A visit from the Robertsons!

My mom and dad traveled to Germany recently to visit Dan and I and to experience Europe for the very first time. They were a little nervous about Euros and the language barrier and what to pack but they survived the long flight and the jet lag, and we had a great time!

No trip to Germany would be complete without an introduction to German cuisine so we stuffed them full of schnitzel, bratwurst, and beer and did a wine tasting or two (or four…). We took day trips to Heidelberg, Frankfurt, and Burg Eltz, and even spent two days in the Alsace region of France. The towns we visited there were so quaint and peaceful – with medieval castles, half-timbered houses, and vineyards all around.

One day while Dan and I were at work, my mom and dad took a river cruise on the Rhine. They braved the bus and the train all by themselves and even stopped in St. Goar to visit a castle. I was so proud of them!

The highlight of the trip was probably the Cannstatter Volksfest in Stuttgart. It’s the second largest beer festival in the world, second only to Munich’s Oktoberfest. My dad fit right in with the wild and crazy beer-loving Germans, finishing off (almost) 2 maße and making friends left and right. One twenty-something German guy repeatedly told my mom that my dad “is VERY cool”.

We are pretty sure Mom and Dad learned a lot about Europe while they were here. They discovered that sometimes you have to pay to use the bathroom, showers don’t always come equipped with shower curtains, and Germans really like to party! It also came as a surprise that quite a few people “speaka d’ English” over here ;o). We had so much fun giving Mom and Dad a little taste of Germany (and France!), and we hope they enjoyed themselves as much as we did!

View Full Album

Eins, zwei, g’suffa!

Every year for sixteen days in late September, the city of Munich expands from 1 1/2 million people to over 6 million. Seven million liters of beer are consumed, and the Australians set up a temporary embassy because so many of them lose their passports in all of the fun.  Amusement park rides, food stands, and beer tents pop up all over Theresienwiese, and people from all over the world come together to celebrate Bavaria's greatest tradition.  Oktoberfest!

Dan and I were there this year, amongst all of the chaos and excitement, for the 199th anniversary of Oktoberfest.  It certainly lived up to the hype!

The first day, after desperately trying to get into the Hofbräu-Festzelt and failing, we found seats in the beer garden of the Augustiner tent.  We squeezed into a table of rowdy Bavarians, had our first giant pretzel of the weekend (yum!), and got our first taste of the world's largest fair.  Dan got to practice his German, we met a nice couple from Holland, and a maß of beer shattered all over the guy next to us.  He didn't seem to mind :).

 
The next day we managed to squeeze in a 2 1/2 hour walking tour of Munich, a visit to the English Garden to watch the surfers, and a quick climb up to the top of St. Peter's Church.  Then it was back to the fun.  We dressed up in our dirndl and lederhosen and met a bunch of friends from work at the Ammer tent, where we had tickets for the evening.  After a huge German meal of pretzels, brats, cheese, half chickens, and German potato salad (not to mention some chocolate lava cake) we started in on the beer drinking and danced and sang the night away.  I can't even count the number of times we sang "Ein prosit".  It was quite the party!

View Full Album