First things first: OKTOBERFEST IN GERMANY
This trip was so surreal for me. I've been telling people here and there the same thing but I still am amazed I had the opportunity to come. Growing up, traveling around the world and seeing these famous festivals was not something I ever thought could become a reality. I only ever wanted to see Paris due to my family's French heritage, but this truly was something I will cherish forever. A long 5 hour drive from Neuchâtel to München, Germany on a Saturday morning and even longer 6.5 hour drive back was completely worth everything I experienced. My companions included teammates Liti, Arriane, and my new friend Guilia. Halfway to our destination, we stopped for a quick breakfast. Liti and Arriane had a typical Swiss meal; coffee and a croissant. Guilia enjoyed some German meat and cheeses and apparently I was incredibly American with my rôti and egg which was basically hash browns from heaven.
Once we hit Germany, the driving became a tad bit concerning for me. Not because my driver was bad, but there is no speed limit in the country and people flying by at least going 90mph (kmph?) made me somewhat a nervous nelly. Surprising yes with how I should be used to it since my father drives like a crazy person but still scary nonetheless. (Love you papa). We reached Munich around 2pm and had moderate trouble finding our rented apartment for the one night. Once we settled in, it was a flurry of makeup, costumes and hair being done so we could join the festivities right away. Apparently, the celebrating is done from morning till 11pm then everything closes. Day drinking is more than acceptable here, it's encouraged. Donning my outfit that of course was shorter than I would have liked due to me being a giantess, I was told many a time how German I looked with my blonde braids and blue eyes. That would be due to my Parker side of the family danke sehr viel. By about 3 we made our way toward the main event which was a bout an eight minute walk, great planning on my friend's part.
You can tell you're walking in the right direction by the massive flow of people dressed in traditional Bavarian garb heading towards the same area. After a quick bite, we found the first tent/beer garden and waited in a line for a good hour trying to get in. They don't let people in certain areas until enough people have left so I became a sardine for a quite awhile which led to one of my favorite selfies since I've been in Europe.
When at Oktoberfest right? We made it to the front only to have them shut the doors right before us so I had a lot of free time and no shame. After much pushing, shoving and awkward smiles with strangers, we all made it in to the tent and were able to find an empty table. At this point I was freezing thinking it was going to be a nice sunny day instead of bitter cold and overcast. My outfit was ill planned at that point, but not for long. Our first round of drinks came and I'm not sure what I was expecting but it definitely wasn't the tankard of beer that the waitress brought.
Thing was bigger than my frickin head. Needless to say, I put on my beer jacket soon after and no longer felt cold for the remainder of the day. While sitting at our table, we quickly met up with our neighbors of all kinds. To my right were a group of friendly Frenchman who soon after our arrival were singing the French national anthem. Very entertaining and I'm happy to say I was able to document it with a video. Soon we all were chatting and speaking a mixture of broken French on my part and English because everyone loves practicing their English with me. Of course the conversation led to how tall I am and I was compared to each individual guy there. Only one was able to claim he was tallest, but that wasn't the most interesting part of the encounter. It soon led to a particular debacle....
Being proposed to with 1-liter beers is definitely something I have always dreamed of, but alas I had to decline due to the nature of me having a boyfriend and all. Beers before rings any day. As the drinks kept going, we managed to snag a couple of giant pretzels because ordering any other type of food would take up to three hours. And trying to use the bathroom is an absolute nightmare. Just outside where we were sitting, there must've been over two hundred people, and only three bathroom stalls for the ladies. Thankfully, drunk girls who have to pee are very friendly and you are able to chat them up without hesitation. My first trip (TMI? Sorry not sorry) I met a woman from Virginia who had the cutest accent and told me how she has traveled just about everywhere for her job and just so happened to make it to the festival. We also struck a conversation with a lady from Singapore and her English accent was delightful. Accents really are my favorite thing ever. Hours passed but the fun was never ending. I was able to meet people from all over; Hungary, France, Sweden, Germany, Brazil, and last but not least AMERICA! Of course when I meet my fellow Americans is when I get into trouble. Sometime after dark, I met two guys who happened to be cousins and each were in the Army and Air Force stationed in other parts of Europe. Because I get really excited finding other English speakers, I stayed to talk with them while my friends went off to be merry elsewhere. One thing led to another and me being the competitive idiot I am, I challenged the shorter man of the two to a contest to try and jump and reach a wreath hanging from the ceiling. We both failed and nothing went wrong...until someone else attempted the feat then slipped and fell prompting our immediate dismissal from the tent. I managed to stay out of trouble all day until that point, typical American shenanigans.
