will take a train to Salzberg.

Saturday night we ate at an Italian restuarant in the University District. Aaron and Caroline ordered pizzas that were four times the size of their faces!




Today (Sunday) we took Aaron to the central station and had breakfast together before giving our farewells. I am so, so glad he came to Munch to see us! It was so great to see him and I love how Jack and Caroline could see what a great person is he and vice versa! Aaron told me he really liked Caroline and thought she was very cool. The other night he said Jack was "the fucking man" and that he totally admires him! I even saw them hugging at Kultfabric!!

After a short nap Sunday we met a friend of Michelle Estebon, named Michael, for lunch. We ate outside in downtown Munich at a wonderful restuarant called Medon.




Michael is very nice! It was great to get to know him! He spent the entire afternoon with us - we saw an Egyptian exhibit at a museum, walked through the Hof Gardten, saw the surfers again at the Englischer Garten and watched a brass band there. We saw two accordian players playing for money downtown and a very talented violinist at the Hof Garten. We ended the visit with a hearty meal at the Chinese Tower in the Englischer Gardten - Caroline ate two brats, I had a decliously seasoned chunk of beef and onions with seasoned potatoes, Jack had a huge pig knuckel (which I had some of and it was very good, tender, juicy, the whole 9), Michael had plums and a powdery, doughy dessert, and all three of them drank Radlers (Sprite and Pilsner mixed together).
















As soon as we got back, Jack and I started planning for this week's jaunt before Muelhaussen. Care, Jack, and I totally yucked it up tonight! I love how we all can enjoy and appreciate each other's sense of humor! Love, Love, Love them forever! I'm so thankful Aaron came. I'm so thankful Michael showed us around - he was a very informative tour guide and he even offered to take a day off work when we come back to Munich in a few weeks to drive us somewhere! So nice.

I am so thankful I have such a wonderful, beautiful, talented, smart, funny , warm, thoughtful, loving sister!! Seeing her has been beyond amazing!

And I am forever thankful to have such a wonderful companion to travel with! Jack is the best, most relaxed, flexible traveller I've ever seen. I love spending this time with him and I can't wait for more adventures to begin! He is simply incredible, innovative, tenacious, warm, loving, and thoughtful!!!

Doin' Munich In Style -Ruth

Sun, 9-20 10pm
After the taco & fajita dinner at Brooke's apartment the other night, we had some time to kill before meeting Aaron at the Ubahn station. We took the StrassenBahn toward downtown to check out more of the nightlife. We went back to our old stomping ground, Maxi Doner, where Care & Jack drank beers and Jack & I each ordered a Hahnshenschnitzel & pommes (breaded chicken & fries). I asked for a dressing to dip some of my food in and they provided me with a yogurt-based cucumber sauce, which is the standard sauce in Germany, Caroline informed me. It looked like it had dill blended with it. There is no official name for the sauce, as it is something that is served pretty much anywhere. It is only called Sosse (pronounced zozeh) which means "sauce." The Maxi Doner serves this awesome dish titled the "Maxi Box" which is a box filled with lamb meat, lettuce, sauce, and fries all mixed in together. (There was a running joke throughout our time in Munich about how Jack's favorite thing to order is the Maxi Box..)






I forgot to mention that on Wednesday, the night we arrived, when Caroline, Jack and I were walking around downtown Munich, we came across a four person acoustic band playing by the doorways of a storefront in the main shopping district. There was an upright bass player, 2 acoustic guitarists, and a percussionist that played a rectangular-shaped cube that provided both a bass drum & tight snare sound. They all took turns singing lead and harmonized very well! We heard an upbeat song in Spanish & then covers of Outkast's "Hey Ya" & Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Californication." It was actually really nice to hear the acoustic takes of these songs. They were very good musicians and showmen. One of the guitarists sang "Stand By Me" with the bassist playing only. He encouraged the crowd to sing along at the chorus. There were about 40 people watching & it sounded like everyone sang along! The acoustics were perfect in that spot.

ANywAy, on Thursday night (Caroline's bday) we were at the Hauptbahnhof waiting for a train to take us to meet Aaron when he called Caroline's cell from a payphone like 100 yards away from us! It turns out we had walked right past him down the stairs to sit on the platform and neither of us noticed each other! As Aaron came down the stairs, Jack walked over to greet him & give him a welcome beer I had stashed in my purse from the taco party.