With the phrase "you don't have to go home but you can't stay here", we journeyed further into the masses looking for another tent to sit at until everything closed down. Finding another area to order a beer, I was able to talk about life in Europe with the other Americans. Two from Ohio, one from Michigan, North Carolina (or South? Can't remember quite frankly) and finally Washington D.C. Leave it up to me to be 5,000 miles away and I find random Americans to hang out with. We could only be there for so long because it soon was 11 and they were kickin everybody out. Even though our Oktoberfest was over for the night, we decided the night wasn't over and made our way to a local bar for music and fun. Thankfully I was able to meet back up with Liti and Arrianne so all was well by the end of the night. With final goodbyes and reminders to add each other on Facebook, my group made our way back to our place...but not before getting lost first. A good extra hour of walking chilled me back to reality but not all was bad because my company was very entertaining. We even managed to find another American who was from California looking for a cab. (West coast best coast!) After asking three different cabbies ourselves for directions back to our abode, we were able to collapse around 4am and I have never been more grateful for an air mattress in my life.
The following morning we decided to brave being tourists while looking very worn and hungover. The actual festival is absolutely humongous. I think there were at least 10 different beer gardens and many many carnival rides and roller coasters. The Germans really do go all out when it comes to day drinking. I tried my first bratwurst and sauerkraut. The dog was good but I'll pass next time on the fermented cabbage. I was able to buy some souvenirs for cheap because it was one of the last days of the festival and everything was on sale. JACKPOT! Due to our resolve not being that strong, we quickly made our way to the local cathedral with a short glance and picture before heading back to the car for our trip home. Due to immense traffic, our drive home was much longer then the day before and I was more than excited to sleep in my own bed after a detour and train ride. If you ever have the chance to make this trip DO IT. So much fun and thankfully I have many memories to take with me because of it.
Next: Château de Chillon
With a couple days to recover I felt refreshed and ready for my next adventure. My teammate Fabi informed me of a castle I could visit a few hours away from Lausanne and that another American would be making the trip. I took the offer and took a day trip to an area called Montreux, which nearby, lies the Château de Chillon. Katy and I took a boat from Laussane to Chillon which took about two hours, the weather was not great but no rain so we were able to enjoy the sights and take as many pictures as possible. During our trip, we met ANOTHER American who was on her way to Israel with their husband. Before departing, she told us to contact her whenever we wanted to visit Lake Tahoe or a part of Italy where she has friends. Talked to her for ten minutes at the most and now I have free lodging for two vacation spots...amazing. Unfortunately for Katy, once we arrived to see the castle, she had to immediately make the walk back to Montreux to catch one of many trains back to the Swiss part of Germany where she was staying. With a couple pictures and a goodbye, she left and I decided to explore the castle by myself.
This castle was built in the 1500's and was a guard against any forces trying to cross the mountains and lake from the east heading towards the area. I think, I could be making that up but it sounds good right? Anywho, after I figured out there was an easy format of "follow the numbers", I took hundreds of pictures in dimly lit dungeons, bedrooms, courtyards, and even latrines. Can't miss a moment is my mantra. I never actually use all the pictures but I'm a stickler for not missing a photo op. What I deduced from my time here is that people in the 16th and 17th century were very very short.
Here are some picutures of what it looked like to live in a real castle...
Secret tunnel that led from a living room to an adjoining bedroom.
This room had murals of all the bailiffs that lived here dating back from the 1500's through the 1700's. Up until the more recent ones, were all originally painted back in the day. The later ones were finished by restoration efforts to help with the asthetics of the room. Along the way, I surprise surprise met more Americans and took a photo with a friendly Spaniard before departing in time to catch my own train back to Lausanne. The walk from the castle back to Montreux takes about 50 minutes and along the way you pass many many mansions. I can't fathom how much money these people have with the some of the homes I saw. I felt very small town after that experience no doubt. Overall this was a very fun and not too expensive experience and I look forward to visiting more mid-evil structures while I'm here.
With my continued free time, I have hit rock bottom and actually started running to help pass the time and get some excercise. Really I'm barely going faster than a speed walk but this is a major accomplishment for a volleyball player so I have a lot to be proud of. And thanks to my incredible grandmother, I now have coloring books and delicious brownies to gorge on so thank you again for that. I have started to practice a skill called hand lettering which is a form of typography where you basically create cool pictures using words. Honestly I can't say I just started because all through school I used to do the same sort of thing all over my notes but now I have a fancy term to name the behavior.
Finally, what really prompted me to sit and write this particular blog post was a letter I received from a close family friend. My mama Rouleau, who I have known forever and played volleyball with her daughter, my high school baby freshman Sammy. Well this woman is really special to me because throughout high school and college, she has been another mother to me and has always known the perfect moment to send an encouraging text or care package when I really needed it most. Her most recent news I had already heard about but it had not really sunk until I read her own words. Recently she underwent treatment to fight breast cancer and I am so happy to know she kicked cancers ass! Sue, your positive words and news on your wonderful family really do everything to brighten my day and I couldn't be luckier to have such wonderful people in my life. So on this note, I want to say to all the women in my life currently fighting this disease or who are accomplished warriors with a clean bill of health, I will be wearing pink to my first pro volleyball match tomorrow in honor of your bad ass selves. I especially want to send all my positive thoughts and vibes to another dear volleyball mommy of mine, Melissa Davies. Lots of love to you, Allison (nugget) and the whole Davies fam. Thank you Mama Sue and know how much I appreciate being your adopted daughter. 2 months down, six more to go!
The very German looking American