It was so great to see Aaron again!!! I couldn't believe that after all our planning & emailing over the past few months we were finally here!!! I hadn't seen him in 5 years but we've kept in touch a lot ever since Berklee via phone, AIM, email, text, & myspace. I LOVE the modern times we live in! There's no way we would have stayed as close of friends if we lived in former times. Our friendship has totally developed and matured as we have. Aaron and I see eye-to-eye on so many things -- and Jack & I do too. THuS I figured that Jack & Aaron would totally hit it off -- and I was SO RIGHT!!! Like, more than right --- They ended up talking until 4 in the morning that night, a lot about philosophical, political, & existential shit. I was in & out of the conversation because I was very, very tired & feeling sick from the infection I had, but I could hear them discussing & laughing and I was so happy that they clicked like I had predicted and hoped.

The next morning we slept till 11am or so. Caroline & I walked to the UBahn bakery & ordered an assortment of treats. We brought back big pretzels & big pretzels stuffed with butter, cherry danishes, a few other pastries with poppy seeds, and a Quarktasche, which is a doughnut-type croissant with this wonderful tasting cheese in it! It was my fav. The cheese reminded me of farmer's cheese, which my mom uses in her homemade Pierogis. The breading was heavily glazed - mmm...it was absolutely perfect!

When I ordered sandwiches by myself the first day we arrived, & walked around the grocery store & bought items, I was SO THRILLED even to simply use the limited German I know! When with Caroline I am constantly impressed with her fluency and mastery of the language! Even though I don't understand most of what she and someone else might be saying to eachother, I could listen to it all day!

We took the goods back to the studio and grubbed out before booking it to the Oktoberfest grounds to scope out the pre-festival set-up. It was so cool to see the get-ups while the area was nearly empty. It was easier to take in every detail than it would have been in a sea of people. The bier "tents" were really large warehouse-like buildings that looked like they had been assembled months in advance! There were many rides: rollercoasters, haunted houses, super high spinning rides & 'power tower' drops! Everything was very large & ellaborate & there were many mechanical statues & signs. It really amped up the anticipation we already had to be there & see everything up close! Caroline said that three years ago she came on a train during one week of Oktoberfest, staked out a tent, sat at a table with friends, & drank from 7am to 7pm! Tabatha (whom Caroline works for) later told us that some ment bring buckets to keep under the table to piss in so they don't have to lose their seat!




We went to Tabatha's apt around four and joined her, the kids, & Martina (the kinderfrau who helps them with their homework) for cake in celebration of Caroline's birthday.



We were so excited about Oktoberfest that we decided to go shopping for a Dirndl for me & Lederhosen for Jack! He looks SO GOOD in his Lederhosen!! haha :) We picked an orange bandana to go with. It's supposed to be worn around the neck but Jack tied it around his wrist, doubling it up, & it looked way more fashionable (anything helps when you're wearing lederhosen...)

Unfortunately I was swimming in the smallest women size, so we had to look through the children sizes at a department store. At first I was disappointed because the child dirndls were, of course, less sexy than the traditional ones. But Caroline and I ended up finding a cute blue one that Jack really liked. When I stepped out of the dressing room to show him he helped me tuck in the collar which gave the dress a nice, sexy low cut! :) Jack wore his Lederhosen out of the store. We walked around the city a bit, pointing out the highlights to Aaron. Before shopping we ate at a different Doner place. Jack tried this Turkish drink that was absolutely terrible, in my opinion. He managed to finish it, even though it tasted like sour yogurt & curdled milk (which is pretty much what it was). It was extremely bitter & watery.

Earlier in the day we came across "The Walking Man," which is this huge white statue of, well, a man walking. It is 6 stories high! I had seen it in a Top Ten Guidebook of Munich the other night (under top ten sights in the Schwabing & University District), so I was happily surprised to come upon it unexpectedly on our walk!



Friday night Caroline took us out to Kultfabrik, the assortment of clubs (18 of them I think) for only 5 euro! I wore my Dirndl & Jack his Lederhosen. We saw many guys out that night in Lederhosen, as it is the fashion in Bavaria (we see many throughout the city wearing them. Dirndl wearing is not so common, except during Oktoberfest, and I was the only one out that night wearing one, of the people we saw. A couple of people mistook me for Bavarian because of my dress and started chatting with me in German! I had to switch the conversatino to simple English before parting ways.

Jack just told me I'd probably be interested in an Austrain techno group from Vienna that started in the late 90s called Kruder & Dorfmeister. Earlier, Aaron suggested I should check out Disasterpiece, a dude who writes videogame-esque music. At the time we were listening to Holy Dang Dance Party's latest album, Blippity Hoo Ha, at Caroline's place. It was jammin'.

Anyway, Kultfabrik was mad fun! The first club we went to played only German dance/celebratory music. Caroline and I swung on a porch swing inside the club! We got right down to the music! Jack got into it right away, dancing and cuttin' loose! Aaron, Caroline, and Jack immediately started downin' the drinks!

Next we went to a club called "Q." Every club was really nice - highly stylish and very well decorated. The D.J. at Q was the fucking shit!! Aaron and I were so excited because he was playing the most badass mixes! Britany and her German boyfriend Manu joined us, along with Phil, a German friend of Caroline's. Everyone in our group was mostly standing around, talking and drinking...They were enjoying themselves but with the amazing tracks that were booming overhead I just COULD NOT wait any longer and HAD TO jump down to the dance floor (which was huge btw). I convinced Caroline to join me, which was fucking amazing and we simply went WILD! I was bouncing abuot, flailing my arms, and spinning around in my Dirndl! Even though I had been feeling feverish earlier, it felt SO GOOD to dance so energetically to those awesome beats. I felt like I was sweating my fever right out!

Caroline and I even climbed this "dance podium" where we danced together way up high for a few songs! (Jack shot a lot of video of this and it's a shame our memory card took a shit). I stayed on the dance floor for fucking EVER even if I was only by myself. Most of the time Aaron was out there getting lost in it with me, when he wasn't throwing back hella drinks! haha. Everyone around me was getting real tanked.

The last club we went to was hella fun also, but I forget its name. They played mostly American mainstream dance and pop songs but there were a few popular German dance/pop tracks thrown in there. Jack totally let loose and danced his fancy footwork all around! I LOVE seeing him dance freely! I LOVE when he is truly lost in the moment and fully enjoying himself!

Aaron drank quite a bit but it was way, way, all good. He is so nice and thoughtful and awesome! At one point he told me how extremely happy he is to see me with Jack. He said his parents are totally in love and always have been and because of their good example he can definitely tell that our "love is real." He said with utter confidence, "I KNOW that as long as you guys are alive, you will always be in love."

Um, true love to that.

I think it's awesome that both Jack and Aaron came up to me separately just to talk about how cool the other is.





Saturday, September 19th - First Day of Oktoberfest

---WAM BAM BIGGALO---

OKTOBERFEST - POW!!!

The morning after Kultfabrik I got a mozarella sandwich from the UBahn bakery and the rest of the hungover bunch got coffee or coke...

Caroline brought us near the gates of the Oktoberfest grounds and we got a REALLY GOOD SPOT watching the Opening Day parade! The parade consisted of a float from each Brewery, pulled by ornately decorated horses, and filled with people who were already drinking from huge clear mugs. We all yelled "PROST!" (cheers) to each other and some threw out flowers. I put a big wihte rose in my hair. Each brewery also had its own "oompaband," as Caroline calls them. Each band was very good! I took many photos and movies. The floats all had barrels and kegs on them. There were at least 20 breweries and possibly even more floats. Many of the horses wore sleigh bells, or jingle bells.








I saw two instruments I had never seen before - a trumpet thats valves were on the side rather than the top and were in the french horn style. I also saw a metal xylophone positioned in two vertical rows that lied within a metal framework that looked similar to a conductor's score music stand.





The festival afterwards was definitely crowded but not packed shoulder to shoulder (like Halloween in the French Quarter). We were all really surprised at how quiet this huge mass of people were! The tents were the opposite though - densely packed and riotously loud. We got into two tents (they close the doors at full capacity) but there wasn't a place to sit. The tent situation looked futile so we wandered around the grounds taking in the scene. We bought expensive food and rode the expensive carnival rides instead.Jack had roasted chicken and I tried a bit - it was savory and delicious. Caroline and Brooke ate brautwerst and Aaron had curry sausage.

Jack and I went on a haunted house ride! We sat in this cage/pod on wheels and it took us into the "depths of hell" haha. I was a little freaked actually haha -- I definitely clung onto Jack very tightly the whole time! The ride was good! Especially for a traveling amusement ride! Funny part: Before the ride even began we started making out...Once inside, J had his hand down my dirndle top and I had mine inside his Lederhosen "access pocket"! (Don't worry the story doesn't get any more graphic than that..) But at one point during the ride there was this incredibly bright flash and a few moments later we were looking at a picture of OURSELVES projected onto a LARGE screen in front of us!!! It was fucking HILARIOUS! His hand was so obviously down my shirt and mine in his pants! Hahaha! At Cedar Point they take these pics of you during the scariest or most thrilling point of the ride and then post them on video screens outside, like 20 pics at a time, for EVERYONE to see! Then they offer the photo for purchase. We laughed SO HARD at the possibility of our picture being shown to everyone outside!! But luckly that wasn't the case for this ride.